City College recently handed the keys of its perennial Western State Conference title tennis program to 54-year-old former-tennis pro, Ken Thomas.

“Working with the kids makes me happy,” Thomas said.  “Being on this environment makes me happy and I still pinch myself. I’m working in one of the most beautiful places in the world, so it’s pretty easy to be happy.”

The Detroit native began playing tennis as a child and in high school won two consecutive Michigan State Championships. After high school, he matriculated to University of Wisconsin where he played and eventually coached as an assistant in 1981. He also was awarded the United States Tennis Association Gold Balls, the highest honor for an amateur tennis player.

“I never really took stock what I’ve accomplished,” Thomas said. “But the two USTA national double titles and that one year I finished third in Austria, is probably the most satisfying [in my life].”

Thomas spent two years playing professionally in Europe before he traded in his racket for a corporate office.

“It’s almost like I have two different lives. I’ve had this life as a tennis player and staying close to the game, but then for almost 25 years I was in the corporate world,” Thomas said.

Thomas worked as the national advertising and marketing manager for Lexus automobiles, a sub-company of Toyota. Part of Thomas’s job was to launch the first Lexus.com website. Still, he couldn’t take his mind off tennis.

“I went over to Wimbledon and I heard BBC doing audio play-by-play of [the matches], and I thought, ‘Man this is cool,’” said Thomas. “There’s baseball, soccer, hockey, everything, but I’ve never heard of tennis on the radio before.”

Thomas spent his flight home thinking about tennis on the radio and how to reach a larger audience. In 2003, Thomas used his web-design skills to launch Radiotennis.com, an online radio station dedicated to broadcasting play-by-play coverage of tennis matches around the world. Thomas is currently the CEO of Tennis Telecom Inc., which also runs Tennisworldrankings.com and LiveTennisChat.com

“I figured ‘Let’s just take the BBC-concept and take the Internet, where I can reach a global audience, and just kind of merge them.’” Thomas said.

In 2010, Thomas got back into coaching when he took a position working with the women’s tennis team at Cal State University Los Angeles.

“I really enjoyed it,” Thomas said. “I’ve always enjoyed coaching, it allows me to be close to the game I love.”

Thomas is familiar with City College’s women’s tennis team. His 20-year-old daughter Megan Thomas played for the Vaqueros until last season. When former coach Debbie Ekola stepped down after four years coaching, Thomas was ready for his next adventure.

“I heard that Debbie was stepping down to get closer to her son’s tennis, and radiotennis.com is in a place where I don’t have to be on the road constantly. So, I thought it’s the perfect fit for me at the time.” said Thomas.

Thomas inherits a Vaquero squad that went 13-3 last season and finished second in the Western State Conference. The men’s tennis head coach, Ryan Heinberg, is positive about the new addition to the coaching staff.

“I think he brings a lot of experience and tennis knowledge to City College,” he said. “I think they will be happy to have someone who can lead them through the season, with the amount of experience that he has.”

Thomas has yet to meet with the team officially but Athletic Director Ryan Byrne is convinced that Thomas is going to have a great impact on the team.

“He is a very charismatic and energetic leader who is going to do a tremendous job with this team,” said Byrne. “He brings a unique background and experience to the college.”