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Updated 8/23/10 by Conk Point Graphix
About the Author Tom Parham, a lifelong North Carolinian, retired from a career of teaching and coaching in 2004. As a college tennis coach, Parham amassed a record of 597 wins and 195 losses and has been inducted in seven athletic halls of fame. His teams won three National Championships and he was selected National Tennis Coach of the Year four times. A Professor Emeritus at Elon, Parham was awarded the Elon Medallion, the University’s highest honor, in 2004. He served as an Athletic Director at Atlantic Christian College and as Associate Athletic Director at Elon University. Parham received the Order of the Long Leaf Pine in 1979. He resides with his wife Margaret in Emerald Isle, NC. Play is Where Life Is“Play is Where Life Is” collects the memories of a North Carolina native over the past 67 years – stories range from the shenanigans of a preacher’s child, to the adventures of a freewheeling 1950s teenager; from a small college athlete to a National Hall of Fame tennis coach. Topics include crossroads, inventions called the automobile and television, tragedies, accidents, and plenty of drama from a cadre of small town characters. The author covers topics from his 40 year career in college athletics including integration, Title IX, television’s impact, and internationalization. He also gives his thoughts on children and parenting in sports and, for high school athletes, he covers how to select and get in the right college athletic program. Other chapters include : how to successfully coach team tennis, highly skilled athletes, girls and women; levels of play; giving advice to players, parents, coaches, and organizations that govern tennis; and the behavior of players. A special chapter investigates music’s affect during a personal crisis that included two failed back surgeries, a hip replacement, quintuple bypass surgery, and a “respectable” addiction to alcohol. All of these ups and downs in a career of coaching that matured into an appreciation for “play” and those willing to join the arena at any level. |