2004 USPTA Southern Division Hall of Fame Inductee: Jack Justice
Jack Justice, a USPTA member since 1969, served as USPTA's national president from 1990 to 1992. He owns Tennis and Trophy in Aiken, S.C.
He also has served as president and secretary of USPTA's Southern Division, was on the USTA National Junior Tennis League Committee, and is a USTA clinician and umpire.
In 1988, Jack co-authored USPTA's How to Hire a Tennis Professional, an employment assistance manual that outlines 10 important steps in the hiring process.
Jack is a graduate of Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tenn., where he received a degree in health and physical education, and coached the Austin Peay tennis team in 1970-71. He was an All-Army player and retired from the service in 1977 to pursue a full-time career as a tennis teacher.
2003 USPTA Southern Division Hall of Fame Inductee: Bill Tym
Bill Tym, Director of Tennis at Richland Country Club in Nashville, has been involved in tennis as a player, coach and administrator for over half a century and is regarded internationally as one of the most influential and respected people in the game today.
As a dominant player in the state of Tennessee and nationally, he enjoyed a distinguished career at the University of Florida, where he won an SEC Championship and was named to the Athletic Hall of Fame. In the late 1960’s he joined the professional men’s tour and won ten international titles. Since retiring from professional tennis he has remained competitive and has numerous national USTA titles and has repeatedly been ranked No. 1 in his age group by the USTA and USPTA.
While his playing accomplishments are certainly impressive, Bill might best be known for his remarkable skills as a coach and teaching professional. He has had great success in training and developing national champions and All-Americans at the junior, interscholastic and collegiate levels.
Bruce Lipka, a former touring pro and one of Bill’s students, insists he owes much of his success in life and on the court to Bill.
“After my freshman year of college I was no longer enjoying the game,” explained Bruce, Director of Tennis at Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, MD. “I was playing at Iowa State University but to me tennis was no longer fun and my game was suffering because of it. When Bill started coaching me things became much clearer, on as well as off the court.”
“He is the best teacher of the game that I have ever seen,” continued Bruce. “His teaching methods can best be described as pragmatic and unorthodox and many say that he is a visionary who was so far ahead of his time. He has an amazing way of instilling in his students his love and passion for the game.”
A member of the USPTA since 1970, Bill has worked diligently upgrading the standards for teaching professionals. One of his initial programs for the USPTA was helping to create a standardized test for those who wished to become certified teaching pros. He also co-chaired the Academy Committee and has conducted coaching workshops around the world. He has been influential in creating and developing coaching associations in Japan, Singapore and Indonesia. He later became President of the association and was one of its first members to receive the distinguished Master Professional Classification.
Soon after retiring from the professional tour due to an injury, Bill was offered the job of Head Pro at Manker Patten in Chattanooga, Tenn. After accepting Bill was put in charge of the tennis programs not only at Manker Patten, but also at the Baylor School, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and Fairyland Club.
He began intensive work with the local junior players and many of them began to make their mark, earning high junior rankings in Tennessee, the South and the nation. With support from the USTA Tennessee and USTA Southern Section offices Bill conducted seminars and workshops for players, pros, high school coaches and tennis parents throughout the Southeast. These workshops were instrumental in creating more interest throughout the state as well as improving the playing and coaching skills of those in attendance.
1979 was a very busy year for Bill as he worked as a special coach for the Baylor School and also coached the men’s and women’s teams at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The Baylor School’s team flourished under his guidance, going on to win the National Interscholastic Championships. At the same he led the UTC men to the Southern Conference title and the UTC women to the National AIAW Small College Championships.
Bill left Chattanooga in 1986 to become the Tennis Director and men’s head coach at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. At Vanderbilt he reached many school milestones, including taking the team to its first NCAA championships and developing the school’s first All-American player.
Bill is currently in his eighth year as the Tennis Director at Richland Country Club in Nashville where he conducts year round programs not only for top ranked juniors but also for adult and junior club members. When not at Richland, Bill travels across the country giving seminars to both teaching professionals and players or working with his top ranked junior players at national tournaments.
He was inducted into the Tennessee Tennis Hall of Fame in 2003 and was the first inductee into the USPTA Southern Division Hall of Fame in the same year.
Bill has served on various committees for the USTA and was recently honored with the USPTA’s Lifetime Achievement Award as a result of his more than 30 years of commitment to upgrading the standards of teaching professionals and growing the game across the country.
Bill and Wanda, his wife of 23 years, currently live in Nashville.
