FIRST SERVE RACQUET - Key Persons
Tennis has occupied such a major part of Caroline's life she can't even remember when she first picked up a racquet...
Job Titles:
- Coach
- Teaching Professional
Teaching Professional Tennis found Jim in his grandmother's attic where he found a wooden Dunlop at just 8 years old...
Tennis found Jim in his grandmother's attic where he found a wooden Dunlop at just 8 years old. His dad gave him some tennis balls, so he began hitting against the house. Without a coach, Jim spent his time reading about tennis and learning the fundamentals. By the time he was in middle school, Jim was competitive on his middle school team.
Over the next few years, Jim worked with passion through high school and even qualified for the Orange Bowl, one of the most important and prestigious junior tournaments in the world.
"I lost in the first round, but I had a great experience. I was competing alongside guys like John McEnroe."
His tireless dedication to the sport put him through four years of college tennis at the University of St. Thomas in Houston. He also served six years in the Air Force Reserves and worked in epidemiology, studying diseases and other factors relating to health.
Jim has been a coach for the last eight years and has lost none of the joy he originally experienced at his grandmother's house.
"I like socializing and meeting different people. I get so much satisfaction out of sharing the skills I have acquired from others. Tennis is an ongoing learning experience, especially with the way the game is changed today. I like mixing old school with new; they can be integrated. I'm also motivated to learn and teach life skills. Tennis makes you think and reason. You have to discern what makes sense and what doesn't. Tennis is about decision-making which is applicable to life."
Jim is certified with the United States Racquet Stringing Association and has been PTR certified. He is also a member of the United States High School Tennis Coaches Association.
He enjoys all types of performing arts as well as outdoor activities like camping and hiking.
Communication and Community Outreach With nearly 25 years in media and public relations, Robin brings a wealth of knowledge, expertise, and business acumen to this partnership...
Robin does not have the tennis chops her colleagues at Serve First possess. Instead, it is her communication background that makes her a good fit to promote relationships and racquet sports in Winston-Salem.
Robin is an avid recreational player with a 4.5 NTRP. She is also Safe Play certified.
Tiffany is a Winston-Salem native and began her love of tennis at age 9 when the famed Coach David Lash picked her out of a crowded auditorium at the Winston Lake YMCA to participate in a tennis demonstration.
Coach Lash was an advocate of bringing athletes of color into tennis, and the time he invested in Tiffany changed her life.
"I remember it was an after-school program, and he sat there and waited for my mom to get off work and pick me up. He asked her if she would let me try tennis at 6:30 in the morning at Wake Forest Indoor on a Saturday. The rest is history."
Tiffany went on to play at East Forsyth High School where she lettered in both tennis and basketball. She was the top seed for the duration of her high school career, dropping only one conference match in singles and making the All-Conference team each season. She was conference player of the year from 1993-1996 and was voted MVP each of those years. During her senior year she finished third in the 4A Metro State tournament and was inducted into the EFHS Hall of Fame in 2015.
Tiffany also won the American Tennis Association Girls 18s National Title in 1996 and qualified for USTA Zonals in 1995 and 1996. She took home the 1995 title in the North Carolina State Closed Doubles championships and finished third in the North Carolina Closed Singles in 1996. Her 1997 ranking topped at number 8 in North Carolina and number 30 in the Southern region.
Howard University in Washington, D.C. awarded Tiffany an athletic scholarship, where she played within the top 3 in both singles and doubles for each of her four years. In 1998 she won her conference's Freshman of the Year award and is a two-time Division I ITA scholar-athlete.
In 2001, Tiffany received her bachelor's degree and completed the physician assistant program, also at Howard. When she is not busy with Serve First Racquet Sports, you can find Tiffany working at Novant Health as a PA in cardiology. She also serves on the board of the Kimberley Park Tennis Association and has been an assistant coach in Winston-Salem at Tennis for Life for the last 10 years.
"Tennis opened a lot of doors for me, and I'm hoping to give that back to others. I want to give back to the community which gave so much to me and to my family. We are really excited about this partnership and engaging the people of Winston-Salem."
Tiffany and her husband Mike live in Winston-Salem and have two daughters, Kyndall and Mikalya.
Tiffany is certified through the Professional Tennis Registry (PTR). She is also Safe Play and CPR certified and serves on the board of Winston-Salem Professional Tennis, the governing body responsible for the Winston-Salem Open.