by Louis Bonnette
David Clayton didn't play tennis in his younger years but before he was in his teens, he was a pretty good hand with the racket.
He grew up watching older brothers Marshall and Don play on a dirt court in Lake Arthur and by the time he was 12, he had joined them.
"By then the courts had been blacktopped and my mother also had bought me a racket," Clayton said. "She got it with three books of green stamps. It was called a Magnum.
"I loved that racket."
There's not much time for tennis now for Clayton, who on July 1 took over as the Jeff Davis parish school superintendent.
"Right now we're getting geared up for the new year," he said in anticipation of his first full year in his new position. "Everything is on schedule. All of the staff has been hired and we will be welcoming a little over 5,600 students in August."
Tennis, however, has been a big part of Clayton's life.
Growing up in Lake Arthur, sports came naturally to him.
At the high school he played basketball, tennis and high jumped for the track team.
"You notice that I said I high jumped. That's all I did. I didn't run track. I high jumped."
As a senior he tied for first place at the district meet.
"I know that Leonard Troutman was one who tied with me and there were several others at the respectable height of 5-6. I never could get comfortable in what form to use in the high jump."
In basketball, at 6-2 1/2 he was one of the taller players in the district.
Clayton was coached by Malon Dobson, the team won the district title in his junior year and he earned all-district honors three straight seasons, was named to the lower class all-SW Louisiana team and got an honorable all-state mention.
In tennis there was no district meet (only a one class state meet) but he did take part in the annual rally that McNeese State held and in his senior year won the mixed doubles title with his partner.
"I guess that I really expected to get some sort of scholarship for basketball after my high school career," he offered. "I didn't and I enrolled at McNeese the summer after I graduated as an early admission (age 17)."
Later in the summer he did get some feelers from Southeastern Louisiana and before the fall semester started, Clayton had skipped to Hammond to join the Lions' basketball team.
That didn't work out for him as after playing only 16 minutes during the fall semester schedule, he shifted back to McNeese.
Milton White, who was an assistant football coach at McNeese as well as the tennis coach, had expected Clayton to play tennis for him that first year.
But, a ruling prevented him from returning and competing immediately. He would have to sit out a year.
Clayton did compete in 1966 for White and then in 1967 for Jim Brown.
"David played a big part on our team my first year there. I think that the Cowboys had won maybe three matches over a five year period and we came out 7-3," said Brown, now retired from McNeese and living in Atlanta as a free lance writer.
"He was always a smart player. David came in right when we began to build the tennis program at McNeese and I will always remember him as being one of our first leaders."
Clayton said that he thought he had posted records of 4-6 and 5-7 as a singles player during the two years he played for the Cowboys and that he and Chick Tornabene did team up to finish as runnersup in the No. 2 doubles position at the conference tournament (Gulf States Conference).
He also played the No. 2 singles position for the Cowboys his final year, Jes Stewart holding down No.1.
For his senior year, Clayton decided to leave the team to concentrate on his studies and also because of student teaching.
He wasn't getting any athletic aid although he did have some academic money.
Back then the school only had one scholarship for tennis and that was divided between Stewart and Tornabene.
"I did get some books," Clayton said. "Coach Ratcliff (athletic director A. I. Ratcliff) would let some of the guys not on scholarship go and get what books were left after the scholarship players got their's and most of the time we were able to get a few.
"Coach Brown was bringing in such players as Joe Layman, Randy Chamberlain and Victor Zaldo so there may not have been a place on the team for me anyway," Clayton added.
After graduation, the Jeff Davis superintendent began his teaching career at Sulphur High and that's where he also kicked off a tradition of starting up tennis programs.
He would go on to also start programs at Lacassine High and Fenton High.
Following one year at Sulphur, Clayton joined the Marines and put in a two year hitch, continuing his tennis playing by playing service ball.
Out of the service, he was back in school, obtaining two master degrees from Northwestern State.
And, then he returned to teaching, serving several schools in several positions including principal over a long span. He joined the central office for the Jeff Davis school board in 1996 as curriculum coordinator, later became the assistant superintendent and now is the superintendent.
Linda, his wife of 35 years, is a business teacher at Lacassine High and sons Kyle and Dane live in Los Angeles. Kyle is a graduate of LSU and is now enrolled in the UCLA film school getting a degree in screen writing. Dane will soon receive his degree from Northwestern State.
Until recently, David has maintained a tennis regimen. He was one of the area leaders in the growth of the sport in the 1980s as a member of various tennis organizations and a participant in all of the area tournaments, being among the better players in both singles and doubles.
He also refereed college matches from the 2000 through the 2005 season, including a Southland Conference championship tournament hosted by McNeese State.
Clayton said that he knows that tennis and McNeese played a big role in his life.
"I feel that tennis, just like any competitive sport, can help prepare you for the challenges that you may face in life. At McNeese, I was well prepared for my career. I had really good teachers, made lifelong friends and had a great time. What else is there in a college choice?"
