Springfield: a model of tennis excellence.

Don Creek owns Creek Collision Repair, an auto body shop in Springfield, Missouri. He is a civic leader and currently serves as chairman of the Springfield Park Board. But beneath the demeanor of successful business owner and good citizen, Don Creek is a nut... a tennis nut

"Tennis nut" may not be a highly admired trait everywhere, but there aren't many places like Springfield.

This is a town where private citizens have given hundreds of thousands of dollars and several acres of land to the city parks department for a new indoor/outdoor tennis facility. This is where residents vote to have their sales tax revenue funnelled through the parks department to their tennis facilities. And this is the place where tennis pros who charge up to $50 per hour for lessons at private clubs ask only $20 for hour-long lessons at public parks.

Tennis Is the Now King

"Softball had always kind of been the king here in Springfield," says Park Board director Dan Kinney. "Now tennis is right up there. We had a public interest, and that's what it took to get it up there," he adds.

Sixty years ago, Springfield had two neighborhood tennis courts. Today, this cozy midwestern city of about 150,000 has 68 outdoor courts and six indoor courts spread among 21 public parks. Another 10 courts, including a 2,500-seat stadium court, are weeks away from completion.

Participation in the parks system's tennis programs - everything from Tiny Tots tennis to wheelchair tennis to senior league tennis - has increased almost 67% in the past five years. in fact, in 1994 all of the programs ran at full capacity with waiting fists.

"It's like a boom is getting ready to ignite," says recreation supervisor Jodie Adams, who adds, "We're about two or three years ahead of schedule."

Springfield and the Springfield Park Board have become models for parks and recreation departments nationwide, so much so that the United States Tennis Association (USTA) honored the park board with the inaugural USTA Excellence in Tennis Programming Award. The award, which stems from USTA volunteer and NRPA trustee Bill Clothier's desire "to bring the two organizations closer together," was presented last fall at the National Congress of the NRPA.

"We've been a well-kept secret over the past 10 to 15 years," Adams says, adding, "Now its beginning to come out I go to workshops and conferences all the time, and people come up to me and ask, `How have you done this?' `What do we need to do?"' She says, "That's probably one reason I'm involved in USTA community development training. I live it everyday."

Tip Top Offerings

Springfield's offering of USTA programs such as USTA Adult Tennis Leagues and USTA Junior Team Tennis were obvious factors in the Park Board's accolade. But just as important were non-USTA programs. The Springfield Parks Board offers weekly wheelchair tennis lessons and a weekly tennis program for the mentally disabled. The Park Board has a remarkable working relationship with the Springfield Tennis Association, and the public tennis facilities are premium quality.

"A harmonious blend of programs, facility construction, public and private support, and an aggressive publicity campaign make Springfield a national inspiration," wrote USTA board member Judy Levering in her letter notifying the Springfield Park Board of its honor. And, in addition, it is important to mention the $12,500 USTA Men's Pro Tennis Classic the Parks Board has brought to Springfield for the past eight years, the National Public Parks Tennis Championships the city has put on three times in 12 years, and the Missouri State High School Tennis Championships that complete a two-year run in Springfield this year.

Adams definitely has played a key role in Springfield's success. "Of course, she won't take credit for it," Creek says. "But someone had to have the vision," he adds.

Adams is a longtime USTA volunteer and serves on quite a few of the organization's committees, including the USTA Schools Program Committee, which she chairs. In addition, she is past president of the Missouri Valley Tennis Association, one of the 17 geographic subdivisions of the USTA.

Organization and Facilities

"We've always had great organizational abilities," says Bill Hobbs, assistant director of the Springfield Park Board. "We've just never had the facilities. Now we have the facilities," he notes. The city of Springfield has issued a little more than $9 million in revenue bonds for parks projects, including the 10 additional tennis courts and an 18-hole golf course. The total 1995 operational budget for the Parks Board is $6 million. Of that, about $500,000 will go to tennis activities and operations.

Hobbs notes that is not a particularly large budget. But it doesn't have to be. Springfield citizens are strong supporters of all parks and recreation activities, and they are as much the reason for the city building a sound tennis program and facilities as Adams' leadership is.

