We are delighted to welcome our new Junior Program Coordinator, Michele Whitmore. Read below to get to know our latest hire as she introduces herself to our membership:
Hello to the Stowe Tennis Club Community:
I am absolutely delighted to join this community as the Junior Tennis Program Coordinator for Summer 2024. I have had the pleasure of playing on the STC courts a few times with my good friend Charlie and to now have the opportunity to spend more time here, coordinating the junior tennis program, supporting our program’s coaches, and promoting this amazing sport to our program participants, makes me smile and anxious for summer to arrive.
A little about me. For 29 years, I was a higher education administrator at the Johnson campus (Johnson State College, Northern Vermont University, and now Vermont State University). For 12 of those years, I was Head Coach of the women’s tennis team and also during that timeframe, coached four seasons of the men’s team. Coaching was not part of my plan. I never coached tennis or played competitive tennis growing up; I just loved to play recreationally and watched A LOT of tennis on tv (still do…); however, the team needed a coach and I agreed to help out the tennis program for one season…and that was all it took. Coaching was such a positive and impactful experience for me and that experience gave me an even greater love and appreciation for the sport. I played competitively through the USTA for several years in the 4.0 division, mainly playing the 1 or 2 spot in singles and the 2 or 3 spot in doubles.
With the help of the coaching staff, my goal is to create an engaging and fun tennis program for all of our participants with solid on-court instruction; opportunities to improve strategy and tactics; to appreciate the importance of good sportsmanship and to hopefully further increase the love of and respect for the game of tennis.
I am grateful to have this opportunity, to spend more time on the courts, supporting a sport I love, and getting to know the STC community.
Tennis high-five,
- Michele
