Colorado Tennis HOF inductee Lovato passes away

The following story was originally printed in the Winter 2008 issue of Colorado Tennis newspaper. Words by Katie Newell

Celebrating the True Heroes of Tennis

If you’re lucky enough to have the opportunity to sit down with Kelly Lovato, you quickly realize two things. First, there’s an undeniable aura about him (and not just because he’s sporting a t-shirt with the faces of Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., Jesus, and the Dalai Lama that reads “MAKE PEACE NOW.”) 

There’s passion in his eyes, warmth in his smile, gentleness in his spirit, and a confidence in his demeanor that makes you sit still and listen to what he’s got to say. You immediately understand that you are in the presence of one of the legends of Colorado, one who’s been able to change laws and lives, hearts and minds, paths and potential. Second, you’re going to realize that you aren’t going to have to track people down to talk about Kelly, because they are going to be calling you. 

And although everyone is going to have a slightly different experience, the bottom line feeling is going to be the same, “Kelly Lovato changed my life.”

Growing Up

To understand a man who has been able to affect so many hundreds of individuals both on and off the tennis court, you have to go back to the beginning. 

Esequiel “Kelly” Lovato was born in 1943 in Rocky Ford, Colorado just yards away from alfalfa fields. When he was a toddler, his father returned from World War II distressed from his traumatic war experiences. Kelly was the middle of three surviving boys (they had lost three others) and they worked on the farms in the Arkansas Valley, picking all kinds of crops. At 10, his family moved to the farms of North Denver where he’d start working before sunrise, sometimes picking crops for 12 hours. He was an intelligent boy extremely open to the opportunities of the classroom (“When I was in school, I wasn’t on my hands and knees, bunching radishes,” Kelly says smiling); he possessed a love of learning that would open many doors for him.

His intelligence helped him excel in school, earning him an academic scholarship at Denver University. He started out in engineering, but found himself uneasy in that career path, feeling isolated and lonely. 

His discovery of the arts, sciences, and theatre awakened him to a whole new world, and the creative side of his brain bubbled with excitement. He began to devour books, and pulled in knowledge from everything he could find. 

He was first introduced to tennis by Jack Rose at DU and learned “how to hit the ball.” 

But something even bigger was happening to Kelly at that point in his life. He was developing class-consciousness, a first hand awareness of poverty and wealth in the world around him. And then, a question asked to him by a professor that changed his life: “How would you organize and foment a revolution in the US?”

An Activist is Born

It was the mid-1960s, a time of change in America, and 20-something Kelly was developing into a community activist. His father, a member of the G.I. Forum – a group dedicated to fighting for the right for Latin soldiers to be buried alongside their white comrades – instilled in Kelly an understanding of the type of teamwork needed to tackle the issues of their community – better healthcare and improved recreational services. So Kelly embarked on a series of community causes, keeping the end result foremost in his mind.

“You can’t care who gets the credit,” he said, “as long as you get done what you set out to do.” 

He also knew how vital a strong recreation center was for young and old alike in the community. La Alma (in central Denver) was a gathering place where energy could be expended in a positive manner. The huge crowds at the center reinforced Kelly’s belief that community recreation should be accessible and affordable for everyone. To say it was being heavily utilized was an understatement – “If one person had the flu," said Kelly, "the whole community had the flu!” 

It was there, on the tattered tennis courts of La Alma, that Kelly Lovato started to weave his magic into the hearts and minds of dozens of inner city kids. Kelly swept up glass and got the courts acceptable by petitioning for a playable surface. Then he started going to work, which included becoming an expert in tennis. He approached learning the sport like he approached school, getting his hands on anything he could to learn the technical aspects of tennis – watching the professionals, studying the game until he could become a teacher himself. 

“I learned a forehand and then I taught the forehand. Then I learned a backhand, and taught the backhand,” Kelly jokes. 

Life Lessons

In 1974, United Bank and the National Junior Tennis League got behind tennis in Denver. Dozens of city kids caught Kelly’s tennis fever and they started banging the ball around, getting good at the sport quickly. Shortly after Gates Tennis Center opened in 1975, Kelly took 40 kids to their first citywide tournament. 

“We took 12 out of 14 first place trophies,” Kelly recalls. “A lot can get done when you put your mind to it.” 

Kelly wasn’t just teaching the kids how to play tennis. He was taking them to places like Meadow Creek Racquet Club, and to area country clubs to show them that life could be different for them if they had a good plan for their lives. He showed the inner city kids that there was a big world waiting for them, if they were willing to work for it. He showed them by example that hard work, drive, perseverance and respect for oneself would open up new doors. 

When you take a human being and introduce them to something new, you begin to change them internally, the activity in their brain changes on a neurological level. You have introduced them to themselves, as they have never known themselves before.”

One of those kids was Carlos Martinez, an avid baseball player prior to meeting Kelly in 1980. He caught Kelly’s passion for tennis and played No. 1 at West High School for three years, even though he was new to the sport. 

“Kelly helps you believe in yourself,” Carlos explains. 

Crediting Kelly for the commitment he has to “work one-on-one with a person”, he says Kelly was as much a life mentor as he was a tennis coach. 

