The UNM Men’s Tennis Team has truly been in Summer mode, we have student-athletes competing all around the globe and one even worked at Wimbledon these two weeks. This is the perfect time to be able to roll back the years, and start our monthly alumni article where we highlight past Lobos who left a lasting mark on the program and catch our Lobo fans up on where they are now! We are a multicultural team with ties that extend all over the U.S. and the world. We felt it was only fitting to start off the Alumni profiles with the all-time singles win leader here at New Mexico. Johnny Parkes played at New Mexico from 2005-2009 and bowed out of his Lobo career with an NCAA singles appearance and a Spring senior season record of 22-2. Below Johnny answers some questions about UNM and gives great insight on the program and what it means to him… Enjoy.
1) What does UNM Tennis mean to you?
UNM is an institution that turns boys into men. Playing for the Lobos allowed me to excel both on and off court. I played for Alan (Dils), Loren (Dils) and Bart (Scott) and they helped guide me and nurture me along the path of making better decisions and playing for a greater cause than yourself. On our team we played for each other, with purpose and for a common goal and that meant a lot. It helped prepare me for the next stage of life after UNM and prepared me to deal with challenges that come everyone’s way in life.
2) What is your current position in the tennis world, and how has your experience as a student-athlete, and a coach at UNM prepares you for your current work?
Currently I’m the National Manager of Player ID and Development for USTA Player Development. The coaches gave us the freedom to discover our roles on the team. I felt natural as a leader and took that responsibility on my shoulders proactively. This helped me in my current role where leadership is a big part of my day in day out work. I have also coached some of the top pros in Britain and it helped in that environment too. Leadership is a skill not to take for granted, the experiences I was put in as a student-athlete directly correlate to the way I deal with stimulus today. Embracing all the organic life skills the environment created such as time management, community service, responsibility and creativity helped develop me as a person.
3) What is your greatest memory at UNM?
It would be easy to say the Mountain West title in 2009. Winning a conference championship against TCU in Albuquerque in front of the great supportive community, our college friends and families that all flew in was special. But, it was the motivation and the struggle to get there that I remember the most, the challenge Alan, Loren and Eduardo Prevencio (former volunteer assistant) laid out for us the evening we lost the conference final to TCU in 2008 in Fort Worth. After that season we were all disappointed, not because we lost, but because we all wanted to win so badly for Loren in his last season as part of the coaching staff. Loren had just been diagnosed that Spring semester with ALS and we were told about two weeks before the conference tournament in Fort Worth. All of a sudden, any selfish reason we had for playing for the Lobos disappeared and although that night we were licking our wounds after taking a loss, in my mind we had already started preparing for the next season, the success in 2009 tasted that much sweeter because of all the adversity we had overcome.
4) Talk a little about your achievements as a UNM student-athlete and how that prepared you for life out in the big world?
As a student-athlete the team and I achieved many things, I think some I’m most proud of are the two conference rings we earned in 2008 and 2009. Those are something that I will always have. The academic achievements are something I am massively proud of as well. When I came in my first year I really didn’t prioritize my academics, but Alan and Loren made me see the light, and it ultimately led to the inspiration to be a lifelong learner. This academic background at UNM has helped me become a successful business owner on three different occasions. I was very proud of being awarded the UNM “Tow Diehm” Inspiration Award. I was humbled by the recognition of the responsibility to be a leader of our team at that time. I spent a lot of time bringing the team together and spending time forming life-long friendships, and it paid off.
5) Who would you like to thank the most for your experiences at UNM? What does the brotherhood of men’s tennis mean to you?
I must thank Loren for calling me in 2004 to offer me a scholarship. I remember getting off the phone at high school thinking that he really cared about me, which was odd at the time, but completely normal now as he is a people person, always challenging us to be better, getting in my face when I needed it, but ultimately you knew win or lose he cared about you as a person.
Alan for keeping me grounded and he really encouraged me to explore all areas of being a student-athlete. He allowed me to step up and challenged me to be better than I thought I was capable of being. An example, the MW final in 2009, it was myself and Miles Bugby left on court, we were 3-2 down and I was a set and a break down struggling with conditions, he came over to my court tapped me on my shoulder and very calmly said “C’mon Johnny, we need this, you got this”. Suddenly, the clouds dispersed and there was nothing but clarity, he has a skill for this no matter what situation we were in, he challenged us to be our best self, and for that I thank him.
Bart taught me what it meant to go above and beyond for others. He came in as assistant coach my final year and spent a lot of time with me on court helping me get to the level I did my senior year. He opened doors I didn’t know I could open, and challenged me to think outside the box with the strategy piece of tennis.
Eduardo was with me from start to finish on my court every match, he taught me perseverance, patience and the importance of routines and habits in leading to performance.
My teammates for buying into the shared vision and goals, without that we wouldn’t have won anything. We had some amazing times as teammates, but we also had some tough times too, coming through those tough times allowed us to appreciate the good.
6) You are the #1 singles win leader at UNM, talk about that record and what it means to you?
Honestly, it really doesn’t mean a lot. It’s an external result of the intrinsic motivation I had for the team, I was happy to play my role all four years in whatever way I could help the team. I came off court from winning my first round at NCAA’s my last year and Bart said congrats for breaking the record, I had no idea I had. Divan Coetzee is one or two wins behind I think, but he achieved that in three years as a Lobo. Had he had four years he would have smashed that out of the park.
7) If you have one piece of advice for current UNM tennis players, what would it be?
Be lifelong learners and strive for greatness and don’t settle for mediocrity. The minute you find yourself making decisions for yourself before the team, you are hurting the team. Spend time developing meaningful relationships with your teammates and coaches, they are your friends for life and they will always be there. Enjoy every minute of your time as a Lobo, you are lucky to be part of a great legacy and a great program. It goes quick – so think about leaving the team in a better place when you finish than when you arrived on campus. Think through your choices you make and make sure they affect the team positively. It’s easy to get carried away in the moment, but being able to think clearly in those moments is what will set you apart from other teams. Set goals that start with the team first and yourself second, and put it on your wall next to your bed so it’s the first thing you read when you wake and last thing before bed. Finally, be a leader and as a leader help create other leaders, allow your teammates to grow. I guess that’s more than one piece of advice but I love it! GO LOBOS! Men’s tennis alumni .. .still got it? Make sure you save the date, as Coach Ben Dunbar has announced that January 12 at 5 p.m. will be our annual alumni match. Make sure you come on out, bring a racket and join your tennis alumni for a great evening of tennis and festivities. For more information, contact Coach Dunbar at bdunbar@unm.edu.