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Tyler Laursen 2012 TOC Leader
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Tyler Laursen, President of the Tennis Club at Sacramento State has been named the "2012 Tennis On Campus Section Leader".
Tyler began as a member of the Sacramento State Tennis Club in February of 2009. In 2011, he took on the responsibility of Treasurer when the current Treasurer had to depart.
In addition to keeping the club active that first semester, Tyler reached out for the first time to the greater tennis community in Sacramento by starting a series of recreational tournaments at Sac State. Tyler solicited donations from local businesses for awards at these tournaments. He also advertised by word of mouth to players throughout Sacramento and Yolo counties. The result of his initial outreach to the community was that students at Sac State, and residents of Sacramento became aware of the Tennis Club and helped him to kick off the first, "Tennis for Change" Tournament at Sacramento State. The proceeds from this tournament went to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
By increasing club awareness among the sutdents, Tyler has helped the club grow, a goal that many of the alumni have shared since the Tennis Club’s inception. The Club began incredibly small with just 14 original members. It has grown to jnearly 70 active and over 100 total members today. That growth has brought in new and veteran tennis players.
Seeing another avenue to grow the club and spread the sport, Tyler also started a series of weekly "clinics" for new and novice players. While not formal instructional clinics, these clinics were structured around giving new players a chance to hit the ball more through drills and games. This has, in turn, sparked interest among players to not only play more, but also ignited a drive in some to join the competitive traveling teams.
Tyler’s direct influence, impetus and leadership has really improved the traveling teams. With the help of Club veterans, he has pushed the traveling teams to be a better extension and representation of the Club than in years past. The Club has moved from a place of mediocrity, to 4th place behind UC Berkeley (Cal), Stanford University and UC Davis at the USTA Tennis On Campus Sectional Championships.
Tyler has also been a very active participant in the NorCal Tennis On Campus section’s monthly conference calls. He is extremely interested in helping improve the functioning of the section series events. One recent example is the "Tournament Standards" that he recently drafted. These standards serve as a guidebook on how to run a tournament and are helpful to both first time and seasoned tournament organizers. Tyler saw great inconsistency in how tournaments were being run during Fall 2011, and envisioned these standards as a way to ensure that at least the basics - new balls, drinking water and score cards - are provided at every tournament. The standards were reviewed by all of the other campus leaders and were approved without hesitation. They are an invaluable addition to our section.
Tyler is recently engaged and will be graduating soon. Congratulations Tyler on a job well done!