Carvie Erwin Continues Impacting Tennis After 50 Years

February is Black History Month and this month we recognize Carvie Erwin of Omaha for his achievements in the local tennis community.

Close to 50 years ago, Carvie Erwin first picked up a tennis racquet when a colleague asked him to play after work one day. Initially he was hesitant, since he was a baseball player, but gave it a try anyway. Since then, he has not looked back.

“I was hooked on it,” he said, and not long afterwards he started playing in local leagues, and later on captaining.

Originally from Tyler, Texas, Erwin was a pitcher who played in baseball leagues that were more or less negro leagues, he said. After moving to Omaha, he worked, attended the University of Nebraska-Omaha and became a teacher. He and his wife Pauline have two boys, Marcus and Stacy.

He started captaining tennis leagues in 1975, and estimates over the years has captained more than 60 teams. When he played, his rating varied from a 3.5 to a 4.0 to a 4.5. However, after having rotator cuff surgery, his game was never the same again. Around 20 years ago, he made the decision to not play local USTA leagues, but still captain.

“I can’t play anymore, so I get my fix by putting teams together and competing,” he said.

Just last year one of his teams made it to Nationals and he spent almost two weeks in Surprise, Arizona. He vividly remembers all the National USTA tournaments he’s been a part of including traveling to his first one 23 years ago in Dallas, Texas. Others have been in Alabama, Florida, Arizona and Nevada among others.

“I’ve had the opportunity to travel with Carvie to numerous sectionals and even one national USTA event,” said Mark Smith, one of his teammates. “He's a great travel companion and dedicated to the teams he captains.”

Erwin’s career hasn’t been without controversy. Around 20 years ago, he captained two teams at the same level, which is against USTA rules. As a result, he was sanctioned by the USTA, and couldn’t captain a team for two years.

“I am not ashamed of anything I have done,” he said, when asked about it, and believes his contribution to the sport outweighs anything else. “I’ve really been successful at developing good teams, and my desire is to do it as long as I can.”