Nearly two decades of giving back to the community doesn’t go unnoticed. Lynn Mariotti, USTA Florida’s Volunteer of the Month for October from Collier County, has been doing just that, helping make tennis better for Adult League players.
Lynn first started tennis when she was about 10 years old, where she was introduced to the sport while on vacation with her family. Since then, she fell in love will all aspects of tennis and began volunteering 19 years ago in Indiana, where she was a co-captain of her 2.5 team. That small taste of helping with tennis drove Lynn to pursue volunteering in the years to come.
When Lynn came to Florida, she got involved with the Adult League space and never looked back. She has been at the helm of numerous teams and has led some of them to Sectional Championships.
Lynn has led a handful of Adult League teams to Sectional Championships.
It was a proud moment for Lynn when she helped her Mixed 40 & Over 7.0 team win sectionals and represent Florida at Nationals. “Our team was different from the others with matching outfits or the ones who had limitless private lessons,” she said. “Our team had the drive, support, and trust in each other to get to the finals and win it all.”
Lynn loves to help her teams grow, especially the players that are just starting tennis for the first time in their life. “She demonstrates a commendable commitment to assisting with the beginner adult programs and has readily volunteered for various other events where additional support was required,” one of her peers said.
It’s not easy to dedicate nearly 20 years of your life to grassroots tennis, but Lynn has learned so many life lessons that she carries with her in her day-to-day. “I have gained so much more in my life because I became involved in tennis, better overall health, entertainment, sportsmanship, and friendships,” she said.
Lynn has learned some valuable life lessons through tennis.
With the boom in tennis players over the last few years, the sport has heavily leaned on volunteers to make things run smoothly, and Lynn has been a great asset. “When you recognize that something mainly relies on volunteers to make things happen, how can you not like to volunteer to do something that makes you so happy,” Lynn added.
As USTA Florida’s October Volunteer of the Month, the organization thanks Lynn for helping new players fall in love with the game and helping organize tennis for everyone to enjoy.
Interested in volunteering in tennis? Visit www.USTAFlorida.com/Volunteers to learn more about available opportunities.