Ivan Besancon

Director, Pickleball

Ivan brings nearly two decades of racquet sports leadership experience to the role, along with a background rooted in elite competition. A former professional junior tennis player who earned a full Division I scholarship at Mercer University, Ivan understands high-performance athletics at the highest level. Today, he competes as a 5.0-level pickleball player and brings both competitive insight and coaching expertise to the court.

Over the past 18 years, Ivan has led and managed racquet sports programs and academies, building vibrant communities centered around both player development and competitive excellence. Most recently, as Director of Pickleball at Lake Norman Racquet & Social Club, a premier indoor facility in the Charlotte area, he launched and scaled the pickleball program from the ground up, growing membership to more than 300 active players in just six months.