Jim Fitzpatrick

Tonight, starts the personal series about those who have been important in my sports and coaching career either as mentors or as players. The people who will be in these pieces have all been vital to where I am today. There is really no order in how they will appear or in the importance they were to me. They have all been important and made indelible marks that I think about in those quiet moments that come around from time to time.

I will start with my last junior coach. His name is Jim Fitzpatrick and I met him when he was the director of tennis at what was Lake Region Yacht and Country Club. Originally, he was just another coach in the list that I had used when I got serious with tennis. I had some great coaches who all helped me along the way but Jim was the last one. Robert Hollis was awesome and because of him I had decent volleys. Eric Dove, or Big E as he was known, was where the basics were honed. I had played at Auburndale City courts, Winter Haven City, Cypresswood, and ended at LRYCC.

When I first met Jim, he was this very imposing figure. He was a huge presence with a cold look. I blame him for my enjoying the taste of Diet Coke. I don’t know what made him such a great coach but he could get the best out of the players he worked with. We had quite a crew that came through LRYCC. There was Russell Briggs, Eric Dean, Brett Swango, Eric Turnquist, Tonya Williams, Jason Heller, and many more that I am sure I forgot. We had a good time and worked hard. Thanks to all of these players I learned how to be tough during battles on and off the court. Jim didn’t play favorites with us on the courts while training. If we weren’t doing what we were supposed to be doing, he let us know. Very rarely did he raise his voice but he had a look that would slice through any BS you might be thinking or doing. Not only did he have us training hard but a few of us even worked for him.

We taught the little kids, cleaned up the facility, and even did court maintenance. I learned how to care for clay courts and even rebuilt them at times. When I first started going to LRYCC we had this little hut but I remember when the new building was constructed. This clubhouse was spectacular and seemed so professional. It surely allowed us to spread out but it didn’t change what I was there for which was to get trained by Jim. I cannot tell you what specifically I learned from Jim but I know that because of his desire to help whoever wanted to be helped he made a lasting difference in my tennis career. I always was so impressed with how much time he spent with us on the court and off. His office was our clubhouse. Right after school we would go to the club and stay there the rest of the afternoon and into the evening. I remember many a night where my private lessons started once the lights came on. He didn’t travel to tournaments, we were tough enough to handle it ourselves and all had great parental support, but we definitely checked in after each day of the tournament.

Jim left to take a job in his hometown and it was a great move for him. He is currently still the director of tennis at the Country Club of Columbus. For the rest of us it was a painful blow. Thankfully, I was in college and all was well until my senior year. It is a weird phenomenon that happens to tennis players during their senior seasons. This invisible pressure that it will be over soon pops up and for a lot of players they begin playing fearfully instead of flowing in the matches. Well, I had that happen. My dad, who was my college coach for three years, told me to get out of town and go see Jim. Without hesitation, I went to Columbus, GA and spent a few days with him. I don’t know if we actually discussed anything to do with tennis but my senior season was as good as the rest of my college career and it was good seeing him again. That visit was one of the last times I have seen Jim. Life has happened and I am terrible at catching up or keeping up with people. We have chatted a few times over the phone regarding players and he is still giving advice. A few years ago, I was looking at some different options, Jim called to speak to me about a player but I left with more information about me than I did about the player.

I got to play some great tennis at some great places. Jim was one of the key people who helped get me through those moments that I doubted myself. I was never as talented as a lot of the players that I trained with or competed against but to Jim that didn’t matter. He was adamant that hard work and dedication to your craft would pay dividends in the end. They did! I played four years of college tennis, the teams I was on competed in three national tournaments, I had winning records all four years, and even had the opportunity to travel to Europe after college to compete. I could ramble on but I just want to say, “Thank you Jim. You have no idea what you meant to me as a tennis coach and as a mentor.”