Play Monitor Spotlight: Margaret Roderick

Margaret Roderick started playing tennis as a kid when her mom took her to the local park and said why don't you learn to play tennis. Margaret was always active in sports, but growing up there was no organized tennis for girls in high school, so she played with the boys. 

Luckily, sports have come a long way since then and she continued to play tennis socially and eventually got involved in USTA Adult Leagues after she graduated college and decided to stay in the Bay Area many years ago. She has participated in Adult 18 & Over, Adult 40 & Over, Adult 55 & Over, Mixed 55 & Over, and Combo leagues. She is also still actively playing today.

In addition to leagues, she is getting involved in USTA NorCal tennis in another way as a volunteer in the new Play Monitor program, where volunteers help develop the overall youth player and assist with scoring, line-calls, and other support during events.

“The program sounded interesting to be able to get young kids involved in tennis and enjoy the sport,” Margaret said. “I enjoy tennis and have played on and off since I was a kid, so I thought it would be a way to instill that excitement about the sport.”

Margaret is a lifelong sports enthusiast, so one of the driving factors for her volunteering was to not only help inspire that love of sports in kids, but also help them understand the values in the game.

“Sportsmanship is a big part of playing tennis and you have to be fair because it’s based on how you call lines and play the sport as an individual,” she noted. “Hopefully we can encourage the fairness of the sport and reinforce that through the new program.”

Some of the duties Margaret helped with as a Play Monitor included, making sure the game moved on during changeovers, helping the kids with scoring, especially when serving, how to resolve the score and think back on points, understand whether a ball is in or out and explaining how you call it, and reminding parents not to coach to name a few.

“There aren’t always officials when you play, so it’s up to each person to play honestly. So as Play Monitors, we can help kids learn the basics, and most importantly, not to win at all costs but to play fairly,” Margaret added.

And not only did Margaert help kids learn the fundamentals of the game and share her love of the sport, but it was also a fun experience for her.

“I really had fun watching these kids play tennis and seeing the level they were at,” she shared. “It was entertaining to see their thinking process of where they should be hitting the shot, and it was amazing to watch them learn and develop their skills.”

And for others interested in volunteering as a Play Monitor, Margaret couldn’t recommend it more. “If you enjoy tennis and watching the sport, you'll have a lot of fun watching the kids play.”

In the meantime, Margaret is excited to get back out there again as a Play Monitor volunteer and has already signed up for another event to get back into the action.