Staff
Rome Tennis Center: 706.236.4490
COLT GASTON
General Manager
Colt is from Rome, Georgia. He played tennis at Rome High School before playing collegiately at Louisiana State University where he was an All-American and SEC-Indoor Doubles Champion for the Tigers. After graduating from LSU, Colt went on to play professionally where we ranked among the top 500 ATP. Colt has been working with juniors for over 15 years and has an expertise in player development. He has worked with 2 top 100 players ATP/WTA and helped over 30 kids obtain college scholarships. Colt is joining us from the University of Missouri where he was the Head Women’s Tennis Coach for the past 4 years and also helped the Tigers obtain their highest ranking in program history. Colt also helped oversee the Mizzou Tennis Complex that has over 400 members.
TRISH MORABITO
Pro Shop Manager
Trish Morabito brings 31 years of csutomer service experience to the RTCBC and Rome Downtown teams as our Pro Shop Manager. Outside of work, Trish enjoys spending time with her family and granddaughter, as well as her 120-pound German Shepherd HiJaxed (AKA Jax). A Rome resident for over 20 years, Trish is deeply familiar with our local community!
ALEX TOROK
Director of Pickleball
Alex Torok has over a dozen years of coaching experience teaching all ages and skill levels. He is passionate about stroke development, tactics, and functional fitness. A veteran servicemember with the US Coast Guard from San Antonio, Texas, Alex also holds a masters in Sports Management from the University of Texas. He joins us from his most recent position in Northern Virginia and is dedicated to enriching the Rome Pickleball community through enhancing the member experience.
JIM RICHARDS
Head Tennis Professional
Jim Richards grew up in Oxford, England and was a top county junior before playing college tennis for the University College of Wales. Since coming to America Jim has directed tennis programs at Resorts, Regional Tennis Centers, and Country Clubs in Florida, Texas, and Georgia. In Florida Jim founded a tennis academy that produced several #1 state players along with national and ranked ITF juniors. He has also done short-term project work for professional players. Jim is a USPTA certified P1 Elite Professional, a GPTA Board Member, USPTA & GPTA speaker and has been awarded GPTA Pro of the year. He is also an article contributor for Florida Tennis, Net News, USPTA Standard, USPTA ADDvantage Magazine, and a contributing Editor for Serve It Up magazine.
STEPHEN DRAKE
Pickleball Teaching Professional
Stephen began playing pickleball in 2020 and had an instant connection with the sport. Since then, he has dedicated much of his free time to learning the techniques and tactics of pickleball in order to be competitive with a wide slate of ages and skill levels. Stephen also serves as USA Pickleball Atlantic South East Region’s ambassador.
LUIS ROJAS
Tennis Teaching Professional
Born and raised in Mexico City, Luis has competed in multiple ITF and UTR events throughout North America. In addition to a strong tennis background, Luis earned a B.A. in International Relations & Business Management at Linfield University and holds an MBA from George Fox University. Outside of tennis, Luis enjoys hiking, family time and lawn games. His favorite food is Italian and he loves listening to Jazz and Blues music.
Tennis accomplishments include:
- Linfield Men’s Team Captain (2016-2020)
- NWC First Team All-Conference (2019)
- NWC Conference Champion (2022)
CALEB MCCURRY
Tennis Instructor
SARIS MEJIA
Tennis Instructor
Saris a junior at Berry College where she is majoring in pre-med and Spanish. Originally from Bogota, Colombia, Saris has a history of high-level tennis training with the Colombian Tennis Federation. During her most recent year on the Women’s Berry College Team, Saris played a mix of lines 1-3 singles. In her free time, Saris enjoys dancing, listening to music and swimming.
ETHAN ELLISON
Tennis Instructor
Ethan Ellison graduated from Model High School in 2024. He will be a freshman at Berry College and will play for the Berry College men’s team in the fall of 2024. Ethan helps teach our middle school and high school prep classes along with our middle school and high school tennis camps.
CADE HENDERSON
Tennis Instructor
Cade Henderson is going into his junior year at Armuchee High School. He has played line 1 for the Armuchee High School Boys’ Team the past 2 years. Cade helps out in teaching Junior summer camps as well as classes.
CLUBHOUSE STAFF
KYLE WILLIAMS
Front Desk Attendant
DEBRA AULT-BUTENKO
Front Desk Attendant