Larry Scheper “Serve”ing the Beaufort Community

A tennis player since his teens, Larry Scheper is no stranger to print media; stacks of newspaper articles and magazine stories chronicle his journey and many successes. In all those articles, an abundance of adjectives have been used to describe him, and there are many that suit him and do him justice, but dedicated would be at the top of the descriptors.

Larry teaches tennis to anyone who wants to learn; the young, the old, the handicapped, the non-athletic, and he does it with grace and finesse. You can find him teaching on the city courts near where he grew up, at the Penn Center, or at Beaufort Academy. His students include a man in a wheelchair, Larry explains, “It’s not easy for him to maneuver the chair and play at the same time; I tried sitting in the chair to see what he was experiencing. He is very encouraging to both older and younger players who see him as something of a role model.” Another student has autism, one is legally blind with only twenty percent of his vision intact, one is eighty-four, and Larry starts teaching children as young as age two. For someone who grew up during a time of limited social acceptance, Larry Scheper welcomes everyone into his world.

One of his students, Kris Peterson, says, “I’ve participated in clinics with young children, teenagers and other adults, many of whom are ‘transplants’ from other places.  Coach Larry is skilled at including everyone in challenging drills and practice, no matter what their ability or level might be. One of my favorite clinic partners is a disabled veteran who plays using a donated wheelchair from the ATA (American Tennis Association). He’s an inspiration. He hits and moves better than I do, and is preparing with Larry’s guidance to compete in Hilton Head. ”

Baseball was Larry’s first sport but when he was fourteen he transitioned into tennis where, he says, “We were more accepted back then. Tennis gave me a great opportunity to travel and meet people. There was a group of us who played tennis in Savannah. On Friday night someone would pick us up and take us there to play; we had to bring just $5, we stayed in really nice places and played teams from Atlanta, Augusta, Raleigh-Durham, Charlotte and Jacksonville; they came to us and we went to them.”

The city courts were close enough to his house that Larry’s mother could watch him play from the kitchen window. “One day I came into the house after a match where I didn’t play well and she said to me, ‘Don’t tell me you expect to win all the time?’ She taught me that to be a good winner, you’ve got to be an excellent loser. I was playing in my sixteenth tournament before she came out of the house to watch me play, and she only said, ‘It’s hot out here’ and went back inside to watch from the window. I think she was worried that she might make me nervous. Another time when I was playing in my first Junior Water Festival sanctioned tournament, I was in the finals and the match was on Sunday morning. The rule was that I couldn’t play on Sundays because I had to got to church; I was avidly involved in church, both in the choir and Bible school. So I said to her, ‘But I’m in the finals!’ and that Sunday I got to play.

“I was known for tennis in the neighborhood, but more for manners and respect; they will take you a long way in life. You may not be good at what you do, but you can always be courteous.”

Larry got a scholarship to Grambling State University in Louisiana where he turned pro in his junior year and competed with players such as Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras. His studies led him into his profession of teaching EMH (educable mentally handicapped) students in Columbia, SC. While there, he won his first Pro-Am tournament in 2000.

For twenty years, until the last one in 2006, Larry came home to Beaufort to play in the Water Festival tennis tournament. Every year he won. He misses that tournament, and would like to reinstate it for the community.

Many competitions and wins later, Larry came back to Beaufort in 2009. During the school year, he coaches at Beaufort Academy, and has clinics and lessons on the city courts. During the summer on the city courts, on weekdays he has a clinic for adults from 8 to 9 a.m., tennis camp from 9 to 12, and teaches adults and advanced kids from 6 to 7 p.m. Every Saturday from 12 to 1:30, he offers free coaching for the community, a fitness walk, and sometimes afterwards they have a cookout. Not only do people from the community play at the city courts, Larry coaches high school players that come here from in, and out of, state to train. And he gives private lessons year round.

Also during the summer, you can find Larry at Penn Center. “I go to Penn every Monday through Friday from 9 to 12 for summer camp, and free clinics on Saturdays. I’d like to find another time that the community can play. They never renovated the court so I have to take a portable net with me; I’d like to have a real net. I’m going to get some paint and paint the lines. I collect racquets from people and lend them to the kids, and I supply the balls. There are about 25 kids in the camp and 40 people on Saturdays; I want to give them the opportunity I had when I was their age.”

The Penn Center holds some special memories for Larry. In 1983, he met Arthur Ashe at Penn and they had a long conversation during which Ashe gave Larry the following advice, “Young man, what are you going to do after tennis? Son, never forget the kids.” Clearly Larry has heeded Ashe’s advice.

Speaking of children, one of Larry’s favorite upcoming stars is his daughter Jayda. At fourteen, she has an ATA national ranking of twenty in the fourteen and under age group. She played in her first tournament when she was six, but Larry put a racquet in her hand while she was still in a walker. An accomplished young woman, Jayda also plays volleyball, baseball, and is first chair violin. “She wants to go to college and be a lawyer, tennis can get her that scholarship,” Larry explains. In addition to coaching her, they also play mixed doubles together. As he considers his extensive collection of trophies he muses, “Maybe Jayda will want them some day; maybe she’ll have her own collection,” and he laughs and says, “but maybe she will get checks instead!”

In addition to all the coaching, in order to keep in shape Larry runs every night, does 45 minutes of exercise daily, and practices.  Despite the fact that he is fifty-two, he is still ranked number one nationally in the 45 singles and doubles competitions and number two in the men’s open doubles, and plays in a pro league on Hilton Head Island. When not working, or working out, Larry enjoys tending to the yard, reading the daily newspaper and tennis magazines, reads historical fiction when he has the time and enjoys spending time with his daughter. “I like taking her all the places she likes to go.” Shopping? “Yes! And to an annual ATA tournament in Fort Lauderdale.” Larry is also a Georgetown University basketball fan.

What are some of the favorite places he’s played tennis? “At the Arthur Ashe Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, NY when I was coaching the National Championships of the United States Youth Games. And the Germantown Cricket Club near Philadelphia; we played on grass and had to wear all white – it felt like playing at Wimbledon. I like to wear white, it’s sort of my signature.”

And what about Wimbledon, would he like to play there one day? “It is my dream as a coach to take a player there and sit in the box watching in person, instead of on the couch watching it on television. Maybe I can take my daughter. I do it all for Jayda, and the community. I’ve done what I had to do for myself, now it’s time to give back.”