McCall-Waters Changing Lives Through Tennis
10/30/2020 8:55:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Tina McCall-Waters earned three First Team All-Big Ten honors and two All-America honors on the women's tennis team at Indiana from 1978-81. Her accomplishments athletically are impressive, but this week she is being honored by the I Association as the Leanne Grotke Award winner for service and giving back to her community.
McCall-Waters describes herself as a tomboy and grew up in the streets of Eatonville, Florida, a black town with a population of about 2,000.
Tina was playing in the streets with her three brothers and one sister, when Denton Pop Johnson approached the group. He said he wanted them to race and the winner he would buy a soda. Tina, wearing a baseball cap, won the race and the rest is history.
Mr. Johnson had an interest in tennis and mentoring young players. McCall-Waters was his first student in Eatonville. Tina learned on courts that were a slab of concrete that used to be a skating rink. The nets were made of chicken wire.
Mr. Johnson organized a junior tennis team and took the youngsters to various tournaments. His team brought the first Blacks to the Florida tennis circuit.
Mr. Johnson had asked each of his junior students to give back to the community in any way possible. His legacy still lives on through The Denton Johnson Tennis Corporation founded in 2001 by Tina McCall-Waters.
"In 2002 I started teaching youth the game of tennis, I wanted to give back to this community what I'd received, an opportunity to learn the game of tennis free," McCall-Waters said. "I learned the game for free from Mr. Denton Johnson, then traveled the U.S. playing tennis, meeting people from all walks of life and receiving a business degree and scholarship from Indiana University."
McCall-Waters became the first African-American from Central Florida to earn state and national recognition. When Indiana Coach Lin Loring recruited Tina in 1978, she became the first African-American female to receive an athletic scholarship to Indiana University where she graduated from the Kelley School of Business.
Tina was a transfer and had three years of eligibility. She played top 3 on three consecutive Big Ten Championships teams, was first team All-Big Ten all three years, played in three NCAA Championships and was a first team All-American her junior and senior year.
In addition to teaching the game of tennis at the Denton Johnson Tennis Corporation McCall-Waters does much more. She provides access to computers, mentors and tutors for kids. She mentors kids that come from difficult family situations.
When Tina was first setting up the organization she encouraged her daughter to get involved. Her daughter didn't want to play at first, but Tina encouraged her to bring some friends and that it would be fun.
On the first day her daughter showed up with a group of 42 kids. They had two courts and 42 kids.
Many of those kids went on to high school and college. Several, including her daughter, earned scholarships to play tennis in college.
McCall-Waters told a story of a kid that had never been on a bus and how special it was to him to travel to his first tournament. McCall-Waters said she sees herself in these kids she works with.
"I want to give them all the opportunities I received," McCall-Waters said. "My giving has blossomed and I love to see them playing and having good sportsmanship."
Her former coach at IU Lin Loring expressed his thoughts on what McCall-Waters has done for her community.
"Tina has made a career out of giving back to her community," Loring said. "I couldn't be prouder of her. She has touched many, many young lives. Tina has been a wonderful ambassador for Indiana University."
In 2011 McCall-Waters received the Dr. Martin Luther King Community Service Award from
Kappa Alpha Psi.
In September 2012 she was awarded the United State Tennis Association Florida Volunteer of the Month. The USTA writes, "Grassroots junior tennis for all ethnicities and socio-economic groups has long had a strong base in the Orlando area. This is in no small part due to teaching pros like Tina McCall Waters, who continually strive to expand the reach of the "Sport of a Lifetime" to area schools and kids' clubs."
In June of 2018, Tina received a Proclamation from the Town of Eatonville for the work she was doing with mentally and physically impaired students at the Magnolia School in Orlando. Also in 2018, she received a Joint Resolution of Appreciation from The World Conference of Mayors and Historic Black Towns and Settlements Alliance and a Resolution from the City of Tuskegee, thanking her for her contributions in bringing together historically all-Black communities through tennis and encouraging and enabling future generations of athletes.
Since 2016 she has been a coach for Special Olympics (Bowling, Basketball and Track) and in 2018 she was inducted into the Edgewater High School Hall of Fame. In 2020 she will be inducted into American Tennis Association Black Tennis Hall of Fame.
She currently teaches mentally and physically impaired students at the Magnolia School in Orlando. She is also teaching tennis at seven sites in Central Florida, touching 150 kids weekly.
