Megan Moulton-Levy competed on the WTA Tour in both singles and doubles, advancing to the round of 32 at all four Grand Slam tournaments and reaching a career-high ranking of No. 50 in the world in doubles in July 2013. Moulton-Levy was a four-year standout at the College of William & Mary from 2004-08, where she earned All-America honors six times and reached the 2006 NCAA singles semifinals and the 2007 NCAA doubles final. A two-time recipient of the National ITA/Arthur Ashe Jr. Award for Leadership and Sportsmanship, Moulton-Levy currently serves as a senior coach at the JTCC in College Park, Md. For the next two months, she will be writing a blog on USTA.com that will focus on her coaching career. Check back every Tuesday for updates.
I distinctly remember it as if it were yesterday. Sunday mornings were always my favorite day of the week. I am the youngest of four girls. Naturally, I was always the first one up, anxiously tugging at the shirts of my parents to wake up so we could go and play tennis. Seven of us (my mom, aunt, dad, sisters and I) would pile into two cars to make the short journey to the Grosse Pointe Hunt Club, where we had a family group lesson. However, at 3, I was so little that I was often sidelined so I wouldn’t ruin the rallies. Annoyingly, too often, I would camp out at the net to intercept as many volleys as humanly possible.
More often than not, those cherished Sunday mornings led to a deep sense of frustration from not being involved and would result in me going home to hit balls against the garage door. On a rare occasion, I could convince someone to take me to the public courts where I would have some Megan-only time. Usually it was my dad. While he is a hell of an athlete, he is a HACK of a tennis player.
My father, George, was on the 1972 Jamaican Olympic Track and Field team. It wasn’t until I was much older that I realized how amazing that was. Despite the fact that I never participated in the Olympics, this was one of the major driving forces behind the perpetual search for perfection and greatness.
My oldest sister, Natasha, who is 12 years older than me, has also always been someone I have looked up to. She was a multi-sport high school athlete: track and field, volleyball and tennis. She was Michigan state champion in tennis for team and doubles in 1988, 1989 and 1990. I remember thinking I wanted to be just like her.
I remember being hooked on tennis the moment I had success in the first tournament I played. My mother, Paulette, not wanting me to have ANY idle time, relished the idea of my being interested in an activity that occupied my mind, body and spirit. At an early age, she fought for me to have the best team of people in my corner. One of those people was my sister, Natasha, who would feed me grapes and French fries through the fence when matches got long and tough.
One of the many beautiful things about this sport is no matter how accomplished you are or you aren’t, there is always something for you to learn and master. It was that chase, burning desire and addiction to getting better that took me to the highest level of tennis.
It is that passionate desire and intensity that led me to coaching. Due to the rigor of playing professionally, I wanted a break from the sport. I had surgery in January of 2015, and then I spent the remainder of the year away from the sport. After three months, I missed being outside, I missed being on a tennis court, I missed the sound of a ball being hit, and I missed the energy that tennis lovers have. While I no longer wanted it to be about myself, I knew I wanted to help kids along their journey to greatness. Having reached the highest levels of the sport, I have an intimate knowledge of what it takes and the emotional fortitude one must have to be courageous enough to fulfill one’s dreams.
Throughout my career I had an amazing support system, but what about the kids who aren’t as fortunate as I am? Can I be their person? Can I provide them with the unwavering, unconditional love and support it takes to be fearless? Can I teach them how to create an environment where they can flourish? This is my next big life goal/challenge. I will work tirelessly to help these kids as much as I can.