The hits just keep on coming for Costa Mesa Tennis Center, its longtime pro instructors
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Costa Mesa is once more looking for an operator to run the city-owned Costa Mesa Tennis Center — on an interim basis and in the future — after terminating a seven-year agreement with a Calabasas service provider over allegations of breach of contract.
Officials in a Jan. 23 letter to Top Seed Tennis Academy owner Steve McAvoy cited the abandonment of center operations and failure to pay and to comply with reporting procedures as justifications for the for-cause termination.
The letter coincides with the announcement of the departure of instructors and former tennis professionals Carsten and Cameron Ball, who’d left the center to focus their efforts on coaching students at Newport Harbor High School.
The brothers had been working with students in summer camps and the school’s tennis teams as walk-on coaches for Newport-Mesa Unified School District, receiving high praise from students and parents alike.
But once more the future is looking uncertain, after NMUSD officials confirmed last week Newport Harbor’s tennis program was moving in a new direction.
“As of February 3, Mr. [Abe] Yaftali, a current teacher at the school, is serving as the new head coach,” the district’s spokeswoman, Annette Franco, wrote in a Feb. 5 email. “The previous coaching arrangement has concluded, and the school remains focused on supporting student-athletes and the season ahead.”
In a sit-down interview with the Daily Pilot on Monday, Carsten Ball described his time at the Costa Mesa Tennis Center and at Newport Harbor High.
He said he and his brother reached out to McAvoy, who had experience running clubs, to help operate the Costa Mesa center so the instructors could remain at the facility after previous operator Hank Lloyd announced his retirement.
Residents packed a July 2023 council meeting in support of having Top Seed take over, first as interim operator and then permanently the following March.
Cameron and Carsten Ball, who’d been handling day-to-day operations on a handshake deal with Top Seed Academy, walked off the job this week, forcing the city to take over.
“It was a lot of work — it was 80+ hours a week for the community that my brother had to take on and I had to take on,” Carsten Ball said of the brothers’ schedules. “That was the arrangement. We were content just doing what we were doing.”
Problems surfaced last summer, when the instructors attempted to implement fee increases and annual membership costs to create parity with neighboring Orange County clubs. An upset patron criticized the hikes at an Aug. 5 Costa Mesa City Council meeting, accusing center instructors of hosting off-site lessons for cash.
Afterward, the city launched an independent audit of the center’s finances which, under the operating agreement, are to be reported almost exclusively through an electronic point-of-sale system that records transactions, so the city can calculate its 10% share of gross revenue.
McAvoy, who did not answer requests to speak for this story, attempted to transfer his contract with the city to the Ball brothers, while amending prices upward to remain competitive with surrounding tennis facilities.
“Sometimes life has a different plan than you had hoped,” McAvoy wrote in a Sept. 24 letter to City Manager Cecilia Gallardo-Daly, citing family issues that needed his attention. “Cameron and Carsten have assumed the responsibilities I once held, showing nothing but support and understanding of my current circumstances.
“Just as I was able to step in for them a few years ago, I am confident that their leadership will ensure a smooth transition in the operations of the tennis center, reflecting the best interests of the community.”
Parks and Community Services Director Brian Gruner responded with an Oct. 19 notice of violation, highlighting “verified’ contract violations — from failure to set up an electronic point-of-sale system to a lack of financial reporting to maintenance issues.
He gave Top Seed 30 days to comply, stating the proposed transfer agreement and fee increases would not be considered until the violations were remedied.
The city’s parks staff have meanwhile assumed operation of the center, managing instructors, lessons and clinics while officials negotiate with an interim service provider and prepare to once more identify a permanent operator, according to city spokesman Tony Dodero.
“The city hired all previous part-time staff members and instructors that were working under Top Seed Tennis to ensure no downtime to any programs and services to the community,” Dodero wrote in a Feb. 6 email, adding that fees are not being increased.
But what’s next for the Ball brothers remains to be seen.
Their dismissal from Newport Harbor High drew criticism from many in the local tennis community, who circulated an online petition imploring NMUSD to rehire the walk-on coaches that as of Friday afternoon had garnered 737 signatures.
During a school board meeting Tuesday, parents and students defended the instructors, crediting them with breathing life back into a program that had been overlooked and set back by the high turnover of coaches.
“They built up the program to the best it’s been. They showed up for us consistently and prepared and invested in our success,” said junior Hailey Seitz. “Our team culture became so strong because of them. Losing them would set the program back just as it was getting its momentum.”
Junior Audrey Saloman agreed.
“We have not ever had coaches like this before,” she said of the Ball brothers. “They care about us deeply and individually in a way no other coaches have. After what we’ve been through, we deserve that type of leadership.”
Carsten Ball said Monday while he and his brother felt appreciated and heard at Newport Harbor, being part of a larger close-knit athletic community means they’ll never walk alone.
“We’re lucky enough that we can go to most tennis courts with our family and hit some balls,” he said. “There’s always another road.”
