Pretty handy guy to have playing on the next court

Tennis players often are some of the luckiest people around. And for more reasons than one.

Not only do many of the tennis complexes in the area have defibrillators on site along with personnel trained in their usage, but often a doctor or a health professional is on the same court with you or on a nearby court.

Several times in recent years a player has gone into cardiac arrest on a tennis court, and a doctor or doctors just happened to nearby. Having Lamar Watkins as a friend playing on the next court is just about as good.

Watkins isn't a doctor, but he has been a member of the Charleston County Volunteer Rescue Squad for 33 years. He takes the business of saving lives seriously as evidenced by his Charleston County Volunteer 2009 Rescuer of the Year Award.

Last August on an early Saturday morning on the clay courts at Maybank Tennis Center, Watkins was engaged in a friendly tennis match on Court 9 when players on the next two courts started yelling for help. Watkins grabbed his rescue radio and ran to Court 10 where he later noted in a report that the player was sitting against a fence unconscious.

Watkins immediately called for an ambulance and the fire department for an oxygen cylinder. Other players rushed out to the adjacent Houghton Avenue to direct the EMS personnel to the location on the back of the wooded complex. Watkins said he had started checking the player's pulse and condition only moments before the player went into cardiac arrest. Watkins then started CPR, with another tennis player assisting.

The stricken player, who asked not to be identified in the newspaper, responded to the CPR and resumed breathing. When the James Island Fire Department arrived, a full oxygen flow was started and the patient was transported to Roper Hospital on Calhoun Street.

After heart bypass surgery, which included three bypasses, plus a new aortic value and a pacemaker, and more than a week in the hospital, the patient was released and is now back home on James Island doing well. He said he hasn't returned to playing tennis yet. He might be waiting to see when Watkins will be on the adjacent court again.

This was the second time in less than a month that Watkins had been called from Court 9 to Court 10 -- to care for the same player. Two Saturday mornings earlier, the player was transported to the hospital but after being checked out he was allowed to go home.

At the request of fellow players, who witnessed the second incident, Watkins was recognized by Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr. at a recent City Council meeting for his quick response and action that may have saved a fellow tennis player's life. Watkins' heroics also have been recognized by the Optimist Club of Charleston.

"You don't get to save a person's life very often," said Watkins, who is retired from a U.S. government job and has worked part-time at Maybank Tennis Center for three years. "I've done this before, but never on a tennis court."

Watkins didn't use the club's defibrillator, due to the urgency that he needed to start CPR immediately and the defibrillator was in the clubhouse, which is a good distance away from the clay courts at the Maybank facility. Also, the clubhouse wasn't open yet due to the 7:45 a.m. time.

LCTA adds Juniors

The Lowcountry Tennis Association is no longer just about adult and senior league tennis. Junior Team Tennis now comes under the LCTA umbrella of new president Ken Edwards.

Registration for the Junior Team Tennis spring league started last Monday and will end March 7. Matches will begin on Sunday, March 21 at 2 p.m. For more information, go to www.lctatennis.org. Registration is available at tennislink.usta.com/teamtennis/main/registration.aspx.

Local notes

--Juniors Matt Mendez, Meghan Blevins and Alexander Santiago fared well in tournaments held over the Christmas holidays in Tucson, Ariz. Mendez was a semifinalist in boys' 14 singles in the USTA Winter National Championships; Blevins won the doubles title and took fifth in girls 18 singles at the Copper Bowl; and Santiago teamed with Anderson's David Parker to win the Copper Bowl's boys 14 doubles title.

--Players Racquet and Tennis Club tennis director Bryan Minton is promoting star pupil Shelby Rogers for a spot in the Family Circle Cup's qualifying tournament. Rogers, who recently made the semifinals of a $10,000 ITF event in Mexico, also is volunteering her time to help the Meeting Street Academy kids learn to play.

--Charleston Tennis Center's Super "Hot Mammas" super seniors 7.5 women's team finished second to Knoxville, Tenn., with a 2-1 record in their round-robin division in the recent Southern Combo Championships in Mobile, Ala. Elisabeth Pickelsimer is the team's captain.

Upcoming events

--The Courting Kids' spring program will start March 6 at the downtown Jack Adams Tennis Center and John's Island's Alan Fleming complex. Contact Courting Kids director Delores Jackson at Charleston Tennis Center (766-7401).

--The Smash Junior Cup, one of only two junior tournaments in the United States to offer players a chance to compete for a wild-card berth in a WTA Tour Premier Event, is scheduled for Feb. 20-22 at Family Circle Tennis Center. Mallory Cecil of Spartanburg and Duke, the 2008 Smash girls 18 winner and current NCAA champion and MVP, was awarded a wild-card berth into the main draw of last year's million-dollar Family Circle Cup.

--The Smash tournament has competition in boys' and girls 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18, with the girls' 18 champion qualifying for a berth in the Family Circle's qualifying tournament. Registration for Smash is available on TennisLink at www.usta.com using the tournament ID number (704140610) through Feb. 14. Contact Nancy Heinz (smashjrcup@bellsouth.net) or Brittany Clark (brittany.clark@familycirclecup.com).

--As a result of frozen courts and the Super Bowl, the Players Racquet and Tennis Club has rescheduled its Aussie Open Lowcountry Grand Slam for Feb. 25-28. The tournament will feature NTRP competition in men's and women's singles and doubles as well as mixed doubles. Contact Chuck Lee (330-1128).

--Volunteers are needed in 16 different areas for the April 10-18 Family Circle Cup, with the adult ball crew the biggest area of need. Anyone, 18 and over, can contact Jo Cooper (849-5309) if interested in volunteering. Visit www.familycirclecup.com for more information.

Reach James Beck at jamesbecktennis@gmail.com. His columns on pro tennis are available at ubitennis.com.