Bill and Nancy
Flynn Family
By Terry Nielsen
In 1997, the SD
Tennis Achievement Award was started by the SD Tennis Hall of
Fame committee partly to honor families that made a significant
difference in tennis in their community. The Bill and Nancy
Flynn family of Brookings fits perfectly into this category for
2022 recognition.
In Brookings,
once the Johnsons, Holwerdas and Hatch families moved on, it was
the Flynn family to the rescue, ensuring the rich tennis legacy
of Brookings would continue to this day.
The entire
family, starting with Bill and Nancy, along with children Kayla,
Susan, Will (BJ) and Mike have all played a part in keeping
tennis alive in Brookings, each in their own way.
Today, Bill
carries the biggest torch as president for many years of the
Brookings Tennis Association, and tournament director for the
past 12 years of the Brookings Open (along with running men’s
leagues).
Growing up in
Minnesota, Bill learned the game on the courts of Redwood Falls,
the same concrete courts they used for roller skating and skate
boarding! He said from then on, it was lots of recreational
tennis until his mid 30’s. “Sandy Lindersmith got me playing
in Brookings,” said Bill, “and Sherwood Hatch sold me my first
real racquet to get me started again.”“
“I could tell
that Sherwood had a firm belief that good players come from
families that actually play the sport. To that end, my kids
played high school tennis, bringing their various skills to the
game.”
“When the USTA
required the Brookings tournament to be online, daughter Kayla
took over helping me run it the last 15 years or so,” said
Bill. No surprise, Nancy works in the background at the sites,
cleaning and making the grounds look nice.
Bill considers
himself a “net crasher” and has had lots of fun and success
playing the SD circuit of tournaments.
Bill is a
graduate of St John’s University in MN and retired after a
37-year career as an engineer with 3M in Brookings. Nancy is a
Bemidji State (MN) graduate.
Kayla (40) lives
in Minneapolis and works for Target Corp, just recently, but for
many years worked for Lifetime, running the desk and scheduling
UTR tournaments.
Susan (37) lives
in north Minneapolis (Andover) and is an ICU nurse, as well as a
tri-athlete and mother of daughters Collin (8) and Allison (5).
Will (BJ) is 34
and spent several years in Florida where he started teaching and
coaching tennis professionally. Now he teaches tennis for
Lifetime in Minneapolis, as well as refinishes hardwood floors
for older homes.
Mike (29) lives
in Whitefish, Montana, works in property management, but loves
his spare time biking, hiking, hunting and skiing all over the
mountains of west Glacier.
For many years,
with something special donated by Volin’s Raquet in Sioux Falls,
the Brookings tournament has held raffles for tennis equipment.
The Brookings Tennis Association would match the proceeds and
donate it to the betterment of the SD Tennis Hall of Fame, which
used it for Love Serving Tennis grants.
Billl and Nancy
love to travel and Bill has played tennis in Ireland, Nambia nd
now Florida, where they enjoy the winters. To no surprise, this
year Bill even started a junior tournament at their housing
development in Florida!
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