CASPER, Wyo. — The 2022 Wyoming Tennis Awards celebration will be held Saturday, Oct. 8 in Casper, according to the U.S. Tennis Association Wyoming.
Ten individuals will be recognized during a luncheon at Racca’s Pizzeria Napoletana, including a Cheyenne Central High School senior who participated in the fall tennis season this year after being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma shortly after the end of his junior-year fall tennis season.
Atticus Spillman will receive the “Courage Award” from the U.S. Tennis Association Wyoming on Saturday. This award is to “an individual who has continued their involvement in tennis in the Wyoming district despite experiencing severe hardships and/or life-threatening circumstances,” an announcement from USTA Wyoming said.
Spillman’s mom, Lisa Jerde Spillman, said Friday that Atticus started aggressive chemotherapy within days of his diagnosis at Children’s Hospital Colorado. When he was diagnosed at the age of 16 last fall, he had “tumors a third the size of his chest cavity.”
Atticus is now nine months post-treatment and celebrated his 17th birthday in August.
“He’s doing great,” Lisa said.
During the fall season his senior year, Atticus primarily competed in doubles competitions, and he has plans to continue playing at the Cheyenne Frontier Park over the winter and during the spring 2023 tennis season at Central High School. While he hasn’t yet decided exact plans after graduating, Lisa said he’s thinking about attending the University of Wyoming, the University of Montana or Colorado State University.
Josh Cossitt, who will also be honored with two awards from the U.S. Tennis Association Wyoming on Saturday, is the director of Cheyenne Frontier Park Tennis. Lisa said that after Atticus’s diagnosis, Cossitt reached out to coaches from around the country. Before Atticus had even been released from the hospital, packages from tennis teams from across the country started to arrive with things like T-shirts signed by college tennis players, get well soon messages, and more.
“Kids wrote that they were dedicating their season to him,” Lisa said. “Backpacks, water bottles, T-shirts, postcards, and letters arrived for months. The support of the tennis community surrounded our family with love and gave us immense hope and support.”
In addition to support from the tennis community, the Spillman family has received a lot of support from the Jason’s Friends Foundation in Casper and from Make-a-Wish Wyoming, Lisa said.
Jason’s Friends helped the family with travel and accommodations when in Denver for Atticus’s multiple rounds of treatment. Jason’s Friends also provided support for the family at Thanksgiving and Christmas in 2021, Lisa added.
Make-a-Wish Wyoming helped the entire family of six travel to Disney World, Universal Studios and Volcano Bay after Atticus’s diagnosis, Lisa added.
“It was just unbelievable,” she said, adding that the family got to stay at a place called “Give Kids a World” that is devoted to Make-a-Wish kids.
While the trip to Florida itself was great for the family, Lisa said she thinks Make-a-Wish helped give Atticus hope before the trip even happened. After receiving his diagnosis, Atticus was told the diagnosis qualified him for the Make-a-Wish program, Lisa said. He spent a lot of time in the hospital thinking about what he wanted for his wish and this helped give him something to look forward to.
The support from the tennis community such as the packages that poured in helped in a similar way to give Atticus something to focus on other than his diagnosis and find resilience to go through the treatment process.
“He’s a fighter, that kid,” Lisa said.
The support from Make-a-Wish was also helpful to the other kids in the family, who Lisa said felt fear after their brother’s diagnosis.
“That was rough,” Lisa said after seeing the emotional weight on her other kids.
Atticus will come to Casper with his dad, Paul Spillman, and his two brothers for the awards ceremony on Saturday. Lisa will attend another activity her daughter is participating in this weekend.
The full list of 2022 Wyoming Tennis Awards is as follows, according to U.S. Tennis Association Wyoming:
Marie Robertson Lifetime Achievement Award
This award, named after Marie Robertson of Casper, a long-time volunteer who founded the Wyoming Tennis Association and is a member of the 2021 USTA Intermountain Hall of Fame, is given from time to time for individual and extraordinary lifetime service to tennis within the Wyoming District. The inaugural award was first introduced in 1991 and given to Marie Robertson of Casper. Fritz Wasmuth of Cody
Art Frakt Adult Volunteer of the Year Award
This award, named after Art Frakt of Jackson, a longtime USTA Wyoming player, official and volunteer, is given annually to an individual who has made valuable contributions to the growth & development of tennis in USTA Wyoming by working as a volunteer at the local and/or district level. This person has demonstrated a passion for giving back to their community or school through tennis by starting a new program such as 10 & under tennis, junior team tennis, entry level tournaments, growing league programs or helping existing programs thrive. Adults are 18 & older. Diane McGee of Jackson
Organization of the Year Award
This award is given annually to a USTA Organizational Member which could include Community Tennis Associations, parks & recreation districts, schools (ES, MS and/or HS), clubs (i.e., Boys & Girls Clubs, etc.) and after-school providers. Honors an organization that stands out as a leader in the district, supporting community tennis programs and local community. The organization coordinates and maintains programs and services, guaranteeing they are open and accessible to all. Teton County Parks & Recreation of Jackson
Family of the Year Award
Recognizes a family’s significant contribution or accomplishments in tennis. Ideally, all members of the family represent the development & promotion of tennis on & off the court on a local and/or district basis.The Nandrup Family of Rock Springs
Diversity and Inclusion Achievement Award
This award is presented to an individual or organization that has championed the cause for diversity both on & off the court. Through hard work, persistence, and unwavering dedication, the nominee has helped to expand the image of tennis to be inclusive of diverse populations. Other considerations are demonstrating a high degree of organizational ability, success in serving all players in the area, quality on/off court programs, management structure & involvement with the community. Kacie Pugel/Cheyenne Adaptive Tennis Program
Courage Award
Given to an individual who has continued their involvement in tennis in the Wyoming district despite experiencing severe hardships and/or life-threatening circumstances. Atticus Spillman of Cheyenne
Media Excellence Award
Includes organizations or individuals active in print, television, radio or digital media. Nominee must live and/or work in the Wyoming district. Coverage of local USTA events, scholastic and community tennis are equally considered. Brayden Flack/Sweetwater Now of Rock Springs
Tournament Director of the Year Award
A tournament director who manages USTA-sanctioned tournaments in the section while providing participants, officials and spectators a quality experience. Those who run multiple events, entry-level events, community friendly events or display innovation & creativity are strongly considered. Josh Cossit of Cheyenne
Developmental Coach/Teaching Professional/High School Coach of the Year Award
Honors an active instructor or coach who demonstrates a significant contribution to tennis through promotion of USTA programs, service to the community and support of the USTA mission. This person demonstrates a dedication to instilling the love of the game into players in their communities. Josh Cossitt of Cheyenne
Junior Player Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award
This award is based primarily on high performance results at USTA local, district, sectional, national tournaments as well as high school tennis. Equally important is a spotless record of sportsmanship and a demonstration of raising the game to its highest level. Accomplishments in the classroom, such as honor roll, GPA, etc., are also key. Nomination should include a list by year all accomplishments that highlight the nominees’ careers, including ranking information. Examples of accomplishments could include tournaments, invitation to special camps or events, or selection to participate on special teams etc. Finley Klinger of Casper
Junior Volunteer of the Year AwardPresented to a volunteer under the age of 18 that goes above and beyond in spreading love for tennis, encouraging friends to play, takes advantage of opportunities to advance their own personal continuing education by attending coach training/certification events and actively participates in and volunteers at Wyoming tennis events and activities. Kristin Huffman of Cheyenne USTA Wyoming
