Erick Chall fell in love with tennis before he ever played the sport. When he did try tennis as a 15-year old, he couldn't think of any reason to ever stop!

   For the last 19 years, Erick has played, taught, coached and developed programs in Tallahassee and in Pinellas County.
   Since May 2008, Erick has been Clearwater's Community Tennis Programmer where he is responsible for designing and implementing tennis for the Henry L. McMullen Tennis Complex and the city's satellite courts.
   "I played football 10 years before I even hit a tennis ball," said Erick, 34. "But, I was loving it before I ever played it. I went from not playing at all to spending 5-6 hours every day of the week on the courts. In high school, I worked at Capogna'ss Dugout and then would be at the Bayfront Courts until 2 or 3 in the morning."
   As a Clearwater High School sophomore, Erick made the JV squad, followed by varsity his last two years. He was team captain his senior year and played No. 1. Some of his fondest memories include advancing to the high school district finals.
   "I watched tennis obsessively, and went out to play for hours," said Erick. "But when I went to Florida State, I decided to try to walk on the football team since I had 10 years of playing, and mostly at strong safety. Unfortunately, I blew out my back, came back to Clearwater for surgery and knew that contact sports were finished for me."
   When Erick went back to FSU, he tried out - and made - the tennis team, but learned he was ineligible to play because he had earned too many credits while rehabbing from his surgery.
   When the door to competing in tennis began to close, Erick hastened to transition to teaching, and from 1999-2003 was an assistant teaching pro at Killearn Country Club in Tallahassee where he grew a program from less than 20 to more than 100.
   "I love helping people, and think I'm pretty good with people," said Erick. "I believe people's lives can change through tennis and I want to be a part of that happening. I want to make a difference."
   After graduation in 2003, Erick came back to Pinellas County and taught at Seminole Lake Racquet Club for a little over a year before heading out on his own in St. Petersburg. Erick was in the midst of a year-long effort to develop a program with 60-plus kids at Walter Fuller and Northwest city parks when he went to McMullen to be the facility's junior director.
   One of Erick's special role models, he says, is Tony Dungy. Erick admires the former NFL coach and Super Bowl champion coach and his philosophy of "walking the talk." Soft actions with powerful words, working hard and believing are guidelines Erick hopes to emulate from Dungy and tries to incorporate these values in his day-to-day life, on and off the court.
   "One of my all-time goals is to use McMullen to help others," said Erick. "Some of the things we're doing now include involvement with the Boys and Girls Club through hosting Frenchy's Gumbo Tennis Classic and offering a free lesson to anyone who signs up to be a big brother or sister. In the near future, I want to be involved with the veterans and include the juniors with All Children's Hospital. I want them to visit the children at the hospital and in between visits either email or text each other. I think this could be a great teaching tool."
   Among those helping Erick achieve his goals are Adam Talley, Mike Monosky, Ashley Eville and Melissa Lang.        
   Another initiative Erick and his staff have coordinated is the Clearwater Flex Ladder Championships for men, women and juniors. Now into its third session, Erick has been pleased with the strong response and believes the ladder has succeeded in motivating players to compete.
   For Erick, that can mean just one thing - more players are loving the game!
Erick teaching Chase Seiler, 13
   When asked what Erick would be doing if he were not involved in tennis, he emphatically said he would be somewhere in sports. After switching his major at FSU several times, when he landed in sports management, he knew he was home!