It is clear that Tina McCall-Waters has made a significant impact on the lives of many people and that her mentor Mr. Denton Pop Johnson would be proud.
McCall-Waters describes herself as a tomboy and grew up in the streets of Eatonville, Florida, a black town with a population of about 2,000.
Tina was playing in the streets with her three brothers and one sister, when Denton Pop Johnson approached the group. He said he wanted them to race and the winner he would buy a soda. Tina, wearing a baseball cap, won the race and the rest is history.
Mr. Johnson had an interest in tennis and mentoring young players. McCall-Waters was his first student in Eatonville. Tina learned on courts that were a slab of concrete that used to be a skating rink. The nets were made of chicken wire.
Mr. Johnson organized a junior tennis team and took the youngsters to various tournaments. His team brought the first Blacks to the Florida tennis circuit.
Mr. Johnson had asked each of his junior students to give back to the community in any way possible. His legacy still lives on through The Denton Johnson Tennis Corporation founded in 2001 by Tina McCall-Waters.
"In 2002 I started teaching youth the game of tennis, I wanted to give back to this community what I'd received, an opportunity to learn the game of tennis free," McCall-Waters said. "I learned the game for free from Mr. Denton Johnson, then traveled the U.S. playing tennis, meeting people from all walks of life and receiving a business degree and scholarship from Indiana University."
McCall-Waters became the first African-American from Central Florida to earn state and national recognition. When Indiana Coach Lin Loring recruited Tina in 1978, she became the first African-American female to receive an athletic scholarship to Indiana University where she graduated from the Kelley School of Business.
Tina was a transfer and had three years of eligibility. She played top 3 on three consecutive Big Ten Championships teams, was first team All-Big Ten all three years, played in three NCAA Championships and was a first team All-American her junior and senior year.
In addition to teaching the game of tennis at the Denton Johnson Tennis Corporation McCall-Waters does much more. She provides access to computers, mentors and tutors for kids. She mentors kids that come from difficult family situations.
When Tina was first setting up the organization she encouraged her daughter to get involved. Her daughter didn't want to play at first, but Tina encouraged her to bring some friends and that it would be fun.
On the first day her daughter showed up with a group of 42 kids. They had two courts and 42 kids.
Many of those kids went on to high school and college. Several, including her daughter, earned scholarships to play tennis in college.
McCall-Waters told a story of a kid that had never been on a bus and how special it was to him to travel to his first tournament. McCall-Waters said she sees herself in these kids she works with.
"I want to give them all the opportunities I received," McCall-Waters said. "My giving has blossomed and I love to see them playing and having good sportsmanship."
Her former coach at IU Lin Loring expressed his thoughts on what McCall-Waters has done for her community.
"Tina has made a career out of giving back to her community," Loring said. "I couldn't be prouder of her. She has touched many, many young lives. Tina has been a wonderful ambassador for Indiana University."
In 2011 McCall-Waters received the Dr. Martin Luther King Community Service Award from
Kappa Alpha Psi.
In September 2012 she was awarded the United State Tennis Association Florida Volunteer of the Month. The USTA writes, "Grassroots junior tennis for all ethnicities and socio-economic groups has long had a strong base in the Orlando area. This is in no small part due to teaching pros like Tina McCall Waters, who continually strive to expand the reach of the "Sport of a Lifetime" to area schools and kids' clubs."
In June of 2018, Tina received a Proclamation from the Town of Eatonville for the work she was doing with mentally and physically impaired students at the Magnolia School in Orlando. Also in 2018, she received a Joint Resolution of Appreciation from The World Conference of Mayors and Historic Black Towns and Settlements Alliance and a Resolution from the City of Tuskegee, thanking her for her contributions in bringing together historically all-Black communities through tennis and encouraging and enabling future generations of athletes.
Since 2016 she has been a coach for Special Olympics (Bowling, Basketball and Track) and in 2018 she was inducted into the Edgewater High School Hall of Fame. In 2020 she will be inducted into American Tennis Association Black Tennis Hall of Fame.
She currently teaches mentally and physically impaired students at the Magnolia School in Orlando. She is also teaching tennis at seven sites in Central Florida, touching 150 kids weekly.
It is clear that Tina McCall-Waters has made a significant impact on the lives of many people and that her mentor Mr. Denton Pop Johnson would be proud.
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