THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, December 14, 1994 TAG: 9412130102
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 14 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY GARY EDWARDS, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 98 lines
IT HAS BEEN SAID that they also serve who only stand and wait.
Jose Benjumea and Doug Spurlock serve, but they don't stand and wait. They lob. They volley. They roam the baseline and rip cross-court winners with either hand. Mostly, though, they teach others how to do these things.
Benjumea is the head pro at the city's Owl Creek Tennis Center; Spurlock, his assistant. The two teach clinics and classes and give individual lessons. Seven hundred sixty-nine eager students from grade-schoolers to senior citizens received some sort of instruction in October alone. Tennis is known as the game for all ages.
Benjumea, 41 and a Colombian native, has played tennis since early childhood. He starred on the Old Dominion University team in the mid-'70s. He has taught tennis for 21 years.
He would like to see tennis known as the sport of all races, too.
``I went to a workshop in Hilton Head last month and they had a program on getting inner-city kids involved in tennis,'' said Benjumea. ``That's an immediate and a long-term goal for us here.''
Benjumea pointed out that Owl Creek's picturesque setting at Birdneck Road and General Booth Boulevard may be both a blessing and a curse.
``There are neighborhoods right down the road - Atlantis, Seatack - and those kids could be playing tennis here,'' said Benjumea. ``I think they may believe this is a private facility. And some of it may be perception. Tennis is still a predominantly white sport.
``Whatever it is, we're going to work to change it, to offer inner-city kids a chance to play and enjoy tennis.''
Katherine Fine and her family have offered support for what she calls the Half-Mile Program, a reference to the proximity of the neighborhoods to Owl Creek, Benjumea said.
Both Benjumea and Spurlock, 31, have spent time teaching at private clubs in the area. Benjumea worked at Cape Henry in Virginia Beach and the Tidewater Tennis Center in Norfolk. Spurlock, who played at Virginia Wesleyan College, also worked at Cape Henry.
Both teaching pros got their start with the city's Parks and Recreation Department. Benjumea began giving lessons in 1973; Spurlock taught with the city before and during his college playing days.
``There's a great variety of people who come through Owl Creek,'' Benjumea said. ``At a private club, you exclude a lot of people.''
``This summer, I met a professor from Indiana U. and a writer who was on a book tour,'' said Spurlock. ``They dropped by here to play some tennis.''
``Social pressures don't exist at a public facility, as they do at a private club,'' Benjumea added.
Benjumea has taught long enough that he has built a certain reputation and clientele.
Spurlock said his case is different.
``I'm a newer teacher. I have structured clinics and teach at the different skill levels of the players,'' he said.
Owl Creek players generally fall into the 3.0 to 5.0 range of skill. A 6.0 player would be a current college player; 7.0, a world-class touring pro.
Benjumea bemoaned what he sees as an unfortunate trend in tennis recently.
``When I was a kid, I played for the sheer intrinsic joy of the game. That's been changing. Now kids tend to focus on playing to win, to win college scholarships, for instance,'' he said. ``Many of them lose the fun of playing at an age where they could still be enjoying the game.''
The two cited a decline in club tournament participation.
``Where are the college players from recent years? The people in their 20s and early 30s?'' asked Benjumea. ``Often, we don't have enough women players to fill open draws at tournaments here.''
In spite of that and the alleged decline of interest in the sport (Sports Illustrated ran a summer cover story called ``Is Tennis Dead?''), the sport will not only survive, it will thrive, Benjumea and Spurlock said.
``Some of the thrust of the (Sports Illustrated) article was tennis as a spectator sport,'' said Benjumea. ``It's not exciting to watch on the TV, like basketball or football. The excitement comes from participating.''
Spurlock plays basketball, and contrasted the two sports.
``When I play basketball, it's with four other guys on the team,'' said Spurlock. ``You can go out and beat the other team and do all kinds of in-your-face-moves. Tennis is not an in-your-face sport. It's more subtle and there are so many levels to the game.
``From just hitting the ball back and forth to learning strategy at the higher levels.''
Despite the long hours and the premature rumors of the death of tennis, Benjumea's love of the sport remains strong.
``I think it's an honor and privilege to be out on the court teaching,'' he said. ``I'm getting paid to teach a sport I love.
``I feel I was born to teach and fortunately I'm teaching tennis.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photos by CHARLIE MEADS
Doug Spurlock, assistant pro at Owl Creek Tennis Center, instructs
Betty Ann Stroud on how to brace her racket for a backhand.
``I went to a workshop in Hilton Head last month and they had a
program on getting inner-city kids involved in tennis,'' said Jose
Benjumea, head tennis pro at Owl Creek. ``That's an immediate and a
long-term goal for us here.''
by CNB