HighFIVE: George Tavarez

A long-time volunteer in his community, George Tavarez is a jack of all tennis trades

You might say that George Tavarez is a tennis renaissance man. He is a player, a coach, a mentor, an involved community member and works in court resurfacing! Although tennis did not become part of George’s life until his early 30s, his commitment since then has been unwavering.

A native of Lodi, California, George first became interested in tennis in when he was living in Los Angeles. “I saw our neighbors playing tennis, and I went and bought all the gear. I started by volunteering with a local pro, Robert Delgado, who was helping kids.” Through working with Robert, George developed a strong game and an even stronger passion for the sport in general. 

In 1989, George moved to Colorado and quickly became involved with the tennis community. Besides being an active league and tournament 4.0 player, George started coaching and, over the years, has been a teaching pro at Game-Set-Match, Pinery Country Club, Evergreen Tennis Club, Gates Tennis Center, CAC Inverness, CAC Monaco and, currently, Denver Tennis Park where he has been the past five years. George says, “I have always enjoyed watching my students learn and grow in their tennis journeys”. 

While coaching has been a primary part of George’s own tennis journey, he did realize after about 10 years, that his “body was getting beat up” with being on the court so much, so he scaled back the amount of teaching he was doing. Still wanting to be involved with tennis as much as possible, George dipped in to his previous life as a mechanic and took a job with Renner Sport Surfaces, where he built their paint plant. He then went to Coatings, Inc, where he was in charge of their tennis division, and currently works at Altitude Athletic Surfaces.

Even though George was working in court resurfacing, teaching and actively playing competitively, he found time to volunteer in the tennis community. “I have always wanted to pay it forward and tennis has allowed me that opportunity”, says George. George played in the Colorado Youth Tennis Foundation’s (CYTF) Punk Relic Charity Event with his students. He was a committee member for Racquets for All, sat on the diversity committee for the US Professional Tennis Association, volunteered with the Special Olympics, was a coach with Star Search and volunteered with the Net Results after school program where he would help middle school kids with their homework and then teach them tennis. George’s commitment was quickly recognized, and he was asked to join the board of USTA Colorado which was followed by him joining the board of the CYTF. 

“Being on the CYTF board and being a part of Star Search, which is now SERVES, has been the most meaningful parts of tennis for me,” says George. “Meeting these kids when they are 6, 7, 8 years old and watching them grow as tennis players and become amazing adults is rewarding.” A particularly meaningful journey for George has been with Kacey Walisundara. “I started teaching Kacey when he was an 8-year-old with the Star Search program. We then worked together at the Denver Tennis Park and now we sit together on the CYTF board. It makes me feel old and really warms my heart at the same time,” says George. 

Fritz Garger, USTA Colorado & Colorado Youth Tennis Foundation Executive Director, says “George is one of the most caring individuals I know. He's passionate about the sport and an incredible ambassador. George promotes the game and all its virtues to all people but has a real interest in helping youth. His expertise in so many varied aspects of our sport is truly amazing and remarkable!” 

George has been recognized for his accomplishments twice at the USTA Colorado Hall of Fame Gala – first in 2007 with the Judy Riser Knudsen Award given to the Volunteer of the Year and again in 2017 with the Arthur Ashe Award given for contributions to under-resourced populations. George has another tie to the USTA Colorado Hall of Fame Gala as he is the donor of the fly rod that has been part of the live auction for the past 10 years. George says “One of my passions is wood working and building fly rods. I built one for Stan Smith for a charity event in Boulder and then thought I’d do one for the CYTF auction. I also built a Les Paul guitar that was signed by John McEnroe and auctioned off for $8,000 for a charity event at the Denver Tennis Park.” Maybe George is a renaissance man beyond tennis!

“I have never been the greatest player, but tennis has always been there for me. Even when life gets a little rough, tennis brings me enjoyment,” George says. George has certainly paid forward that joy to countless tennis players throughout Colorado.

MidFirst Bank is one of the largest privately owned banks and this combination of size and private ownership provides our customers with a special brand of banking. We are a strong supporter of the communities we serve, investing time and money in important educational, charitable and civic organizations. Our volunteerism is powered by our employees from all of the communities in which we live and share with our customers. MidFirst Bank is a proud partner of USTA Colorado.