Today we’d like to introduce you to Warrick Taylor. Them and their team share their story with us below:
Who is Warrick Taylor?
-Born7/14/1973
-2021 USTA Carlton Harris North Carolina Coach of the Year – Recipient
– Active client of NCCU Think Garden entrepreneur Center
Coach T as most call him is a longtime Chapel Hill/ Durham based tennis aficionado with strong family ties to the history of the Chapel Hill and Durham tennis community.
His tennis upbringing was one of historical folklore. Even at a young age, he realized how fortunate he was to grow up in an area that was entrenched in the black tradition of excellence. His father Warrick Taylor Sr. was the blueprint to provide a guide of how to help individuals gain confidence and life skills through the problem solving that a game like tennis presented. His father would go on to coach 2 decades of tennis kids that would go on to become college athletes.
His father made sure that he studied the greatness of the local history of Durham black tennis legends like John Lucas Jr., Bonnie Logan, Irwin Holme, and Joe Williams who are all still living. All of these Durham tennis icons were contemporaries of the Algonquin Tennis Center which would go on to produce and be a part of 2 of the best black tennis players to ever lace them up Althea Gibson and Arthur Ashe. Their legacy lives on in the EMPACT family business of tennis.
In 2015, he started EMPACT Tennis and Sport Performance LLC after spending 2008-2014 working as a Community Skills Coordinator for the Autism Society of North Carolina. It was during this time he created programs for the adaptive needs population which would serve as the backdrop for him forming the company. What separates Coach T is his passion of working with people of all abilities and levels and sharing his love of the game. From this, he realized he could fulfill his dream continuing the legacy of keeping quality tennis programming for all diverse and inclusive peoples that were interested.
Since 2015 in the Hillsborough, Chapel Hill, and Durham area EMPACT LLC runs adult and youth Parks and Rec classes, adaptive needs, after-school programs summer camps, as well as provide intern opportunities for NCCU, Duke, and UNC. EMPACT has a staff of 8 tennis coaches.
When Covid started the EMPACT staff decided to “Be the Change” by creating a Wellness Wednesday program in the Spring of 2021. They got over 100 kids to East End Park on Durham from March through June and realized that was not going to be enough.
It was July of 2021 when Coach T decided to launch a non-profit that would address this concern that we had with access.
From there with the help of countless volunteers, we were able to form the LOVE TO SERVE TENNIS FOUNDATION which is. a nonprofit organization dedicated to inclusivity in tennis, on the principle that everyone deserves access to this amazing and enriching sport. We provide community-based tennis programs for youth and adults of diverse backgrounds within the greater Research Triangle area.
“Standing on the shoulders of some amazing pioneers in the sport of tennis like Althea Gibson and Arthur Ashe, we are on a mission to expand tennis beyond the gates of country clubs and into the heart of local communities,”
LOVE TO SERVE has the following mission:
– Introduce people to a sport they can love for a lifetime
– Help them develop their skills holistically
– Connect with communities that haven’t had easy access to courts, equipment, lessons
– Build diverse and inclusive relationships through fun and active programming
– Foster a spirit of teamwork, empowerment, integrity, strength, and joy
Our activities include clinics, camps, leagues, tournaments, and fundraising. Love to Serve partners with other community organizations and schools including the Town of Chapel Hill’s Parks and Recreation, Durham and Orange County Tennis Association, ENO River Tennis Association, North Carolina Central University (NCCU), and UNC-Chapel Hill.
With financial support from individuals and businesses, LOVE TO SERVE can continue to provide local individuals the opportunity to develop their tennis skills in a healthy and safe environment that is guided by professional tennis coaches, staff, interns, and volunteers. Help us achieve one of our long-term goals: to build a complete tennis facility that will include at least six covered, lighted courts and other amenities that would be open to the public and enjoyed by the community at large.
Along with financial contributions, we are looking for enthusiastic volunteers of all ages to assist in our fundraising events and tennis-focused activities held throughout the year. Love to Serve volunteers work with youth and adults in various teaching and task-oriented jobs. Tennis experience is not required – just the belief that access to this invigorating sport and to high-quality instruction should not be limited to the privileged few.
*LOVE TO SERVE* Has been selected by UNC Law School for the 2022 Semester as a local business to to help 2 of their second year law students gain real world experiences by assisting the organization to become a 501-3c.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The road hasn’t always been smooth. Any obstacles that have slowed the process I have looked at as necessary. When you work for yourself the success and the failures all fall on me. When there is staff/ employees to support, that creates pressure. From that pressure, life lessons come along and it’s up to me as a leader and owner of the LLC and the Executive Director of Love to Serve to process those life lessons. I’m a firm believer in not losing but instead learning from every experience.
Most of the struggles were figuring out once we get 100 kids on the court exposed to tennis how are we going to keep them going after they get exposed.
Transportation, feeding them, equipment needed, offering a learning component, and just being available to them after we have exposed them to tennis.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am PTR Professional Tennis Registry Certified Coach. Specializing in working with all levels of tennis from youth to adult, adaptive needs, beginner, and professional. What sets me apart is my ability to work with all levels from a 5-year-old kid to an 85-year-old state champion. I am most proud of my family 2 daughters and one son.
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
Being the change that I want to see in the world. Continuing to honor the legacy before me of the tennis greats and keeping Althea Gibson, Arthur Ashe, and the Algonquin tennis Center fresh on people’s minds. To inspire the next generation of tennis players to make a difference in a kid’s life.
Contact Info:
- Email: taylor@empacttennis.net
- Website: http://lovetoservetennis.org/
- Instagram: @empact_sports
- Facebook: Empact Tennis
Image Credits:
Kathleen Pace
