HighFIVE: Diane Brooks
H5 Episode 37 / Spring 2020 / by Katie Newell
While it’s been said there is no “I” in team, there is most definitely a “Di” in many teams thanks to our new School Tennis Specialist, Diane Brooks. Recently relocating from the beaches of Northern California where she was a USTA NorCal Tennis School Representative, to the beautiful eastern plains of Colorado, Diane’s 40 plus years of experience of growing will no doubt be a success.
“My enthusiasm for working with both kids and adults by teaching them tennis was ultimately to get them onto a team. Once they did that, they were hooked! They were able to find another side to tennis, a connection to friends and an amazing way to build self-esteem,” she said.
Tennis has been in Diane’s DNA. Her father, Norman Brooks, worked as the first Secretary for USTA NorCal in 1955 and was inducted into USTA NorCal’s Hall of Fame in 1992. He also retired after 25 years of service working with Wilson Sporting Goods as their NorCal Tennis Sales Representative.
A top junior player, Diane was sponsored through the USTA competing at 16 and 17-year-old for the Pacific Northwest, winning the Oregon and Washington State Championships, in addition to many other tennis successes.
“A big highlight for me is when we (NorCal) beat SoCal in the national championships,” she laughed about her most memorable moments on the court.
Growing up in an era where women weren’t given scholarships for tennis, Diane played at San Jose State and graduated with a degree in Kinesiology. She then went on to teach private lessons for 20 years before joining the USTA in a community development capacity.
Diane was the 2019 USTA NorCal Outstanding Community Development Volunteer. She was also nominated for the prestigious 2019 Eve Kraft Award, which is centered in the philosophy that tennis should be accessible to all community members, not just the privileged in our society.
“Tennis is a particularly great sport because you have both the individual and team aspects. Unlike traditional team sports, however, where your feedback comes from others, tennis allows one to build their own self-esteem. They learn to be responsible for themselves and ultimately build that confidence from within.”
Having this new exciting chapter in her life just seems to fit a great life story, with beautiful new surroundings and with new kids to reach in small, rural Colorado schools.
“I’ve known my whole life what I wanted to do because the USTA had made such a profound impact in my youth and throughout my career. I am thrilled to be living in a place a dreamed of, doing what I love.”
MidFirst Bank is one of the largest privately owned banks and this combination of size and private ownership provides our customers with a special brand of banking. We are a strong supporter of the communities we serve, investing time and money in important educational, charitable and civic organizations. Our volunteerism is powered by our employees from all of the communities in which we live and share with our customers. MidFirst Bank is a proud partner of USTA Colorado.
