RTA NEW BOARD MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: Terry Perrone
Terry Perrone’s dad first introduced her to the game of tennis when she was five years old. She never focused on tennis much when she was younger because her older brother was very competitive and she was just sporadically playing for fun. Instead, Terry got involved with other sports including dance and tennis became less of a focus for her.
Terry didn’t pick up a racquet for well over 25 years. When Dan Johnson, Head Tennis Pro at The Greenway Club at Falls River, invited her to hit with him, Terry told him that ship had sailed! She felt she was too old and out of shape. But Dan was persistent and so she went out to hit some balls with him and her friend, Liz. She fell in love with tennis all over again! She couldn’t remember why she had stopped playing. Fast forward 6 years later and Terry is signing up for leagues, tournaments, and playing pick up matches with friends every chance she gets.
Since getting involved in league tennis, Terry has captained several teams in various seasons (Combo, Tri-Level, Winter League, and Mixed). She also captained two teams that qualified for States. The first team she captained to States was made up of her friends that got her into league tennis after she returned to playing. Their 40+ 5.5 Combo team won States in 2018 and went on to play at Sectionals in Mobile, Alabama. Wow, congrats!
The biggest reward Terry has received from tennis is the gift of health. In conjunction with the exercise that she gets from tennis and a recently adopted a healthier diet, Terry has dropped 60+ pounds (and counting)! Way to go, Terry!
Additionally, tennis has become Terry’s social outlet. She has made many friends on the court and on stressful days (like all of 2020!) tennis has become her therapy. For someone like Terry that is trying to improve her health, tennis is also her exercise.
“I especially love playing doubles since you have to work together with your partner to strategize and see what works. When I am on the court, I forget about everything else for the time that I am there and I just play.”
Terry’s favorite quote, that applies to her tennis game as well as so many other aspects of her life is something her dad made her repeat often when she encountered setbacks in life growing up:
"Perseverance plus determination equals accomplishment."
When she’s not on the tennis court, Terry is the Assistant General Manager at The Greenway Club at Falls River. She has organized and managed the summer league swim team for the club for the past 8 years. She also volunteers as a USA Swimming Official for club swimming in Raleigh and the surrounding areas.
Terry was first introduced to the RTA when she was participating in a Doubles with Coach clinic out of Millbrook Tennis Center. Coach Mike had a special guest on one of the days that she attended, an RTA staff member, who taught the clinic participants how to play fireball and gave everyone some cool swag for participating.
Since then, having captained several teams, Terry has interacted on a regular basis with the RTA leadership that runs the local leagues. She often had questions and Local League Coordinators Lynn Goldberg and Tracy Debnam were always at the ready to answer them.
This fall, when she saw that there was a board position available, Terry decided to apply.
“My dad always encouraged me to get involved in the communities that most closely touch my life or the lives of my family. Since tennis has given me so much, I decided I wanted to give back what I could to Raleigh tennis.”
Terry is excited about her future as an RTA board member.
“I look forward to becoming a more involved part of the Raleigh Tennis Community. I know great things are ahead and I am just happy to be a small part of it.”
We are too, Terry! Welcome to the team!
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