May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. USTA Nebraska is profiling the Le family, who made a name for themselves in southeast Nebraska.
If your kids played tennis in Lincoln now and during the past decade, there’s a good chance they competed against a member of the Le family at one time or another. Kristina, Kathy, Kirby, Kyle, Kyana, Katie and Kevin all represent the Le family tennis dynasty.
“Practically the whole Le family plays or played tennis,” said Lisa Le, the mother of Kristina, Kathy and Kevin.
The others are all cousins from the same family who emigrated from Vietnam in the early 2000’s. Currently Kathy is a senior finishing out her last season on the girls’ tennis team at Lincoln East, and her cousin Kirby is a junior on the boys’ team who played number one singles last fall for the Spartans as well. The others are all in college, except for Kevin, who is in elementary school.
Spartan head tennis coach Chris Stock has coached Kathy, Kristina and Kirby and said it’s personally been a very rewarding experience for him. They all came to Lincoln East with a desire to excel on the tennis court, which they did.
“Over the course of their years they've won two state team titles, three state runner-up team titles, along with three individual state runner up across various divisions,” Stock recalled. “They are all terrific kids, and great tennis players for our program.”
Lisa said her husband played tennis as a kid and that’s how they decided to immerse their family into the sport. The kids have played other sports as well, but tennis seems to be the family favorite.
“I think they like the community and being able to meet all these new kids and families, the atmosphere of tennis also I think is something they all love,” she said. “I love how determined they are to succeed and how hard they work. As a mom, I always feel proud when I know they do their best or do something they love.”
She also likes how the sport teaches self-discipline and competitiveness, while also being part of a team.
“They’ve learned to be hard on themselves but also not to give up. The sport has also taught them what it’s like to be on a team and work well with others.”
Sign up for our Newsletter
Sign up for our Newsletter