Echols Named Adult League Coordinator

About one year ago Leslie Echols decided to form the Southwest Missouri Tennis Network (SWMO), a local website providing players in the area competitive tennis opportunities. In that timespan, the SWMO Tennis Network ballooned to more than 100 members.

Recently hired as the USTA Missouri adult league coordinator, Echols is hoping to take that blueprint and apply it to her new role. Echols is looking forward to the task of growing league and tournament offerings for both men and women involved in USTA Missouri.

“I’m really excited to meet the captains and get to know players all around the district,” Echols said. “I’m a developmental psychologist, and I love that tennis is one of the best sports for long life and health. Not just physical health, but social and mental health. It’s an awesome sport. It provides physical activity and social connection.

“The USTA is a great organization. I’m just excited about getting to know people, helping them connect and providing more opportunities for people to play throughout the year.”

Echols will take some of the workload off Courtney Nesbitt, who has held the position of USTA Missouri junior and adult competition coordinator. Nesbitt and other employees within USTA Missouri tossed around Echols’ name before reaching out to gauge her interest in the position.

“My primary responsibility is to encourage captains and encourage league play,” Echols said. “Try to get more teams organized and leagues set up so people can play. That’s the No. 1 responsibility. As part of that, I create schedules for those leagues, reserve courts in various locations. Try to do the logistical stuff behind the scenes so play can run smoothly for captains and teams.”

An avid runner, Echols discovered her enjoyment of tennis later than the average player. She picked up the sport just four years ago and began her involvement with USTA soon after. She participates in both leagues and tournaments. Echols noted she especially loves competing in USTA Missouri Valley tournaments, and she plans to form tourneys both local and out-of-area players can jump in on.

“I’ve always been active, but I’m not a particularly well-coordinated person — I’ve never felt like I’m good at sports,” Echols said. “Tennis is really the first sport I have actually excelled at. I continue to get better. It’s something I can see myself continuing to improve in. The other side is really I just love people. I love to organize things.”

You can reach Echols at lemotennis@gmail.com

Echols exhibited that trait with the SWMO Tennis Network, as she set up tennis ladders and league options for intermediate 3.0 and 3.5 players in particular. Echols — who resides in Springfield — called it fulfilling and rewarding to create competitive play possibilities for individuals in that area. She’s looking forward to carrying over that skillset to her new position.

“It seemed right up my alley,” Echols said. “I love providing opportunities for people to get out and play tennis. Especially people looking for opportunities to compete. It’s just a different level of play, and it helps improve your game when you’re under pressure. I know a lot of people are looking for that opportunity.

Echols works full-time as a professor at Missouri State University and in the field in schools. Her areas of expertise include adolescent-peer relationships and evolutionary psychology. Echols obtained a master’s degree from City University of New York (2004) and a Ph.D. from UCLA (2013) after completing her undergraduate degree at BYU in 2000. She has earned multiple grants and awards, while her work has been published in scholarly journals.

“I do intervention work to try to promote friendship in school,” Echols said. “As our schools are becoming more diverse, you have to look at intergroup relations and cross-race friendships. How are people navigating this? I do a lot of work with bullying and victimization because that’s a social problem for a lot of adolescents.”