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KATHLEEN
CUMMINGS: A CHANGED FOCUS
6/22/06
by Sara James
Twenty
five years ago, Kathleen Cummings sat at #48 in the Women's Tennis
Association's World Rankings. On that same list of Top 50
Pros: Chris Evert Lloyd, Tracy Austin, Martina Navratilova, Pam
Shriver, Virginia Wade.
Today,
instead of focusing on the ball, her focus is on her son, and the kids in the pediatric intensive care unit
at CJW Medical Center.
"You
have to be somewhat selfish to be really good at tennis. To play at
a high level, you have to focus a lot on yourself," Kathleen
told me.
"I
wanted to focus on other people, especially children. I'm really
happy with that decision."
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"Whatever
happened to Kathleen Cummings?" the Times-Dispatch article
by Susan Betts asked a few years ago.
"By the
time she was 12, competitors knew to watch out for Kathleen
Cummings. Less than 100 pounds, the skinny blonde kid from
Marymount High School was more than anyone could handle on a tennis
court. By the time she was 16, Cummings had won every city and
state trophy, and was routinely invited to play in national
championships," the article read.
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Kathleen, who
learned to play tennis from her father, long-time Salisbury Country Club
pro Jack Cummings, went on to play at Wimbledon. She played in all
the majors, and got as far as the third round in the US Open. In her
biggest tennis achievement, she upset former Wimbledon champion Virginia
Wade in a three set, first round match at the Avon Championships while
still in college.
"It's hard
work," Kathleen admitted at the time. "But the more I
play, the more I enjoy it."
So, what did
happen to Kathleen Cummings?
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A
Richmond News Leader article dated May 23, 1990, said she - along
with Tom Cain - "were two of the finest tennis players this
area has produced." Cummings won two City open division
titles ('76, '77), one state championship and the Middle Atlantic
women's crown.
Her
first city title came at age 14, when she defeated Lindsay Burn
Wortham to become the youngest winner in the history of the event.
She retained her title the following year, by defeating Wortham
again with a patient baseline game.
Kathleen with her dad, Jack and mom, LeeLee>> |
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She
was a four-time college All-American with a wicked two-handed backhand who
turned pro.
These
days, she plays "hardly any" tennis.
"Neither
(Cain nor Cummings) has any interest in competing anymore on the local
level," reported Mike Harris nearly 15 years ago. In those
days, Tom Cain was playing golf. Kathleen was running
half-marathons.
"Sometimes
it is hard for the general public to understand," Cummings told
Harris. "You play at a certain level, accomplish certain
things....to go back and play in local events, small events, defeats it
all."
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Kathleen's father
Jack, has always loved tennis. In his late thirties, he gave up a
career as a salesman to become the head teaching pro at Salisbury Country
Club in Midlothian. He retired there after 25 years. "But
he didn't retire at all," said Kathleen. Jack is still a
fixture in the umpire's chair at local matches, and he 'retired' to the
head pro position at Meadowbrook Country Club.
"My dad and I
had a great relationship when he coached me. His teaching style is
very old-school. He didn't confuse you...He was the kind of parent
who would say, 'just play your game. Don't do anything fancy.
Just play your strengths'."
Kathleen was a small
player, who stayed close to the baseline and relied on sound
ground-strokes. "I was only 5'5".... I always wanted to be
taller, like 5'7" or 5'8". I wasn't even the most natural
player.
"In college, I
tried working on my doubles game to get better at my volleys and at
net. I got a little better, but not so much that I was ever really
good at it," she said.
Jack taught not only
Kathleen, but her sisters, Peggy and Mohler (Mary) and brother Jack.
All of the kids toyed a little with the sport, but it was Kathleen who
quickly showed the interest and ability to go far.
"I grew up
playing with the best players. Margie Waters, Lloyd Hatcher, Betty
Baugh Harrison were my contemporaries.
"Chris Evert
was my idol. Of course, she had that two handed backhand that was
just amazing to me and what I tried to emulate."
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Kathleen
traveled to tennis tournaments before she was even a teenager.
While playing in sectional events in Northern Virginia, she met a
friend who encouraged her to look at the University of Colorado for
after high school.
"I
really liked her, and she was high on the tennis coach there, Jeff
Moore.
"I was interested in going someplace new- to take the
opportunity to see a different part of the country. Colorado players got to play
California players; I thought
that would be a good thing.
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"I accepted a
full scholarship to the University of Colorado-Boulder....but before I
entered, my friend was killed in a car accident."
While at the
University of Colorado, Cummings played some of her best tennis
ever. "As a sophomore, I was playing on the satellite pro
tour. I was making - and turning down- more money than I would ever
make again playing tennis.
"I wanted to
continue playing in school, so I didn't accept any of the money that I
made....I loved being part of a team. I loved the team atmosphere.
Her coach, Jeff
Moore, left the University of Colorado prior to her senior year to coach
at the University of Texas. Kathleen left with him, and sat out a
full year, per collegiate rules.
"It was
good. I got to catch up in my credit hours," said Kathleen, who
always made her studies of top importance.
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By the time Kathleen
graduated with a degree in Journalism/Public Relations, she was ranked
close to 100 in the world. "I told myself that I would
give it (the pro tour) two to two and a half years, and then evaluate
where I was," said Kathleen.
"The end came
in June of 1987. I was top-seeded in an event in Fayetteville,
NC. I lost in the first round.
"I called home
and said, "I'm coming home....I said, 'That's it.' I was ranked about
130th at that point."
She said she doesn't
have any regrets. "Really, you have to continually be in the
top 50 to make any money. I did have fun - I enjoyed every minute of
it, traveling to Australia and France and to all the majors.
"But being on
the satellite tour is lonely. You have to find a practice partner,
pay for your own travel, make your own travel arrangements. When
you're in college, you have someone to hit with every day, the courts are
always right there. And, it's not your livelihood. There's no
pressure."
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Kathleen parlayed her
degree into a job working in Key Biscayne with the Lipton tennis
event before settling briefly into a career teaching first grade in
a Florida Catholic school.
"I realized that if I was going
to be single, I needed a better paying job," she
said.
She went back to school and earned a
nursing degree from UVA.
<<Kathleen with her son, Bogue |
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Kathleen, who
thought she just might be forever single, found her match online, at
Match.Com. "We clicked immediately," she said of her
husband, Steve Schmidt. "I listed tennis as one of my
interests at the time...although really now I'm just an avid runner."
Kathleen runs six to
seven miles a day. She says it's her energy release. "But
Steve says I'm more of a fanatic."
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Some
players can only dream of breaking into the Top. "If
only," is a game played by many.
Kathleen
was there once, but she doesn't feel the need to dwell on it.
Instead, she would rather talk about others. She spent a lot
of our interview chatting about her sisters and brother.
"Jack is a Broadway producer, married to an actress. Mary
is moving to Dallas soon - I'm hoping she'll like it...
"My
long hair? I'm growing it for Locks of Love. I need 10
inches before they can cut it all off to make a wig for someone who
needs it more than me."
Tennis
is definitely worth the focus. But then, so are a lot of
things, as Kathleen would tell you.
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Kathleen Cummings 2006
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