Preston Has Made a Positive Impact
Mar 06, 2023 | Sports Extra, Athletics
By: D. Scott Fritchen
It begins with the eyes. Tamie (Peugh) Preston has kind eyes. She stands inside Bramlage Coliseum in her purple quarter-zip with a purple Powercat and grasps the piece of crystal in her hands and it's certain to become a fixture and conversation piece for years and years. Tamie was presented with the Kansas State Girls and Women in Sports IMPACT Award less than 10 minutes ago. The corners of her eyes grow glassy as she admires the honor in her hands.
"This award brings back so many memories of all the great times I've had and all the people who've had a big impact on my life," she says.
Tamie and her family journeyed from Dodge City, Kansas, to be a part of this special moment in a town and at a university that she knows full well. It's halftime of the K-State women's basketball team's home finale on Saturday. Tamie and her family have their regular reserved seats. They've made the trip to Manhattan too many times to count through the years. Why, she was born in Manhattan in 1961. Her father was a senior at K-State. They moved to Dodge City upon his graduation. And this is how the story begins, with a young girl and her sister, Susan, growing up in Dodge City.
Tamie's eyes sparkle while recalling it all. And now she's here and the various chapters of her remarkable tale unfurl inside her head as she speaks — how her father served as tennis coach and taught his daughters to play tennis by shortening the handles on wood tennis racquets; how she became a successful tennis player in high school, her passion fully flourishing each time she took the court; and how she dreamed.
Yes, she dreamed of playing tennis at K-State.
It came true.
"I love K-State," Tamie says. "If I didn't live in Dodge City, I'd for sure live in Manhattan. I wear purple very often. It's the color of royalty. K-State was indeed a dream come true. It was a dream I'd always had. You never know if that's possible, but it became real, and it was a very positive experience for me.
"I feel like K-State put me where I am today."
She smiles.
And, oh, the places tennis has taken her.
She lettered in tennis at K-State from 1980-84, playing No. 1 singles all four years, and finishing her senior season placing fifth in No. 2 doubles while she competed in No. 1 singles in the Big Eight Conference Tournament. An added bonus: Susan, a year younger, joined the K-State tennis team as well.
"We were able to share our experience at K-State together and that's probably the No. 1 favorite thing, just being able to play on the court with her," Tamie says. "That was super cool."
After earning her degree in K-12 physical education, Tamie returned to Dodge City to teach at Central Elementary while also coaching tennis. Eventually, Tamie became principle of Lynn Elementary. Dodge City High School named Tamie as its head tennis coach in 1988 and she took her teams to six conference titles, four regional titles and four top-1o finishes in the state tournament. She was named 1990 Kansas 6A Girls State Tennis Coach of the Year. Along the way, she impacted countless lives.
"My desire to impact students and especially girls came from people who poured into me when I was growing up," she says. "It's just a God thing. It's something that God blessed me with. He blessed me with the opportunity to be around a lot of people and a lot of kids.
"Just being a mentor for them is important. It's my passion."
After resigning her position in 1994 to spend time with her family, Tamie returned as Dodge City High School head coach in 2006 and immediately earned Coach of the Year again while leading Dodge City to the 2006 conference title. Tamie earned her third career coach of the year honor as Dodge City earned the conference title in 2010.
Tamie's impact was felt off the tennis court as well. She was named Dodge City High School activities director in 1999 and held the position for 17 years. Tamie earned 2015 Dodge City Women's Chamber of Commerce Woman of the Year.
Dodge City High School renamed its renovated tennis courts as the Tamie Preston Courts in 2015.
"The most gratifying part of my career?" she says. "It has been meeting and seeing kids that I had an opportunity to coach and impact and hearing about their successes as adults with families and hearing about their careers. Some of them even went into the field of tennis, too, teaching and coaching.
"It's so gratifying that the passion I had was able to move through them and help them to be successful in life."
She looks down at the glass IMPACT Award in her hands. The corners of her smiling eyes grow glassy again.
"I just want to thank K-State for having a big impact on my life," she says. "It's been a very positive experience and every time I come back it melts my heart to see how good things are here, and how much they care about their student-athletes. Just attending a game is such a positive experience for us. We attend as many games as possible and have season football tickets and drive back and forth no matter what time, and it's worth it.
