Hot Shotz Director John Irvin has been coaching tennis since 1978, when he took over as Varsity Boys' Coach at Marist High School (Chicago). John left his position as an English Lit teacher/tennis coach to become a full time tennis instructor in 1980.

In 1986, John became Tennis Director at Forest View RC in Arlington Heights, Illinois and started the Hot Shotz Junior Tennis Academy in 1991 with just 10 players. The program grew to 96 players in 1995 and attracted the #1 singles player of every area high school within a 25 mile radius.

In 1999, John relocated to Atlanta and restarted the academy in 2000. John has put together 234 USTA junior teams since then, including numerous division winners. Of note were the 2016 14U Intermediate Team that went to Nationals and the 2022 14U Beginner Team that placed 3rd in State.

The Hot Shotz staff also coaches over 100 beginner children under the age of 10 at 4 locations: Chestnut Hill, Howell Farms, Chalker Elementary School, and Lewis Elementary School.

John is a certified PTR-US Professional Rated Pro and has won the GPTA "Independent Pro of the Year" award in 2005, 2015 and 2020 and GTA "Tennis Director of the Year" award in 2019. John currently sits on the JTT Committee for USTA Atlanta and USTA Georgia; the Greivance Committee for USTA Georgia; and the Pro Relations Committee for USTA Georgia.

John is also an author, having written several articles for the ALTA publication NetNews. His latest article can be read here: The Beauty of ALTA.