20th Anniversary Spotlight: The Stingleys

Our second interview for the 20th Anniversary brings in a trifecta of unique memories from none other than Tony, Marc, and David Stingley. These three are synonymous with our organization and tennis in the Twin Cities. All highly decorated with awards and trophies, they break down the sport as they came to know it and how it became part of their professional careers. We are so lucky to have the 2014 USTA National Family of the Year still part of The Fred Wells Tennis and Education Center today!

Q: How did you get started in tennis?

Tony Stingley: I grew up in Waterloo, Iowa, and when my relatives came to visit, they brought tennis rackets. I’d play with them and liked it so I used my S&H green stamps from purchases at grocery stores to get my first wooden racket, 2 tennis balls, and a racket cover. On the side of my house was my backboard until I broke my bedroom window. I moved to the wall at school and found some friends to play with. Through college, I shifted my focus to music at Iowa Wesleyan College, but started playing again in my junior year in more organized play.

Marc Stingley: I remember going to group lessons in Cedar Rapids, IA around age 5. My parents would go to the courts and tie me to the net post... (Tony made sure to let us know he was in his walker!!) We moved to Minnesota in 1988, and I started playing more at ICT in the Winter and at SPUT in the Summer. At 15, I began playing tournaments more regularly with Tunde Abe who was super instrumental in getting kids of color playing/training with each other and traveling to tournaments. At a young age, I had a love-hate relationship. It wasn’t until I taught in high school that I started to personally enjoy it.

David Stingley: I’m sure I was dragged to one of Marc’s practices and because he was playing, I was. Around 10, I started playing at SPUT and I enjoyed it more. Fred Wells opened when I was 13, and I have been there ever since. I played at UW-Eau Claire from 2009-2013 and it was cool to play against people from all around the country while being on a team with other strong players. While I was in school, I worked at The YMCA and would come back and work at summer camps here.

Q: What are your earliest memories of FWTEC?

TS: When I started with USTA Northern about 25 years ago, Bill Roddy was the Multicultural Tennis Director for USTA Northern. I was on the committee and Bill shifted careers, so I moved into his role. He, Fred, Dan and several others had already been in the works of the organization. I came in and took over the USTA Northern role of it. I remember meeting with them and the facility being primarily for underserved youth and adults. A safe space. The Fort became the nickname as a safe haven. It was going to be a tennis facility and the baseball fields were all initially built to serve underserved populations. Fred built it there because it was accessible.

MS: I was a junior liaison on the multicultural committee in high school and would sit in on a few meetings. We saw the early concepts behind it; They were looking in North Minneapolis and maybe to partner with Honeywell. When it started being built, I was in college, and Dan reached out to me and asked if I would be interested in working there. So, I drove up and toured the grounds. It was halfway finished. I got a chance to meet Fred on a more personal level. He was very humble and did not want it to be about him. On opening day in June 2002, Fred was the last person to talk. He said, “This place is fantastic and great, but it is not a success until it is full of kids.”

The job gave me a new appreciation of what the sport can do. I was an Assistant Manager in April 2002 and I am very appreciative that I was able to witness the things to make it all work. Without Fred, Bill, Tony, the place would not be where it is at.

DS: I was around 11 when it was being built. I remember riding with my dad coming back from 98th Street. We would swing by some days and see the construction when it was just the cement walls for the dome. When it was complete and prior to the opening, it was the perfect building for hide and go seek. I started working there when I was 15 as a janitor. Me and Bridget Nelson took turns cleaning the bathrooms. When I was 16 or 17, I started teaching on court.

Q: What about a memory where you saw the mission being brought to life?

TS: We had the parent-child program. So many kids start sports because of family members. The bubbles would be full of the kids doing activities in the front and parents on the courts in the back. It alleviated any transportation issues. The parents saw the value in tennis and some of them got into leagues. Once they saw that view, it was easy for them to take the time to bring their kids out to play tennis and work with each other. Other parents would also form car pools.

Fred Wells was also home to a professional tournament for 3 years and that gave a lot of exposure to people from all over the Twin Cities to our facility and to see our mission.

When I would walk downtown, kids would yell, “HEY MR TENNIS! Mr. Stingley!” and that was so cool but also made me stop going downtown.

DS: Definitely that program. When I started working at the desk and that Saturday program was amazing. It was $2 for kids and $3 for parents and the courts were packed.

MS: Our first summer, we did not have a lot going on outside of the programs with schools. We had optional memberships, and I remember thinking this is going to be a lot. When Lilydale closed, all their league players migrated over. That migration really helped us as a non-profit to fund future programs. It gave us enough consistency to expand our staff. It’s ironic that the closing of a facility led to the growth of another, but it was huge.

Overall, we stayed committed to our mission. Hosting Special Olympics and wheelchair tennis. Our facility became synonymous with accessible tennis, not just a place for underserved youth, but a place for anyone with disabilities and for seniors. It is very rare to see representatives from different communities come to one hub. That changed my perception of what the possibilities were for us.

Tony reminded us of what should be Marc’s favorite memory! Marc and Lisa had their wedding reception in the bubble in November 2005. They bused everyone on the blue school bus from the chapel to the courts.

Tony Stingley has been with the USTA National Office since 2017 as the Senior Manager, Community Outreach. Tony and his team lead the USTA's initiatives to get young people and adults introduced to the life-long sport of tennis. Prior to USTA National, he worked at USTA Northern as the Director of Training and Outreach for 20 years. Tony holds a Professional Certification in Adult Development, 10 and Under Tennis, 11-17 Tennis, Performance and Wheelchair with the Professional Tennis Registry (PTR). He is also certified as an Elite Professional with the United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA). Additionally, Tony is a Level One Tennis Trainer for the Special Olympics and is a retired tennis official. He won the USTA Northern Official of the Year in and PTR Minnesota Coach of the Year in. Tony was inducted as a Legend of The Fort in 2017 and he and his wife, Ronda, now live in Orlando Florida enjoying the warmth and friends and relatives' visits from the North.

Marc Stingley started as the Assistant Manager of the Fort Snelling Tennis and Education Center in 2002 and became Junior Program Director from 2006 to 2011. He then came back as Tennis Director in 2012 and went on to be the Diversity and Inclusion Coordinator at PTR. He is currently the Director of Junior Play at USTA Northern. His accolades seem to never end- Junior Development Coach of the Year, Team Tennis Coordinator of the Year, and twice he was the PTR Minnesota Coach of the Year. Marc and his wife, Lisa, live in Eagan with their daughter Langston.   

David Stingley joined the team in 2006 and has embodied our mission coaching tennis players of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds during his tenure. As a top-ranked junior in the section, he went on to play at UW-Eau Claire before returning full-time in 2014 as a teaching professional after graduating. In recent years, he has spent increasing amounts of time with our TennisWorks program both in school gyms and on-site in our facility. At the beginning of this year, David was promoted to TennisWorks Program Manager to develop curriculum, training, and mentor staff and volunteers, cultivate and manage school and community partnerships, and continue to build out a comprehensive pathway of accessible tennis opportunities. He lives in St. Paul and enjoys going to concerts, fishing, traveling, and frequenting Cheapo Discs to keep authentic music stores alive!!  

We have so many fond memories from the first 20 years! As we spotlight stories, we would love to hear from you, if you have a memory to share. Email Tessa Lyons, tessa@fwtec.org, with your experiences on or off the court.