Pickleball

Meet Our Lead Pickleball Instructors

Courtney Patterson

Lead Instructor | PPR & SafePlay Certified

Coach Courtney discovered pickleball in 2017, and it immediately became her passion. As a former top-ranked junior tennis player, the initial transition to this sport came easy. Over the last six years, Coach Courtney has continued to sharpen both her playing and coaching skills.

Coach Courtney plays a big role on-court at the Goldman Tennis Center. Her extensive background as a player and coach creates both a deep understanding of pickleball and much-appreciated leadership on-court. Having worked with students and amongst coaches at all levels, Coach Courtney is an invaluable resource to the GTC team and local SF community both as an instructor to students and as a mentor to new coaches.

Coach Courtney loves to teach and has the right combination of expertise, communication skills, patience, and passion for improving anyone’s game! Always searching for new and exciting teaching techniques, her flexible approach to coaching allows her to tailor instruction to an extremely wide range of ages, athletic backgrounds, and abilities.

Coach Courtney is a PPR- and SafePlay-certified pickleball coaching professional and has medaled in numerous local and national tournaments, including a gold medal in women’s doubles at the Pacific Northwest Regional Championship.

When not playing or coaching pickleball, Coach Courtney enjoys spending time with her family on our beautiful California Coast.

Helen Smolinski

Lead Instructor | PPR & SafePlay Certified

Coach Helen is a PPR, and SafePlay certified professional pickleball coach who teaches at the award-winning Lisa & Douglas Goldman Tennis Center in San Francisco’s beautiful Golden Gate Park. She is a USA Pickleball Ambassador for the Western Region and is committed to helping guide and build local pickleball programs for all to enjoy!

Coach Helen grew up in New Jersey playing all sports, all the time! Some of her favorites still include tennis, basketball, skiing, and ping-pong. She first tried pickleball in 2018 and agrees that pickleball is a lot like playing ping-pong while standing on top of the table (italics intended). She loves the fast net play, hitting behind opponents, and teaching the transition game/progression to the non-volley zone (AKA “the kitchen”). She also loves teaching stacking to players at the recreational level. Coach Helen’s positive, vocal, and demonstrative approach to coaching makes her very popular with both new and experienced players.

She lives in San Francisco with her wife and two children. When Coach Helen is not teaching, playing, or studying pickleball, she is an advocate at both the city and state levels for children with disabilities.

Ed Hum

Lead Instructor | PPR & SafePlay Certified

A twenty-five-year resident of San Francisco, sports enthusiast, and daily pickleball player, Coach Ed joined Lifetime Activities’ pickleball coaching ranks in April 2022. Players of all levels and backgrounds at the Goldman Tennis Center have since benefited from Coach Ed’s playing experience, PPR Certification, and tennis roots.

Coach Ed’s positivity, energy, and strong communication skills have made him very popular with our program participants. His influence is pronounced — work with him and you’ll develop those all-important soft/touch shots around the net coupled with superior on-court positioning!

When Coach Ed is not playing or coaching pickleball, he stays close to his love of sport and is likely officiating basketball games at either the college- or high school level.

Come by and say ‘hello’!