Heritage tennis coach voted PTR Member of Year

Heritage tennis coach Donald Widener speaks
at a USTA function

Heritage girls tennis coach Donald Widener was recently honored by the Professional Tennis Registry (PTR) as the Member of the Year for the state of Virginia.

Widener, now in his third year with the Hurricanes, was presented the award at the PTR International Tennis Symposium in Orlando, Florida this past February. As noted by the organization, the award is presented to a PTR member who has shown dedication and diligence in promoting tennis and PTR.

Widener is well known in local and national tennis circles. Along with his coaching duties at Heritage, he is also the Head of Player Development for An Achievable Dream Academy in Newport News. In this position, which he has held since 2004, he oversees the development of many United States Tennis Association (USTA) and National Junior Tennis and Learning (NJTL) student athletes.

The student athlete aspect of the position is an element that is not overlooked by Widener.

 “At the end of last semester, ADA had 11 students inducted into the National Honor Society. Five of them were tennis players.” He also points out that two of the five schools in Newport News which reached their Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) goals last year were Achievable Deam schools.

 With regard to the award, Widener said he was “honored” and added, “there is a lot of talent in the state… a lot of coaches doing great things.”

 The award is well deserved as Widener’s list of accomplishments is long and impressive. He is certified in all three PTR pathways – Junior Development, Adult Development and Performance, putting him in a rarefied class of coaches. He is also the primary coach with the Hampton Roads Competitive Training Center (CTC) for USTA, working with players from the ages of 8-10.

“As a group (USTA), we are looking at the younger pool. America used to dominate tennis in the 1960’s and 70’s but has fallen off a bit. Our objective is to identify these kids and work with them from a young age. It’s what the other countries are doing. We’re trying to find the next Grand Slam champion.” As an example, he speaks of Mya Byrd, an under-10 student of his from Norfolk who is already showing flashes of potential.

Widener’s work with USTA also includes serving as a board member with the Mid-Atlantic Section and Virginia District, as well as CTA President, and Junior Team Tennis Coordinator.  At the national level, he serves on the USTA’s Diversity Team and Junior Team Tennis Committees and was a national speaker at the 2009 USTA Community Development Workshop.

Other honors include a selection as the Virginia Community Outreach Person of the Year. Also , in 2007, he was named district Volunteer of the Year for Virginia.  His tennis program was spotlighted as a national NJTL Tennis Excellence Program at the 2009 US Open in Queens, New York during Arthur Ashe Kids Day.  

His tenure as head coach (he also served as an assistant for Eddie Bunch) at Heritage has also been short, but remarkable. Part of his success stems from the fact that Achievable Dream directly feeds its K-8 students into Heritage making his a “perfect situation.” His team is almost split in half between the “Dreamers” and “Non-Dreamers.” While this year is more about rebuilding, there are already stories of college scholarship athletes, most notably the brother/sister tandem of K’wanme and Sharmaine Tonkias, who are playing college tennis at Virginia State on a full scholarship. On a particular Friday, Widener took his team to Petersburg to watch the two freshmen compete.

For the team, it was a chance to see what their tennis career could become, led by the man who can help them get there.