Highfield Home Again on Sugar | By Tom McAuliffe

Gene Highfield

Since the four-seasons resort of Sugar Mountain opened more than fifty years ago, the public tennis complex has been an important offering during the warm weather months. And this spring, The Village of Sugar Mountain renewed its commitment to excellence with the reconstruction of all six clay courts.

“Basically we just rebuilt the courts,” Director of Tennis Instruction Gene Highfield said. “We had rocks popping up through the clay before, but not anymore. The courts look beautiful.”

The old clay was removed and 30 tons of new material was rolled onto each court. Laser technology assured the right pitch for efficient drainage, erosion reduction, unwanted indentations and “bird baths” forming after rains.

“We straightened the fence posts and installed new black chain link mesh,” Highfield added. “It really pops out.”

What “pops out” to most observers since Highfield joined long-time tennis director Leigh Morrison to handle the teaching duties three seasons ago is the new “energy” on display at the courts. Much of the credit for the elevated spirit at Sugar Mountain goes to the indefatigable Highfield, a 47-year-old career club professional and an accomplished tournament player. That he found his forever home in the High Country proved a compelling tale.

Highfield was born and raised in Christiansted, St. Croix, in the U.S. Virgin Islands. His father Terry left southern Ohio after visiting his brother for “the summer.” Terry Highfield married and put down roots on St. Croix—son Gene was raised an Islander, took to the game his dad played—tennis—and was on his way.

Growing up on St. Croix, soccer and basketball were the school boy sports, but after the school day Gene gravitated to tennis clubs for their junior clinics and instruction. “There was a big tennis community on the island,” he said. “It was humongous and many of the kids I grew up with on the courts would move on to play in Division One programs in the States. I was younger than most of them and that made me a better player. My dad had me play his friends, too, the older men who taught me gamesmanship. They were always trying to get in my head and mess with my game.”

When Gene was seven years old, the Highfield family visited an Islander friend who had just bought a home in Valle Crucis. That same summer the family would find their own summer home in the High Country and for the next decade Gene’s summers were spent in the mountains.

Back on St. Croix, the young player, who had played since three years of age, was showing promise.

The game became serious when the family sent Gene to New Braunfels, TX, to attend the John Newcombe Tennis Academy. Newcombe was an Australian tennis icon, a disciple of legendary Harry Hopman, and four-time winner of the Australian Open. Legends like Rod Laver, Cliff Drysdale, and Tony Roche colored Newcombe’s career that included seven major singles titles, 17 majors in doubles and five Davis Cup titles representing The Land Down Under. Newcombe’s Academy attracted the best international junior prospects, and the young Islander, Highfield, was headed for a reality check.

The daily regimen included cardio vascular workouts at 5:30 each morning, followed by breakfast, then off to the local high school for classes. After school meant four hours of tennis with some of the best junior players in the world. And while students at New Braunfels High School, the academy kids were ineligible for the local tennis team, for good reason.

“I had played in national tournaments,” Highfield said, “but in Texas these players were world class and beating me like a drum. But by my senior year, I knew I could play with anybody.”

Even so, dreams of scholarship offers from schools like Miami, Clemson, Texas, or USC were unlikely, so Highfield enrolled at Midlands Junior College in Midland, TX. Even here the team was loaded with international players; he was the only American. But he had learned to hold his own.

After his lone season at Midlands, he earned one of four at-large berths to play in the University of Texas Invitational, a singles, one-loss-and-you’re-out showcase of the finest collegiate tennis players in America. Gene tore through the field, whipping the best D-1 players in the land, an unlikely JUCO spoiler from St. Croix whose time had come.

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Tennis at Sugar Mountain Resort

A recruiter from the University of Oklahoma, a Big 8 conference rival to Texas, watched Highfield’s title effort and offered him a scholarship. “It was probably the last place on my list but it was a great decision to play there,” he remembered. “In my junior year I had an undefeated season and was Big 8 Conference Champion. It was a great experience at OU… I mean we were flying to Hawaii, Las Vegas—it was a great program.”

After college, Highfield would compete in ten Davis Cups, representing the U.S. Virgin Islands. A doubles specialist, he would go on to win three United States Tennis Association Doubles Championships in the Open Division as the number one ranked player in the country. “I know a thing or two about tennis doubles,” he said of the obvious. “If you would like to be a better doubles player, I am the guy to come to.”

After college, given his lifelong affinity for the North Carolina High Country, Highfield returned to Watauga County and the Yonahlossee Tennis Club as assistant pro to Bob Lake, who also coached App State’s tennis team. It was 1998.

But as many before have learned, it can be hard to make a living in a seasonal community that defines the mountain resort economy.

For the next 12 years, Highfield plied his trade as the club professional at Herron’s Bay in Fort Lauderdale. But as his family grew, as wife Rachel took care of three children, Gabriel, Logan and Riley, he looked north to the mountains where he spent many happy summers. “By the time we decided to come back, it took four years for the right opportunity,” Highfield remembered. When the head job at Yonahlossee opened up six years ago, “It was the best move we ever made,” he said. And in 2017 he played his first pro exhibition at Sugar Mountain, setting the stage for his current platform.

