Tennis coach in the community gets surprise of a lifetime

TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNT) – Brad Prada moved to Topeka to be a tennis coach at Genesis Health Clubs right before the coronavirus pandemic shut the courts down. While out of a job, the Genesis tennis community pulled through for him to raise money for a new car.

In a matter of hours, they had raised thousands of dollars to buy their new coach a car, a year of insurance, and a gift card to help while he’s out of work.

“Find other jobs until genesis opens up you know do things to make money. To pay for his apartment and his day to day,” said Ben Seitz, an organizer of the fundraiser. “I mean, it’s going to get him around to wherever he needs to go.”

Brad moved to America from Columbia a few years ago and has had his share of ups and downs. But, he says the people he’s met in Topeka make him want to stick around for a while.

“Struggled through college you know trying looking for a job went through some rough times and you now got the job here,” Prada said. “It’s been the best two months, almost two months of my life. people are great.”

The club’s Tennis Director, Danny Williams, said more than 100 players donated, including some who haven’t even met Brad.

It’s exactly what Williams expected his tennis family to do for another member during such a difficult time.

“We do such an amazing job here of rallying around each other and supporting each other and i think this is just the greatest example ever,” Williams said. “And brad’s such a great addition to our family and we couldn’t be more happy or more proud to have him here with us.”

Brad’s actual family still lives in Columbia, but they were able to join the surprise virtually, watching the entire thing on a live stream.