LAKEWOOD — After a recent rally session on the court at Meadow Creek Tennis Club, Ashley Tindle turned to a pair of onlookers and motioned to the balls on the ground.
“Could you help me with that?” he said with a smile. “I’m a little short-handed.”
Meadow Creek’s head tennis pro’s quip drew laughter from everyone. It’s a line he uses far too often, he admitted, but it keeps the mood light.
Tindle was born with a deformed right arm, a limb with two fingers that extends just beyond his elbow. He has found humor as the best way to address it.
“I’ve never thought of him as physically challenged,” said Alden Bock, director of tennis at Meadow Creek. “Part of that is his personality and his willingness to be very open about it. He ‘disarms’ — I think he would get a kick out of that — any uncomfortable feelings that people would have.”
After graduating from Heritage High School in 1993, Tindle was the winner of the inaugural Dick Connor ACE (Adversity Conquered through Excellence) Award.
“It was a good catalyst for me to be recognized for all the hard work I did,” Tindle said of the time he put in working on his tennis and basketball ability. “It was a grind. It was a lot of hours, a lot of time. It was an honor, quite honestly.”
Tindle played basketball at Northeastern Junior College in Sterling before attending Northern Colorado to play tennis, where he became a two-time conference champion.
He took a detour to Atlanta and played on the semipro tour for a while, but stopped because “those guys were really, really good,” he said. However, that is where he discovered his career path.
“I tried teaching pretty regularly down in Georgia, which is a hot bed in tennis,” he said. “I found a bit of love for that.”
For the past nine years, he has worked at Meadow Creek. One of his students, Eric Honert, had Valparaiso University’s school record for most career victories (69) when he graduated this spring.
“It was very interesting,” Honert said of his first encounter with Tindle. “I had never met anybody like Ashley before that was in this profession. I didn’t know what to think of Ashley, actually.”
Tindle, 39, added: “It’s a lot of the same vibe with a lot of my kids. They don’t know quite what to expect.”
But once he gets on the court, the elephant in the room dissipates.
“I really believe that the fact that he went through the trials and tribulations as a kid and a young adult is the key to his being able to inspire people to be able to reach higher than they would be able to normally,” Bock said. “I think that’s what makes him a really quality instructor.”
Tindle has been working on his golf game — he has an 8 handicap — and would like to become a golf instructor when he’s 50. But life has presented other challenges too.
“What’s next for me is being a daddy and being the best daddy I can,” Tindle said of his 16-month-old daughter, Avery. “It’s probably the most fun thing I’ve done in my life aside from marrying my wife (Alexandra). … It’s just a challenge, and anything that’s a challenge is something I enjoy.”
Joe Nguyen: jnguyen@denverpost.com or
ACE Award winners
1993: Ashley Tindle, Heritage
1994: Amy Feinsinger, Glenwood Springs
1995: Kelley C. Roswell, Central (G.J.)
1996: Jason Salazar, Denver East
1997: Allie Gausman, Fort Collins
1998: Kelly Rheem, Arapahoe
1999: Columbine girls soccer team
2000: Jon Severy, Aspen
2001: Ian Grant, Denver Christian
2002: Philip Devlin, Idalia
2003: Jeff Mielnicki, Cherry Creek
2004: Daniel Belger, Bear Creek
2005: Daniel Steefel, Littleton
2006: Patty Turgeon, Mullen
2007: Jordan Kessler, Broomfield
2008: Jonny Stevens, Battle Mountain
2009: Jimmy Schweitzer, Loveland
2010: Tanner Nemkov, Heritage
2011: Brysen Daughton, Lyons
2012: Karina Ernst, Thompson Valley
2013: Zach Golditch, Gateway
2014: Trevor Encinias, Pueblo West
