Which major award did Springfield-area tennis coach Sonthana Thongsithavong pick up?

Posted by Admin August 19, 2024 Tennis

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Tennis coach Sonthana Thongsithavong loves what he does, and people are starting to notice.

Thongsithavong recently received the United States Professional Tennis Association Pro of the Year award for the Midwest division. The ceremony was held at the Delta Marriott Hotel in Cincinnati, Ohio on Aug. 12 — a prelude to the prestigious Cincinnati Open which features the top world players on the summer hardcourts.

This honor, Thongsithavong said, highlights the grassroots and development of under-resourced tennis programs.

“It acknowledges the training that I have done in the area,” Thongsithavong said. “It’s not about a specific school, and it’s not just for me. It gives credibility to the area.”

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Thongsithavong’s resume continues to grow at the local and national levels. In 2019, he was named the United States Tennis Association Mid-South Illinois Coach of the Year and received the Illinois State High School Coach of the Year award in 2021. In 2023, he was presented the Outstanding Achievement in Sportsmanship award for Illinois.

Thongsithavong has been a fixture in the Springfield tennis community since his playing days at Southeast High School. The 2000 high school graduate went to Illinois State University and received his bachelor’s degree in business with a focus in sports marketing.

He returned to the area after college and had jobs in retail and with the state of Illinois. Meanwhile, he spent 14 years at Rochester High School as an assistant or head coach and is currently in his fifth season as the head man for the Chatham Glenwood boys and girls teams.

Thongsithavong founded the Central Illinois Tennis Association, a non-for-profit organization that hosts USTA-sanctioned tournaments and became the full-time Community Development Enhancement Director in August of 2023. He became a USTPA member in 2013 and had a two-year stint as the tennis manager for the park district from 2021-23.

The USTPA, established in 1927, offers extensive training and education in the tennis industry. Thongsithavong said the testing — a three- or four-month process to get certified as an elite professional — “is pretty extensive.” He elaborated that this area does not contain many professionals.

“I never look for these awards, but the older ladies that I coach and played in the 1970s notice them,” Thongsithavong said. “They let me know that it’s a good thing because we have one of the top teaching professionals in the area. The people in the area know the program that I run, and the kind of training involved.”

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Thongsithavong reiterated that he still partners with the park district even after his resignation as tennis manager. His latest adventure was running the 50th annual McDrew Tournament that featured juniors, seniors and about 200 players.

The Aug. 9 tournament didn’t finish until 1:36 a.m. and raised more than $112,000. Thongsithavong noted the earnings will go towards a full renovation of the Velasco Tennis Center in Washington Park.

“We want to make Washington Park one of the premiere facilities for college, high school and hopefully bring in some International Tennis Federation tournaments,” Thongsithavong said. “There’s a lot (of tournaments) in Chicago and St. Louis but we’re centralized. With the clubhouse and where it’s located at, (Springfield) is prime.”

Thongsithavong recently has trained some of the top area players, including Springfield High’s Noah Williams and Rochester’s Julia Musgrave. Both Williams and Musgrave were named The State Journal-Register’s Boys and Girls Tennis Players of the Year last season.

“He was my first tennis coach and he’s still in my life,” Musgrave said. “I was in sixth grade at the time, and it was a choice between volleyball and tennis, and I decided to go full-fledged tennis. He was the first coach to pick me up and taught me all the basics. Most importantly, he taught me why I love tennis and how much I love it now, all came from him.”

As for the recent awards, Musgrave said, “I think it’s very well deserved.”

“Sonthana has done so much for the tennis community and so much for all the kids,” she added. “The amount of kids he has involved in his tennis programs are absolutely amazing. He does such a good job developing everyone and half the people you see playing are from him. He deserves everything he gets.”

At 44 years old and with four children ranging from ages 12 to 16, Thongsithavong claims tennis has kept him youthful.

“Working with juniors — it keeps me young — just like a teacher in the classroom,” he said. “It’s my 19th year and I still feel like it’s my first year. My mind hasn’t slowed down, seeing the development from the players from when they were 9 and 10 (years old) and as a top player now.”

Contact Trevor Lawrence: 788-1548, trevor.lawrence@sj-r.com.