Marty Woods, of Reseda, California, has been named PTR Member of the Year for the State. This award is presented to a PTR member who has shown dedication and diligence in promoting and supporting tennis and PTR. Woods was selected for his outstanding work in the Los Angeles community representing his hero through the Pete Brown Scholarship Fund.
Professional Tennis Registry (PTR) will present its annual awards during the 2018 PTR International Tennis Symposium. The event, which includes more than 40 educational presentations for tennis coaches, will be held February 13-16, on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.
Coach Pete Brown opened up a whole new world for Woods when he needed it most, as a young child growing up fatherless in a tough South-Central neighborhood. “The guy was just truly a saint,” Woods said. “They don’t come around like him too often. I’ll never be able to do the things Pete did.”
At just 6 years old, Woods’ mother took him to Roosevelt Park to swim. That day when they passed the tennis courts they were decorated with balloons and flags. A voice called out, “Hey kids, do you want to learn how to play tennis?” The allure of a free racquet sealed the deal. That is how Woods met Pete Brown. Over the next few years, Brown became a father figure to Marty Woods.
After college, while Woods was working for a computer science company in Orange County, when he got a call. Brown’s health was failing and he implored Woods to help him by working with his high performance kids, just as Coach Brown had done for Marty Woods.
In 2009, Woods founded and became the chairman of the Pete Brown Scholarship Foundation. He has been paying it forward and keeping the memory and legacy of Coach Brown alive and well.
PTR is the largest global organization of tennis teaching professionals with more than 16,000 members in 125 countries. It has the greatest percentage of multicultural and women members of any such organization. PTR is dedicated to educating, certifying and serving tennis teachers and coaches around the world in order to grow the game.
– Courtesy TennisPro Magazine