“I learned I could be good. I had a great plan for my life. He taught me that if you work hard enough anything is possible.” 

Kelly also taught him to stay away from drugs and alcohol and other trappings of the inner city. Carlos explains that Kelly helped him learn that the key to success was getting out of the cycle, and that you have to take personal responsibility to get yourself out of the system. 

“He taught me to treat my body well, and have respect for myself.” 

Carlos is now a District Manager for KFC and gets to ‘pay it forward’, teaching others that they can achieve their biggest dreams if they put their minds to it. 

“Kelly teaches you that it doesn’t matter where you start, or where you came from, it’s where you end up.” 

Down the road, Carlos would like to retire at 50 and follow in Kelly’s footsteps. 

“You can’t help but love Kelly, he honestly cares about people and you can tell when people fake it. He’s the real deal.” 

Playing No. 2 singles behind Carlos at West was Guy Garcia, who is now the Director of Upper School Athletics for Colorado Academy. 

“Growing up in west Denver, all we were accustomed to was what we saw growing up. Kelly showed us through the world of tennis that there was so much out there.” 

He said they would play matches at Cherry Hills and Denver Tennis Club and that Kelly had a very low tolerance for his kids acting up, encouraging them to have first-class behavior and make good choices. 

“Kelly taught us that tennis is a game of honesty. If you are a cheater on the court, that’s a reflection on your character and that’s how people will think of you,” Guy said, also adding that tennis with Kelly was a safe place to be in contrast to the dangerous inner city Denver environment most of the kids had to live in. “I just can’t say enough about the impact that Kelly had on my life. He taught me about having good character in a world where it was easy to have bad character.”

Because Kelly knew first hand how being exposed to new experiences changed him, he was eager to spread this reality to others. 

“When you take a human being and introduce them to something new, you begin to change them internally, the activity in their brain changes on a neurological level. You have introduced them to themselves, as they have never known themselves before,” Kelly said.

Kelly Lovato has devoted his life to opening doors for inner city kids, but laments the sharp decline in the amount and type of resources available to help them. 

“We need to keep kids on the courts, not in the courts!”

The Possibilities Are Endless

Nik Sorovic agrees. The 30-year pro from Yugoslavia met Kelly through USTA Colorado, and worked at La Alma.

 “I think we need to get more local pros involved in community services, getting the community engaged, growing the game from the ground up.”

Nik explains that you don’t have to measure everything by money. He said especially with junior tennis, the pay-off is seeing the kids grow in the game, grow as people, and that in itself makes you feel good. He said the kids have been the driving force behind Kelly’s mission in life. 

“Kelly is really passionate about helping the kids.” 

Another tennis pro making a difference is Frank Adams, Head Professional at Northridge in Highlands Ranch. Frank moved to Colorado from California, and was going to each of the local tennis facilities where he kept hearing the same message: you need to meet Kelly Lovato.

“Kelly has been a father figure for a whole community,” Frank explains. 

When asked how Kelly has been able to break through to so many people Frank believes that, “It’s Kelly’s combination of passion and toughness, and that he’s genuine and not rehearsed. You meet him and there is a sense of reverence, he’s like the patriarch of a family. You just sort of absorb the experience of meeting and being around him.”

Tobias Ortegon was just 14 when Kelly taught him to play tennis – a switch from baseball. 

“I got hooked on tennis. It was more individual, more challenging,” says Tobias. He ended up playing for North High School, and then No. 1 for Metro State. Eventually, he got his USPTA certification and followed in Kelly’s footsteps. Tobias is the City of Denver Tennis Coordinator, a position where he can affect hundreds of kids each summer.

“Kelly gave me so many opportunities, gave me a career. I grew as a person, got out of the inner city.” 

And although Tobias described his childhood situation as “lower to middle class” he said that meeting Kelly opened up his mind to all that was out there in the world. He said it meant so much to him that he had to do the same thing Kelly had done. 

“I love impacting the kids, motivating them, opening up their worlds.” 

Kelly’s not the kind to talk about his accomplishments, or his honors, which have been many. He won the USTA Colorado Arthur Ashe award in 1982 (the first year it was offered), and sits on the Aurora Human Rights Council. 

Although retired, Kelly isn't far away from tennis, especially since his grandson, James Martinez, is a rising star in the local tennis scene (James won the 2008 4A high school doubles championship at Kent Denver). Kelly has raised him since his father passed away, and his influence on the young Martinez is clearly showing. 

"He taught me how to crash the net, be aggressive and bend my knees," says James. He's quick to thank Kelly for the tennis lessons, and even quicker to thank him for being his father he couldn't have after his dad passed away.

“Living with him, I’ve come to find over the years that I’m lucky to have even known him, to benefit from his vast amount of wisdom and knowledge he’s offered generously to all those who seek it,” James says. 

And perhaps James has figured out how Kelly has been able to inspire so much change in so many people. 

“He ignites that spark for people, he truly believes in you and makes you realize, ‘if this guy believes in me, with all he’s seen, all he’s done and experienced, I probably have no reason to doubt myself!’”