Additionally, the generosity of a few individuals has added to Springfield's tennis excellence. For example, the $2.2 million Cooper Indoor/Outdoor Tennis Complex at Cooper Park is named for Springfield philanthropist Harry Cooper. He gave the city $500,000 to build the six indoor and six outdoor courts. As proprietor of Harry Cooper Supply Company, he also has donated material and supplies for all the facilities at Cooper Park, which includes the tennis courts, soccer fields, and youth baseball fields. Cooper Park sits on land, donated by Cooper, valued at roughly $750,000.

Hobbs suggests that the tennis complex might still be just a dream if not for Cooper. "I doubt we'd be where we are at all," he says, adding the Park Board probably would have had to fund the first phase of the tennis complex through either a general obligation bond or a tax.

Before the Cooper Indoor/Outdoor Tennis Complex opened in December 1993, however, Springfield already had Gillenwaters Park and Tennis Complex. Gillenwaters (the result of an 8.5-acre land donation by Springfield resident O.T. Gillenwaters) is a 12-court lighted outdoor facility. Are these facilities good? Suffice it to say that in 1984, the USTA honored Gillenwaters with its Tennis Facility Award, which recognizes outstanding facilities and encourages excellence in construction and renovations.

The Cooper Indoor/Outdoor Tennis Complex should be a favorite for the 1995 award.

Joining the Team

The Springfield Tennis Association, founded in the 1950s, has "worked hand in hand with the parks system for 15 years," Adams says. "Really, its the true story of a community tennis association," she notes.

According to USTA figures, there are about 1,550 community tennis associations, or CTAs, throughout the country. These groups are an integral part of the early development of tennis players, typically providing them with the resources they need to excel.

Peters, the Springfield Tennis Association's treasurer, can't estimate how much the organization has contributed to tennis in the community over the years.

"I couldn't even begin...We work together as a team (with the Park Board). To give a particular amount would not be fair," she says, adding that the key is that "we didn't try to compete with each other. I think that's the problem with some cities. They (city government and community organizations) try to outdo each other."

While recognizing what a remarkable accomplishment they have achieved with their public parks tennis operations, people on the park board don't see their achievements as anything that can't be duplicated in any other city. In fact, Adams says, "If you do start with a community tennis association and start educating the community about the sport of tennis and what it offers, you can do this in any city. Barriers can be broken, whether it be barriers of city government or demographics."

Grant Opportunities

Along the way, the Springfield Park Board took advantage of the grant opportunities available through the USTA and its infrastructure. The Missouri Valley Tennis Association, one of the 17 geographic sections that comprise the USTA, has given Springfield seed grants to start USTA programs. Heart of America, one of the 72 districts within the 17 USTA sections, has given seed grants.

"The system was meant to provide grants at all levels", Adams says, "and it has done that."

The USTA awarded roughly 400 grants just for recreation al tennis programs in 1994. Many of those grants went to tennis entities, from the community tennis associations similar to the Springfield Tennis Association all the way up to the 1 geographic sections.

But several grants also were awarded to parks and recreation departments throughout the country: * The Philadelphia Parks and Recreation Department received a $500 grant and tennis rackets to start a wheelchair tennis program. * The Medford (Oregon) Parks and Recreation Department received a $750 grant to initiate a seniors tennis program. * The Bloomfield (Connecticut) Parks and Recreation Department applied for a Community Tennis Association grant and received 30 tennis racquets (a $187.50 value) to start a Pee Wee tennis program for five-and six-year-olds. * The Sparks (Nevada) Parks and Recreation Department received a $700 grant to begin a USTA Play Tennis America program.

Everyone is eligible for USTA grants, though not everyone receives one. The sectional staff and, perhaps most importantly, the USTA volunteer committee determine who gets the grants. USTA staff then is available for training workshops if necessary.

Springfield Reaches Higher

With as much as the citizens of Springfield and the Springfield Park Board have done, everyone continues to strive for ore. World TeamTennis, a revolutionary style of professional league tennis founded by Billie Jean King, will come to Springfield this summer. And the planning efforts are underway to bring a pro women's tournament like the USTA Men's Pro Tennis Classic to the city.

"There's this saying: It's either green and growing, or ripe d getting rotten," Creek says. "We haven't ripened yet" But, clearly, anyone who has enjoyed the Springfield tennis facilities would agree that the city and its parks and recreation department have a green thumb.