Today we’d like to introduce you to Indire Snyder-Akiki.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Indire. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My maiden name is Indire Akiki. I am a native from Karlovac, Croatia. As long as I can remember I always played the sport I love, tennis. At an early age, I got highly engaged in the sport and my hard work started to reflect. At the age of 14, I participated in the Orange Bowl and I placed #3 in the world.
Once I hit the age of 15, I skipped the under 18s’ junior circuit and started participating in the pro circuit. I traveled to over 20 countries representing my own in professional competition. At the age of 17 thanks to sponsors I got the opportunity to come and train in Miami. I won a total of 11 professional tournaments in singles and doubles obtaining WTA career-high ranking of 400. Unfortunately, at the age of 21, I was diagnosed with mononucleosis. This cut my career short.
After spending some time off reminiscing on my golden days of traveling and competing in tennis. I owe it to my mom for dusting me off and telling me that even though my playing days may be over, I can still get the happiness of the sport. Through coaching. It wasn’t long before I started reaching out to contacts, I had acquired through my career and it led me to realize that I had left my footprint in the tennis world. I was hired to go work as a personal coach of a high-performance junior player in Istanbul, and shortly after that, I was getting notice to come work in the likes of Dubai, Croatia, Turkey, Germany, and the USA.
I had never been to Houston. With the travelers’ gene that stuck with me even after my career, I chose to try something new. Little that I knew, after a couple of months in Houston I reconnected with a childhood friend that I hadn’t seen in close to 10 years. This is where a new adventure started for me, as we decided to get married and am continuing to pursue my desire to become the best tennis coach I can be.
Has it been a smooth road?
Making a name in sports is very rarely a smooth road. Mine was no exception. From a young age, I moved to a different country with my mother while my father worked tirelessly to cover my expenses and allowing me to live out my dream of being a tennis professional. This added extra pressure but I had a tunnel vision towards my goal and was not going to allow anything to get me off track.
When I got sick and had to put a halt to my tennis career, I felt that my life was crumbling down around me. A sense of failure to myself and guilt because of my parent’s sacrifices clouded my mind for many months. In that time being I only thought of working in their businesses to compensate as much as I could for what they had given me.
My mother saw more for me though. She expressed that I could still put my tennis skills to use and find a sense of accomplishment I had been lacking. She opened my eyes to the option of being coached. As I pursued it, I started to learn a new side of tennis like I never experienced before.
In my latest journey as a coach in Houston, it has been very gratifying as it has been challenging. Not knowing anybody coming into this city forced me to be self-aware and step out of my comfort zone more than ever. Being able to grow my own business and network with many Club Directors in the Houston area has reassured me that this is exactly where I belong. But I also know that I am just scratching the surface.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
My business is called Mocna Pro Tennis. I am a private tennis coach with an in-depth professional background. What sets me apart from the average coach you find, is that I am a living testimony of what it takes to make it to the top level. What I am most proud of is the service I am able to deliver for a living. The ability to teach from young to older athletes reach their full potential as tennis players are the most gratifying thing to me.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Texas in general is a great place to start a private business coach. Recreational sports occupy a big market in this sector of the country and Texas is likely among the top 3 states for Tennis.
Contact Info:
- Phone: 8323022412
- Email: indire_akiki_tennis@hotmail.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/indire_akiki_tennis?igshid=1idwu90ihzw68
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Indire-Akiki-Mocna-Pro-Tennis-696394750734865/
- Other: Mocna Pro Tennis
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