Member Spotlight: Lou Armstrong
Elly Leary
“Because of tennis, I have met people I never would have been exposed to otherwise, including two very good friends of mine. It even allowed me to start a second career when I retired from corporate America.”
Lou Armstrong with Akasha Urhobo.
Meet Lou Armstrong
If you live in South Florida, there is a very good chance you know Lou Armstrong, this month’s member spotlight. Lou has done it all. She knows every aspect of tennis, so following her journey and tapping into her wisdom from years around the game are gifts for us all.
When I meet someone new, I always wonder how they came to tennis. I posed this question to Lou. Lou first played tennis in PE class in high school. As she told me, “The first time I picked up a racquet, I had never seen tennis played before. I didn’t know the name of the game or how it was played. I just picked it up, and another classmate and I just started hitting balls across the net from each other.” Lou was a natural because the PE teacher immediately recruited her to the high school team while asking her the name of her coach. Being on the team meant Lou also had access to lessons. While working in corporate America, Lou played tennis off and on, then played regularly, and joined a league. But after leaving the corporate world, she went all in. In that short amount of time she has been a player, team captain, teacher/coach, volunteer, tournament player, and league coordinator, and official–and now a member of NWTO BofD. I asked Lou to summarize what she learned from being in each of these positions. I’ll let her speak for herself:
Elly Leary and Lou at Feb Grandes Dames
As a team captain: “Even though it can be very frustrating, what keeps me going is you never stop learning.”
As an official: “It can be lonely at the top. Being a team captain teaches you life skills—how to manage and compromise. I would stress the satisfaction of seeing a group of people come together to meld as a fun, friendly unit working together for a common goal. Having the satisfaction of knowing your work contributed to this in the end makes all the headaches worthwhile.”
As a teaching pro: “The part I loved the most was getting and keeping beginners, both juniors and adults interested in the game. Seeing someone's skill level progress is a high. I do it now as a volunteer mostly with league players and/or teams as I love it when you see the shine in their eyes as they master a new skill or strategy. One of things I am most concerned about is how to get some of the younger players I have coached and mentored to be able to carve both time and finances to participate in leagues and tournaments. On the other hand, there is the joy and excitement of seeing a junior player stick with it and make it.”
As a tournament player: “You get to test your skills against the best. You learn about yourself as a person: your mental strengths, physical endurance, and how you react to stress. Like everyone else, I am trying to figure out how to get more social league players to see the benefit of tournament play. Unless we figure that out, we will continue to see erosion.
As a league coordinator: “There are highs and lows. The high is working with the different tennis directors in the county helping to increase league teams and players in the area. The low is when what you're trying to do is constricted by the system you need to work in.”
As an official: “It is awesome! Not only do you get paid to watch tennis all day, you get the opportunity to see the next generation of juniors start their journey and get to see them sometimes again as they age up.”
Time and time again, when we sit around and reflect, all of us marvel at the impact tennis has had on our lives. Lou is no exception. She expresses it so well, “As the old cliché says, It is the sport of a lifetime.” It became a hobby that I have been able to continue from my teens to my current age. I have met people throughout this time I would never have been exposed to otherwise. I have two good friends I met only because of tennis, and I was able to start a second career when I retired from corporate America. I didn’t become an official or a certified pro until my 50’s.”
As an interviewer, you get permission to be a Nosy Guss. I asked Lou if there were other dimensions to her life that she would like to share. It turns out, Lou builds dollhouses and all the contents–furniture and decor.! Naturally, I asked how that came about. While Lou was still working she happened by a hobby shop. "I thought this would be great fun, I found out quickly it was a lot of work and not something I had the skills or time to pursue, you actually had to build a house. Twenty years ago after leaving the workforce, I needed a hobby and tried it again; it became a challenge to learn how to do it, and then it became addicting."
In addition to all of the above roles, Lou is a valued member and volunteer of the Board of Directors of NWTO. Her many talents and experience have been shared with the Marketing, Membership, and Philanthropy Teams. In 2022, Lou is actively involved in making Intersectionals continue as one of our most successful events.