Volunteer of the Month – Peter Dampf

Recruiter, Captain, Commander, Communicator

If you were at the Nationals last year at Indian Trail Club, there is a good chance you saw Peter Dampf in action. He seemed to have all the answers. He knew who was playing and where, how to update the Live Scoring, and where the balls were kept. He also knew about half of the players, having recruited many of them for his Division 1 team in the Westchester League (WPTL) in Greenburgh, New York.

Dampf plays platform tennis about three times a week, but has recently had to restrict night match play due to some vision issues. As a non-playing captain, he sets the line-ups and will put himself in for at least one match as long as it doesn’t hurt Greenburgh’s chances for a top-seeding in the yearend Division 1 tournament. His dedication to his team is note-worthy. And his post-match emails are legendary. With humor and wisdom, he discusses each pairs’ strengths and weaknesses. Russ Jellinek said, “Even though I am not a team member, Wednesday morning would not be complete without receiving Peter’s point by point, shot by shot, match recap via email each week. No one weaves a tale better than Peter!”

He’s been playing the game for about 40 years in the Scarsdale area, having learned the game from Jack Randall, who was responsible for starting the WPTL. Since Dampf s team plays at Rumbrook Park, a public facility located in the town of Greenburgh, Dampf, with co-captain Patricio Misitrano, is allowed to recruit from wherever he desires. By doing this, his coaching status has taken on new meaning around the town and the league. His number one recruit this year was Marco Grangeiro (currently ranked seventh nationally), who along with some young guns have propelled the team to the top of the league….[click the image to read more]