Greg Henderson

Greg Henderson was born in Gainesville, Georgia, on May 20, 1960, to Gordon and Joyce Henderson. He has a sister, Cindy. Greg picked up the game of tennis at the age of 13 when his dad built a tennis court behind their home in Albertville. He was tutored in the sport by Alabama Avenue Middle School physical education teacher Gary Lambert, an excellent tennis player himself. In order improve himself as a player; Greg began a summer workout routine that included four hours per day of tennis plus running, sit-ups, push-ups and jumping rope. Greg started playing on the Aggie Tennis team, coached by Richard Denham, when he was in the ninth grade at Albertville High School. His overall high school record was 69-13 with only one loss in the #1 Singles position in his senior year, that in the finals of the state tournament. Greg won All-County honors in #1 Singles and Doubles as a Junior and Senior, and All-District and All-State as a senior in #1 Singles. He was also Team Captain and MVP as a Junior and Senior. Greg was also a good basketball player for Hall of Fame Charter Class Inductee Shannon Sloan. He was also involved in many school clubs and activities at AHS, serving as a class president and vice-president and a leader in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Upon Graduation in 1978, Greg was offered many scholarship opportunities to play tennis in college. He chose to attend Jefferson State Junior College in Birmingham because of their outstanding coach, Bal Moore, and their reputation and tradition in tennis. At Jeff State, Greg was the only American on the team. He made the team in the #6 Singles position and had a 24-5 record, qualifying for the National AJCAA Tournament and helping the team to finish the season ranked fifth in the nation. As a sophomore, Greg moved quickly from #6 to the #1 Singles position and had another outstanding season, finishing 26-18 in #1 Singles and 30-7 as a member of the #2 doubles team. Jeff State finished again went to the National tournament and finished the season ranked ninth nationally. Greg was also selected to All-Region AJCAA and Team MVP for both years. This was the first time that a player at Jeff State was the MVP two years in a row. After his outstanding career at Jeff State, Greg received offers from many four-year colleges including Florida State, Samford, Jacksonville State and Division 2 National Champion, Southern Illinois. However, Greg chose to attend the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. At UNLV, he helped the team to crack the top 20 national rankings for the first time in school history. As a senior, he was the doubles partner of Phil Agassi, brother of tennis great Andrew Agassi. The pair had an overall record of 31-4 that year. Most people are not able to compete in athletics after their college career, but Greg was an exception. He entered and won a professional tournament at Lake Havasau, Arizona, but had to decline the prize money due to his amateur status. He also won the Nevada State Doubles tournament and even played doubles with comedian Bill Cosby, a tennis enthusiast himself. Greg continues to play competitively today in sanctioned USTA tournaments and is highly ranked in the Southeastern United States in his age group. Greg's current profession is in real estate, however his passion is still with tennis. He has served Albertville and Marshall County in many ways over the years as a certified USPTA teaching professional and volunteer coach to many players and teams in Marshall County, including Albertville and Douglas High Schools. Along with Professional tennis instructor Erik Pohls, Greg conducts the LifePoint Tennis Academy in the summers for aspiring tennis players. He also spearheaded the drive to build a new, high quality tennis complex in Albertville, which has 12 courts and is capable of hosting large tournaments. Greg is also a member and past-president of the Albertville Civitans, and serves as a deacon and Sunday School teacher at First Baptist Church in Albertville. Greg is married to his high school sweetheart, Kathy Beam. The Hendersons have two adult sons, Alex and Gabe, both outstanding tennis players for the Aggies.