Patrick Family Shares Love of Tennis with Coaching

For Joel and Shelly Patrick of Lincoln, tennis is a way of life. Both play and coach the sport and even got married on a tennis court. 

Joel is a staff pro at Woods Tennis Center and Shelly coaches the girls’ tennis team at Norris High School in addition to teaching math. In the summer you’ll often find them playing mixed doubles as their daughter looks on from the sidelines.

“I loved sports growing up and it was a way for me to be closer to the sport,” explained Joel about how he got into coaching. “If I couldn’t become a professional player, I had to become a coach.”

Shelly also caught the coaching bug simply because she wanted to contribute more to the community. 

“I wanted to be more involved in my school community and tennis is one way that I knew how, so I started as a volunteer my first year at Norris,” Shelly added. “When their previous coach retired and they needed someone, it was just a no-brainer for me to take on that challenge.”

The couple also brings a diverse background to the Lincoln tennis community. Shelly grew up in Malaysia and moved to the United States as an eighth-grader. Joel was born in India and raised in the U.S. Both understand the importance of diversity in coaches.

“Tennis is a global sport and people around the world hold different perspectives,” Joel said. “It helps to show that there is more than one way in achieving things from culture to culture.  It helps to broaden the player's horizon.”

Shelly agrees.

“Diversity is such a wide range that I think it’s important in any aspect of life,” Shelly added. “When it comes to coaching, it’s good to have different perspectives. As an Asian playing and coaching tennis, it feels strange because I grew up in a family culture of academics taking you places, not athletics.  My parents never talked about sports much, and I feel like you don't see a lot of Asian coaches.”

It doesn’t come without challenges either. Joel said he tries to have his players focus on the journey, not just the end result of a tennis match. Shelly tries to teach the students that the game is more than just winning, and they can play for many years to come.

“It’s rewarding to help kids find an activity they can have throughout their lives,” she added.

With a combined 22 years of coaching, it’s a safe bet the Patricks will add many more years to their tennis resumes.