Coach Russell Elefterion

Coach Russell Elefterion started Suncoast Pickleball Association in Sarasota, Florida in 2015 after a 36-year career in Parks and Recreation. The business started out by offering tournaments and with his great organizational skills, quickly grew to 15 Tournaments a year by 2017. In 2016, Coach Russell was recognized for developing the first of its kind, the Pickleball Boot Camp in Montreat, NC and still exists today.

These camps bring in some of the world’s top professionals and are the only residential, week-long, all-inclusive camps in the United States. Coach Russell, an IPTPA and IFP Certified Pickleball Instructor since 2017 has learned and picked up valuable tips from more than 15 Hall of Fame Pro’s and over 75 other Pickleball Pro’s that he has hired to work his camps.

Coach Rusell has medaled in the US Open(2018), Huntsman World Senior Games (2017), Florida State Senior Games (2015-2020), AAU National Indoor Championships (2019), PPA North Carolina Open (Gold-4.5 60+ in 2021) and currently has a DUPR Rating of 4.8 (2024).

Coach Russell currently resides in Sarasota, Florida (Winter) and Black Mountain, NC (Asheville area) in the summer months.  Coach Russell served as Director of Pickleball at the Creekside Sports Club in Black Mountain, NC. since 2018-present and now is an owner-partner in the club.