Not long after, Highfield joined Morrison at the Sugar Mountain Tennis Club as Director of Instruction and hasn’t looked back. “I’ve had a lot of cool club jobs, but Sugar to me has the nicest group of people I‘ve ever been associated with.”

His elevated profile did not go unnoticed. Last year Highfield was named director of the men’s and women’s programs at Lees-McRae College, where he was charged with recruiting new talent and nurturing their development on and off the court. “That was a game changer,” he said of the full-time position. “I was determined to stay here no matter what, but when Lees- McRae hired me, it gave me the opportunity to hone my craft and teach the game year-round. I told my wife that now I get to do tennis 24 hours a day, and she looked at me like I had two heads. But I really have hit the jackpot.”

So between lessons and clinics it’s not uncommon to see the new college coach ‘trying out’ new candidates for his college team. “I play ‘em all and that’s the best way to find out about a young player,” he said.

Needless to say, each day of his summer season is physically demanding, but the pro from St. Croix has a secret to recharge his motor when 12-hour days on the court take their toll.

“All I have to do is look around and see people playing tennis and even playing golf at Sugar,” he said. “People get excited when they arrive. It’s like they’re at summer camp. It’s great being part of that community—it’s a good vibe having all these people around every day. It’s my job to see that their worries fade away when they come to Sugar Mountain.”

Recreation in the mountain summer has a way of doing just that, and Sugar Mountain’s Gene Highfield excels in playing his part.

“It was obvious Gene had the talent to be a top player and a team leader,” Newcombe said from Australia. “It doesn’t surprise me he has made such a great success of his playing and coaching career.”

To learn more about this public and historic recreational facility, visit www.WildcatLake.org.

After Lost Summer, Wildcat Lake Opens to Delighted Public

Special to CML

Wildcat Star Trails / Photo by Will Mauney

On Friday, June 19, Wildcat Lake opened to the public after a year of closure due to the COVID pandemic. The lost summer season was a great disappointment to many, just as a return to normalcy brings great joy to all the friends of Wildcat Lake.

The reopening includes the lake and sandy beach, picnic shelters, park, and surrounding property. Thousands of local visitors from the High Country and regional tourists have been eager to see opening day return. The iconic mountain swimming hole had already opened to fishing early this spring with blue gill, largemouth bass and trout thriving in the mountain water.

The lake was created in 1933, a project of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal, to generate hydro-electric power for Banner Elk and the hospital and college Tufts helped to build. Last year’s closure was the second in a decade, the first when Wildcat was closed as the reservoir’s 90-year-old dam was rebuilt in 2014. The one million dollar project all but exhausted the cash principle of the Edgar Tufts Memorial Association (ETMA), but the successful rebuild insured the lake’s viability for generations to come. And while its role as an energy producer has long passed, the lake’s use as a recreational center is more popular than ever. More than 30,000 visitors will enjoy Edgar Tufts Memorial Park each summer season. Wildcat Lake’s governing ETMA Board of Directors is working hard to see that the popular recreation asset remains open, and with the support of the Grandfather Home for Children, is doing just that.

“Our greatest challenge is funding a top-notch lifeguard corps,” said ETMA Chairman Tom McAuliffe. “After the dam was rebuilt, the foundation was essentially out of money and new state regulations called for more lifeguards, given the large numbers of swimmers at Wildcat Lake. Trey Oakley, Director of the Williams Avery YMCA, has trained these great young people. But it’s a recurring expense we have to meet each summer, and we have done it this year.”

Community monetary support is growing. The Town of Banner Elk has been an annual supporter, as has the Village of Sugar Mountain, and this year, Avery County has stepped in to help. A year ago, a grant from the High Country Charitable Foundation funded the planting of large maple trees along the lake’s border with Hickory Nut Gap Road.

An energized public relations campaign is set to launch in the community. Special events are planned at Wildcat Lake to involve more citizens and raise awareness of the value this recreational asset provides. Before COVID, the park was the site of its first mid-winter Polar Plunge, which drew a large crowd. Plans are in motion to host a triathlon in late August and revive the successful Polar Plunge next winter.

“We think it’s an important asset for the entire community, and not just our residents, but for our visitors, too,” said Jim Fitzpatrick, chairman of the Sugar Mountain Tourism Development Authority. “It’s a wonderful focal point of our community, where people can gather and get together in a beautiful mountain setting.”

Nancy Owens, Director of Tourism for the Town of Banner Elk, echoes Fitzpatrick’s, and many others’ sentiments. “Wildcat Lake is valuable to our community. It’s the only swimming hole around with lifeguards,” she explained. It’s a nice free amenity we provide for residents and visitors alike. I love Wildcat Lake and it serves so many people no matter where you come from. And it’s just a breathtaking view.”

Until more donors are found to recharge the ETMA Fund, a group of dedicated citizens will work each year to keep the lake a safe and well-maintained sanctuary.

“At our last ETMA meeting we discussed operating on a limited basis this summer. The three-day weekend, a five-day option, were all considered to cut costs,” McAuliffe said. “But all of us on the Board felt getting back to normal—a seven-day operation—meant a lot to all of us to rebound from the lost year of Wildcat Lake. And on Friday, June 19, we did just that.”