GLTA Welcomes 2 New Board Members
GLTA is pleased to welcome DANIEL CRIBB, the new Treasurer and LEO REECE, the new Rankings Director to its board, effective January 01, 2020. The two new Board members were elected at the end of 2019 by the voting members of GLTA.
DANIEL CRIBB
Daniel was born and raised just outside of Tampa, Florida. He is a high school history teacher who teaches European and Contemporary History. Additionally, he is the head coach of the Swim and Dive team and the Boys Tennis team at the school where he teaches. Daniel has served as the Tournament Director for Tampa’s Citrus Classic for a total of 6 years and has been the treasurer of Advantage Tampa Bay for 2 years.
On the GLTA Board Daniel will assume the role of the Treasurer and will thus be responsible for maintaining the finances and ensuring the financial stability of GLTA.
LEO REECE
Leo Reece was born in Jamaica, raised in Boston and has spent 12 of the past 14 years on the west coast in San Francisco and Los Angeles. He has been playing tennis with LATA for the past 4.5 years and with GLTA for the past 2.5 years. When not on the court, Leo is a Data Integration Consultant who lives in west Hollywood, CA. He also enjoys playing poker, hiking, watching performing arts and volunteering.
On the GLTA Board Leo will assume the role of Rankings Director and will be responsible for processing all tournament files and updating the GLTA Tournament Software.
Which role does tennis play in your daily life?
Daniel: As far as daily life is concerned, I usually play 2–3 times a week. During the high school tennis season, I am on court with my students 5 days a week. I love being able to teach the sport that I love to interested young people. It is so rewarding to watch them grow and develop as players throughout the season.
Leo: I play tennis 3 to 4 to 5 times a week. I’m also on the board of the LATA. I enjoy watching, playing and providing a space for others to play.
Do you prefer singles or doubles?
Daniel: I prefer playing doubles. It is always great to share the court with someone that has the same love for the game that I do. Doubles is also more of a test of skill and thought. And of course the added bonus of only having to cover half the court.
Leo: I’ve had more success in doubles and so I’ll give doubles an edge over singles. It’s the one time you can share your wins and losses with someone else.
When and how did you first learn about GLTA tournaments? Which was your first tournament and do you have any fun memories about it?
Daniel: I first learned about the GLTA through Advantage Tampa Bay back in 2009, but did not think that I was good enough to be part of a tennis tournament. I finally relented and played my first GLTA tournament in 2010 – the Citrus Classic. I remember being SO nervous about the first round…I had to play the #2 seed. My heart raced most of the match; of course it went to 3 sets!
Leo: I first started playing a few 2-day weekend local California GLTA tournaments in 2016. I vowed never to take time off to go play a 3-day tournament. However, one day I was booking work travel in 2017 and I decided I wanted to go someplace new the weekend between my travels. I noticed that Indianapolis had a tournament between my two work trips and so I took advantage of my fly backs to go there. I give that tournament full credit as being my first GLTA tournament, one that sparked my interest in GLTA. The organizer there (at the time), Andre Hines, seemed to be doing the most, especially for tournament events, to ensure folks had a good time. I remember having drinks at the tournament banquet in a dolphin room at the zoo. Dolphins were swimming above me! Also, the people of Indianapolis and especially my host were so welcoming. I was sold on GLTA after that experience. I go back to Indianapolis every year and just won free entry for 2020. They can’t get rid of me.
Why did you want to be on the GLTA Board?
Daniel: I wanted to be a part of the GLTA Board because I want to give back to the sport that has been a significant part of my life for so long. The GLTA, much like our local board here in Tampa is a volunteer organization…and I want to do my part!
Leo: The people. I wanted to give back to an organization that has given me and others so much. I also am a bit of a nerd for data and statistics and so a role as Rankings Director is a great fit.
If you could change anything about GLTA, what would it be?
Daniel: I wish there were more opportunities for players to play tournaments without having to travel too far away from their homes. I consider myself lucky that there are 5 tournaments within a 7 hour car ride from me here in Tampa, but I realize that is not the case for many players. Tennis tournaments are so much fun!
Leo: Even though it’s expensive, I would love to see players from various parts of the world co-mingle at tournaments more. Maybe an Americas vs Europe cup or a West Coast vs East Coast Cup. Something that is sponsored so that more can attend. I’ve been fortunate to travel to a few tournaments all over the U.S. and Europe and I love the folks over there as much as the folks here in the united states. It’s too bad that they all can’t meet more often.
Also, being the rankings guy, I would love to help players understand the rankings process better or have a forum for them to be able to answer their most common questions.
How do you see GLTA in 5 years time?
Daniel: In 5 years time, I see the GLTA continuing its push to grow and spread our game in all parts of the world. We need to refine our practices and foster growth of our tennis community. This is something that we should all be able to agree on.
Leo: Five years from now, I hope that the GLTA has expanded to add more locations in the Caribbean, South America, and Africa, where possible, of course. I hope that we are a more Inclusive organization – welcoming more women, trans, and people of other gender/identity expressions. I see us modernizing our technologies to better track and display scores and ranks. I see us streamlining more of our processes to enable clubs to collaborate and share even more. I hope that we are more affordable to all. I believe one tournament had sponsorship for those of lower income to attend and I think that’s a beautiful idea to replicate.
