There are two things to know about Buffalo, N.Y.’s Kathy Connelly.
One is that she is a bonafide tennis aficionado. She picked up a racquet when she was around eight years old, and she still hasn’t put it down. She’s played her whole life: in high school, at Williams College in Massachusetts and on USTA League teams.
“I started out in a rec program near my house here in Buffalo, and I just loved everything about it,” she recalls. “I loved the feel of hitting the ball, the exercise, the friendships that I made. I think it’s a beautiful sport, and it’s also a sport that offers enjoyment for people no matter your skill level. It’s always been, as I say, something that’s been my joy.”
She has also worked to help others discover that joy, even as she maintained a day job supporting her husband’s dental office. For many years she coached junior team tennis as well as the girls team at Buffalo Seminary High School and both men’s and women’s teams at Medaille College. In 2022, after selling the dental practice and opting to retire, Connelly was looking for something more to do and accepted a position teaching at Village Glen Tennis & Pickleball.
