Our Head Coach, Jacob Verhoeven, leads the St Heliers programme. Jacob grew up playing and coaching tennis in the Hawkes Bay before moving to Auckland to join Sparta in 2022. Jacob has a Bachelor of Commerce from Victoria University in Wellington. Since joining Sparta, Jacob progressed to be a leader within the team - an organisation widely regarded as New Zealand's best nursery for young players. Jacob works across every aspect of coaching, from beginner players right through to some of the country's top junior talent. Jacob moved to St Heliers in April 2026 to lead Sparta's coaching programme and you will find him on court coaching all our classes and Academy sessions.

Sarah Wardenburg is a familiar face at St Heliers Tennis Club! Sarah started coaching at the club after completing her Junior coach development course through Tennis NZ. Sarah coaches across all different classes at the club but has a special interest in high performance coaching. You will find Sarah at Tennis Fit, Beginner Refresher classes and she offers private lessons for indivduals and groups. Sarah spent 4 years living and playing competitive tennis in the USA on a college scholarship and is currently competing at a high level, currently ranked as an S2, D3. Sarah's favourite thing to coach is the serve!