Lots of love on the courts

The dedicated Huntingdon Valley community members behind the formation and longevity of the Delaware Valley Tennis Club are a true lesson in the benefits of hard work, camaraderie and an inability to give up regardless of any obstacles.

The history of the club goes back to the mid-1970s when four members, Ed Colfer Sr., Mark Dales, Joe McDonald and Ricky Glich, brainstormed and planned until they figured out how to save the club after their initial location was in jeopardy. At the time, McDonald was the club president and Dales was the vice president.

At the time the avid tennis players were paying $1,500 to rent the tennis courts at the Philadelphia Rifle Club/German Club when the club faced difficult financial times. The Rifle Club hired a consultant who saw the courts and advised the club to raise the rent to $20,000 to use the courts. The members say they tried to negotiate with the rifle club to no avail.

That’s when the vice president at the time, Mark Dales, a chemist at Rohm and Haas, spearheaded the effort to build their own tennis courts and went to work. Back then, everyone involved agreed that it seemed like “an impossible dream.”

“Mark had the people, the belief and the knowledge,” explained his widow, Carolyn Dales, who has been involved with the club for some 50 years. “These dedicated club members stayed at our house until midnight on many occasions. Mark believed if they put their heads together, they could figure it out, and they made everyone else believe they could do it. And they were right.”

The first step was for Mark Dales to conduct a feasibility study and the members agreed to move ahead and hire a contractor. Then Mark Dales read a book about how to survey a property, he located an 8-acre property in Huntingdon Valley and bought two trailers to use as a temporary headquarters.

Everyone pitched in their time and expertise to make it happen, and they did it within one year. Then, Harry Hoffman, a champion tennis player, agreed to put the walls up, while they got volunteers from the Rifle Club — a plumber, electrician and an architect — to draw up the plans and donate their time and labor for the courts and the clubhouse.

The club founders raised the $500 bond and $200 for dues, which was a major investment in 1976.

“We didn’t have a club; we just had a promise,” Carolyn Dales recalled. “Eighty-eight people signed up before there was anything there. All we had was a drawing.”

The new Delaware Valley Tennis Club opened in the spring of 1978, to the delight of the members and of Huntingdon Valley. Tennis players at all levels joined the former Rifle Club members, with everyone involved, wanting to enjoy the sport and continue its rich history of regional- and national-level tournament champions.

In the ‘80s there were 220 members; while currently there are 150. They include all kinds of players.

Delaware Valley Tennis Club is highly ranked in the Greater Philadelphia area. In fact, it is recognized by the United States Tennis Association as being one of the elite clubs in the area.

Mark Dales not only championed the club, but he invented the soft surface (a har-tru-like surface) that allows players to head to the courts 90 minutes after it rains. Today there are unlimited court times, on the 12 beautifully maintained courts, seven days a week, from dawn to dusk.

Members also enjoy scheduled doubles and mixed doubles group play, round-robin doubles, monthly potluck and doubles play socials, as well as access to pros for individual or group instruction. There are five pros whom members can access to improve their skills.

The dedicated Board of Directors works tirelessly to ensure that everyone’s experience at the Delaware Valley Tennis Club is a memorable one. The board organizes the day-to-day care of the courts, clubhouse and surrounding area as well as plans events throughout the season that make being a member a rewarding experience.

Board member Joan McGowan has been a club member for four years and is in charge of the club’s website and newsletter. She said there is so much to enjoy about the tennis club.

“It is an idyllic club, an oasis with a beautiful setting, and I appreciate playing on the soft surface of these courts, which look great and are kind to your body. And most of all, I enjoy the people,” she said. “This club is second to none.”

Tennis Club Vice President Ed Colfer, 81, who has been with the club since it was housed at the Rifle Club, knows he is still fortunate enough to play “this wonderful sport.” He said the club is known for being friendly to new members, and that with the round robins offered, new members get to meet everyone.

“We are also member owned. Once you pay your bond and your dues, you are a proud owner,” he said.

Thinking back to those early days, Colfer called the formation of the new club nothing short of “a miracle. Getting the land and going to the bank to get the construction money to buy the land was practically impossible. Yet, Mark and his supporters clearly made it happen.”

Tennis Club President George Petrakis, who has been a member for six years, said that he is buoyed by the camaraderie and friendship among the members.

“It feels like a second home to many of us. The members are the top priority,” he said.

Petrakis added, “Everybody is going to help one another no matter what, which makes it like one big second family. Friendship is at the heart of this club. We are extremely proud of our club, its members and what has been accomplished for the community.” ••

Opens for the season in mid-April