"We're fortunate in that we get to share that positive experience with our family."
It begins with the eyes. Tamie (Peugh) Preston has kind eyes. She stands inside Bramlage Coliseum in her purple quarter-zip with a purple Powercat and grasps the piece of crystal in her hands and it's certain to become a fixture and conversation piece for years and years. Tamie was presented with the Kansas State Girls and Women in Sports IMPACT Award less than 10 minutes ago. The corners of her eyes grow glassy as she admires the honor in her hands.
"This award brings back so many memories of all the great times I've had and all the people who've had a big impact on my life," she says.
Tamie and her family journeyed from Dodge City, Kansas, to be a part of this special moment in a town and at a university that she knows full well. It's halftime of the K-State women's basketball team's home finale on Saturday. Tamie and her family have their regular reserved seats. They've made the trip to Manhattan too many times to count through the years. Why, she was born in Manhattan in 1961. Her father was a senior at K-State. They moved to Dodge City upon his graduation. And this is how the story begins, with a young girl and her sister, Susan, growing up in Dodge City.
Tamie's eyes sparkle while recalling it all. And now she's here and the various chapters of her remarkable tale unfurl inside her head as she speaks — how her father served as tennis coach and taught his daughters to play tennis by shortening the handles on wood tennis racquets; how she became a successful tennis player in high school, her passion fully flourishing each time she took the court; and how she dreamed.
Yes, she dreamed of playing tennis at K-State.
It came true.
"I love K-State," Tamie says. "If I didn't live in Dodge City, I'd for sure live in Manhattan. I wear purple very often. It's the color of royalty. K-State was indeed a dream come true. It was a dream I'd always had. You never know if that's possible, but it became real, and it was a very positive experience for me.
"I feel like K-State put me where I am today."
She smiles.
And, oh, the places tennis has taken her.
She lettered in tennis at K-State from 1980-84, playing No. 1 singles all four years, and finishing her senior season placing fifth in No. 2 doubles while she competed in No. 1 singles in the Big Eight Conference Tournament. An added bonus: Susan, a year younger, joined the K-State tennis team as well.
"We were able to share our experience at K-State together and that's probably the No. 1 favorite thing, just being able to play on the court with her," Tamie says. "That was super cool."
After earning her degree in K-12 physical education, Tamie returned to Dodge City to teach at Central Elementary while also coaching tennis. Eventually, Tamie became principle of Lynn Elementary. Dodge City High School named Tamie as its head tennis coach in 1988 and she took her teams to six conference titles, four regional titles and four top-1o finishes in the state tournament. She was named 1990 Kansas 6A Girls State Tennis Coach of the Year. Along the way, she impacted countless lives.
"My desire to impact students and especially girls came from people who poured into me when I was growing up," she says. "It's just a God thing. It's something that God blessed me with. He blessed me with the opportunity to be around a lot of people and a lot of kids.
"Just being a mentor for them is important. It's my passion."
After resigning her position in 1994 to spend time with her family, Tamie returned as Dodge City High School head coach in 2006 and immediately earned Coach of the Year again while leading Dodge City to the 2006 conference title. Tamie earned her third career coach of the year honor as Dodge City earned the conference title in 2010.
Tamie's impact was felt off the tennis court as well. She was named Dodge City High School activities director in 1999 and held the position for 17 years. Tamie earned 2015 Dodge City Women's Chamber of Commerce Woman of the Year.
Dodge City High School renamed its renovated tennis courts as the Tamie Preston Courts in 2015.
"The most gratifying part of my career?" she says. "It has been meeting and seeing kids that I had an opportunity to coach and impact and hearing about their successes as adults with families and hearing about their careers. Some of them even went into the field of tennis, too, teaching and coaching.
"It's so gratifying that the passion I had was able to move through them and help them to be successful in life."
She looks down at the glass IMPACT Award in her hands. The corners of her smiling eyes grow glassy again.
"I just want to thank K-State for having a big impact on my life," she says. "It's been a very positive experience and every time I come back it melts my heart to see how good things are here, and how much they care about their student-athletes. Just attending a game is such a positive experience for us. We attend as many games as possible and have season football tickets and drive back and forth no matter what time, and it's worth it.
"We're fortunate in that we get to share that positive experience with our family."
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