Welcome to Season 12 Episode 32 of the ParentingAces Podcast, a proud member of the Tennis Channel Podcast Network. In this week's podcast, Lisa chats with the Athletic Director of a small college and the Director of Tennis of its neighboring public tennis facility about what it takes to resurrect a college tennis program that has been defunded and unhomed.
David Orr is a former multi-sport athlete who attended Centenary College in Lisa's hometown of Shreveport, Louisiana, on a soccer scholarship. After coaching soccer in the Shreveport community, he found his way back to Centenary as its Athletic Director.
Chris Dudley is a life-long tennis player who, along with his wife, moved to Shreveport to manage the iconic public facility, Querbes, just over 3 years ago. The facility had just undergone a major facelift when the Dudleys came to town, and they have continued to nurture it and its relationship to other entities in the area.
Today, these two are working closely to reinstate the Centenary Men's and Women's Tennis Teams after Centenary decided to move from Division I to Division III athletics. As part of that move, the existing tennis courts were razed to provide space for a football field, so David had to look outside the college for a place for the tennis players to practice and compete.
Because of its proximity to the college campus, Chris knew Querbes would be the perfect spot to host these collegiate athletes. He and David have been working hand in hand to hammer out the details, find the right coaches, and recruit athletes to the school. This is a partnership that can be replicated around the US where college tennis teams are losing their funding and facilities, and David and Chris are both happy to share their blueprint.
For more information on Centenary College, visit its website at https://www.centenary.edu/. You can find the athletics website at https://www.gocentenary.com/landing/index. David Orr is happy to field any questions from prospective student-athletes and their families and can be reached via email at dorr@centenary.edu.
For more information on Querbes Tennis Center, visit its Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/QuerbesTennisCenter. Chris Dudley is available via email at chrisdudleytennis@gmail.com.
Note from Lisa: If you find yourself in the Shreveport area, do yourself a favor and visit both of these amazing spots. I grew up going to events on the Centenary campus and playing tournaments at Querbes, so both hold a big spot in my heart!
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CREDITS
Intro & Outro Music: Morgan Stone aka STØNE
Audio & Video Editing: Lisa Stone
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