PBI Pro Memoirs: Steve Halverson
Updated: Oct 28, 2022
I joined PBI in December, 1977 and I got into the company through a friend. I played on Oregon State’s tennis team. One of the students at OSU asked me one day after practice if I would hit with him. For some reason I said yes, and we eventually became friends. Two years later after directing a tennis program at a local club in Oregon, my friend (Jim Pyle) contacted me from the Caribbean, stating that I needed to check out this tennis company. Being accepted for an interview in Los Angeles where I met Peter Burwash for the first time, I accepted a position with PBI and agreed to their one month training program.
My plan was to work in PBI for 2-3 years and move back to Oregon to accept a tennis director’s position at a brand new club that was being built. That club of course never was built. By this time however I also got my first taste of travel, endless amount of learning and growth and most important, working with some of the nicest people on the planet, I decided to stay for 45+ years!
Through PBI, I have had the fortune of traveling to 50+ countries and learned to teach in French, Spanish and Indonesian. I also have been the director of PBI’s special programs, especially focusing on wheelchair tennis. Most recently, one of my students of 5+ years won women’s doubles at Wimbledon 2022. As a result of these special programs, I received PBI’s 1st Larry Huebner Award, PBI’s humanitarian award.
I also had the fortune of being one of the pros performing our PBI Tennis Show all over the world. Billed as the Harlem Globetrotters of Tennis, we performed in over 100 countries, doing shows for Prince Rainier in Monaco, the President of Mexico, celebrity and WTA events, U.S. Open to islands and countries that had never experienced tennis or very little.
When teaching, our PBI motto is a successful lesson has to contain three components. The lesson has to be fun, the student needs to learn, and exercise has to be included in the learning and fun process. My motto is, “If I’m not having fun, neither is my student!”
There is something approachable about discussing returning to learning as an adult through situations people can actually picture. A flexible pace can help learners fit study around work and family responsibilities. That connection helps me see why adult continuing education can be worth a closer look. The part I would like to explore further is what happens when the idea meets a real situation with its own limitations. What support makes returning to education less daunting after a long break?
What interests me about understanding educational opportunities abroad is how a broad idea becomes part of an ordinary day. Comparing study options involves daily life and support as well as course descriptions. It makes me curious about the practical side of international education opportunities. I do not have a settled view yet, but this seems like a good place to slow down and look more closely. What would you want to know before choosing an unfamiliar learning environment?
A conversation about choosing learning resources for different needs seems most useful to me when it leaves space for uncertainty and further questions. The same explanation can feel clear to one learner and confusing to another. That is the kind of detail I would keep in mind while exploring educational learning resources. I am more curious about the process than a polished result, because the steps in between are usually where questions appear. What clues help you choose a resource that matches a learner's starting point?
I find using clear language to explain complex ideas easier to think about when there is a concrete question to start from. A concrete example often makes an abstract explanation easier to follow. I would keep that thought nearby when looking for ideas about clear communication skills. I can imagine different answers depending on the situation, so I would want to understand the context before drawing conclusions. How do you decide when technical terminology helps and when it gets in the way?
When it comes to understanding building energy certificates, I would rather understand one useful detail properly than rush through a long list of ideas. Knowing what a certificate describes can help a reader ask more precise questions about a building. Seen this way, building energy certificates becomes a topic to explore rather than something to sum up too quickly. I would be interested in a simple example, because it is often the ordinary details that make an idea memorable. Which parts of an energy certificate are hardest for a first-time reader to interpret?