Junior tennis coach Lisa Bowen wins national recognition

Watkinsville resident Lisa Bowen remembers getting interested in tennis when she was about 9 or 10, primarily because her mother was an avid player.

Now Bowen spends many of her waking hours helping young people develop their tennis skills, and recently received a national award for efforts in Oconee, Clarke, Barrow, Morgan, Madison and Jackson counties.

Bowen, the junior tennis coordinator for the Clarke Oconee Tennis Association (COTA), was recognized by the United States Tennis Association - the sport's national governing body, with some 700,000 members - as the 2009 Janet Louer USTA Junior Tennis National Organizer of the Year.

Bowen, who took over COTA's junior tennis program in summer 2008, was honored in late January during the USTA's annual Community Tennis Development Workshop in San Diego.

"The tremendous and swift growth of the COTA Junior League program is directly attributable to Lisa Bowen's dedication and commitment to tennis and her community," said Kurt Kamperman, chief executive of Community Tennis USTA in a news release. "We applaud her efforts and proudly recognize her with this honor."

"I remember I got a call on my cell phone from somebody in Minnesota," said Bowen, the mother of three boys. "I was actually speechless. I had won the state's USTA award, but this was very surprising. I didn't quite understand why I was winning a national award when all my work was local. But I am very thankful and appreciative."

As she learned more about the award's namesake, Bowen became even more appreciative. The late Janet Louer played a pivotal role in the development of junior tennis, serving as administrator for USTA Junior Team Tennis in Georgia and building the state championships into the largest youth team state tennis tournament in the nation.

"When I got the call from Minnesota, I called my husband and told him I won a national award, and I didn't even know who Janet was. When I got home, I looked her up and then realized how special an award this was. And the fact that she did her work in Georgia was also very special. She created the programs we use now. It's even more meaningful to me, knowing Janet was from Georgia."

The Louer award goes to "an individual who positively influences children's lives and substantially impacts their community."

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