2007.06.13: June 13, 2007: Headlines: COS - India: Sports: Tennis: Regina Leader-Post: India RPCV Don Axtell has the tennis court covered
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2007.06.13: June 13, 2007: Headlines: COS - India: Sports: Tennis: Regina Leader-Post: India RPCV Don Axtell has the tennis court covered
India RPCV Don Axtell has the tennis court covered
Axtell then joined the Peace Corps, where he was stationed in a small town in India. It was his involvement with the Peace Corps that led to Axtell's move to Canada. The late 1960s were troubled times in the United States with the war in Vietnam. "I was mainly helping raise chicken and eggs in India,'' said Axtell, who was 21 when he entered the Peace Corps. "I wasn't ready to go back to Asia in a whole different capacity after trying to help people and being in a war situation. I decided not to go.'' Axtell arrived in Saskatchewan on Victoria Day, 1968, where he taught school in Wawota for a year before moving to Regina. "I always think about what happened on Victoria Day and that I've been here quite a while,'' Axtell said. "I think that it will work. I have never regretted coming to Canada.''
India RPCV Don Axtell has the tennis court covered
A love for tennis
Murray Mccormick, The Leader-Post
Published: Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Caption: Amateur Sport Spotlight: "Tennis gives you a lot of structure,'' said Don Axtell. "Your work is important but the physical side is also important. In tennis, there was a strong community and I met a nice group of friends." Axtell will be recognized Saturday when he is to be inducted into the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame and Museum. Photo: Troy Fleece, Leader-Post
Don Axtell has the tennis court covered.
Axtell was among Saskatchewan's top tennis players and its leading administrator for 30-plus years.
Axtell's enthusiasm for both aspects of the sport are to be recognized Saturday when he is to be inducted into the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame and Museum as an athlete.
"He's so good at both that you could talk about either one and there are Hall of Fame credentials on each side,'' said Tim McMahon, the president of Tennis Saskatchewan, who has known Axtell since 1993.
Axtell won 39 provincial indoor and outdoor tennis championships in singles, doubles and mixed doubles from 1968 through to 2001. He was also proficient outside the province, winning Western Canadian titles as well representing Canada in six international competitions.
"It's a greater honour going in as a player,'' said Dennis Ing, who shared in many of provincial doubles championships with Axtell. "It's the glory of being recognized as one of the best players in the province. After his most active days as a player he became involved more as an administrator but I think it's much more difficult to get into a hall as an athlete.
"There are a lot of good athletes in a lot of different sports. Unless you're an Olympian or well-recognized at the national level, it's really hard to get in. It's a well-deserved honour.''
Axtell's resume as an administrator covered every level of tennis from coach and instructor at the Lakeshore Tennis Club in Regina to volunteering on the boards of Tennis Saskatchewan and Tennis Canada. McMahon said that Axtell approached the administration of the sport with the same enthusiasm he showed on the court.
"There is always someone at a club who will step forward,'' McMahon said. "But Don had a way of bringing everything together. He would hit balls with a 10-year-old kid just because he's an up-and-comer. He doesn't have to do that because he has other things to do but he still does. Given all of the things that he does do, tennis would be the poorer for it if hadn't been around.''
Axtell is equally proud of his contributions on the court and in the board rooms.
"They are all different,'' he said. "There were some years I would focus on one or the other. When I first came here, I focused on my competitive career. Then I got involved in the club and the administration. When I got back into the seniors, I got back into the competitive side. That was also very enjoyable.''
Axtell was born in San Francisco. He won numerous junior tournaments before earning a tennis scholarship to Idaho State University in Pocatello, Idaho. He reached the semifinals in singles and doubles at the NCAA Division II championships in 1964.
Axtell then joined the Peace Corps, where he was stationed in a small town in India. It was his involvement with the Peace Corps that led to Axtell's move to Canada. The late 1960s were troubled times in the United States with the war in Vietnam.
"I was mainly helping raise chicken and eggs in India,'' said Axtell, who was 21 when he entered the Peace Corps. "I wasn't ready to go back to Asia in a whole different capacity after trying to help people and being in a war situation. I decided not to go.''
Axtell arrived in Saskatchewan on Victoria Day, 1968, where he taught school in Wawota for a year before moving to Regina.
"I always think about what happened on Victoria Day and that I've been here quite a while,'' Axtell said. "I think that it will work. I have never regretted coming to Canada.''
Axtell moved to Regina in 1969, where he continued his tennis career and changed how the game was played in the province.
"Don basically revolutionized tennis in Saskatchewan,'' said Ing, who shared in the majority of Axtell's doubles provincial victories. "We had some really good players but they basically played from the base line. We should have developed a net game, especially with our hard courts, but we didn't. Don brought that game to Saskatchewan and he was a decade ahead of us. He had played a much more sophisticated game of tennis. He was such a good doubles player because of that.''
Tennis has always been a part of Axtell's life. He plays a round robin when he visits his two older brothers in the United States. His son, Bob, earned a scholarship to Idaho State University nearly 30 years after Don Axtell had left.
He even met his wife, Glayne, at the Lakeshore Tennis Club. She had come to have a tennis racquet strung, where the two met for the first time. Ing orchestrated a more formal introduction and two started to play mixed doubles.
They continue to play tennis but Axtell has slowed by injured knees. He still relishes every aspect of the game.
"Tennis gives you a lot of structure,'' said Axtell, who is a vice-president with the Crown Investments Corporation. "Your work is important but the physical side is also important. In tennis, there was a strong community and I met a nice group of friends.
"If you play competitive tennis, there is a level of commitment if you are going to compete successfully. I found that more in the seniors because I had to work out harder because I don't bounce back as quickly as I did.''
The weekend festivities begin Friday with a golf tournament at Deer Valley Golf and Estates. The ceremonies begin with dinner Saturday.
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Headlines: June, 2007; Peace Corps India; Directory of India RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for India RPCVs; Sports
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Story Source: Regina Leader-Post
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - India; Sports; Tennis
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