A former Division 1 tennis player, an Air Force veteran, and a contestant on the show Family Feud. A man who can quite literally do it all, Assistant Coach Corky Leighton is the secret weapon of the Girls Varsity Tennis team.

The 2024 Girls’ Tennis season ended in the team fighting their way through both Conference and Sectionals, finishing top 16 in the state — a major accomplishment. 

The team has had a long history of success; over the past fifteen years, the team has earned four state championships and finished as state runner-ups twice. This successful repertoire can be credited in part to the major role that Corky has played. 

Corky has been the tennis coach at LFHS for over 23 years. He coaches both the Boys and Girls Varsity Tennis teams and has led multiple players and teams to state championship victories. 

Senior Nastia Belova, a four-year varsity team member, competed at State for the second time this year. 

“Being coached by [Corky] during practice or a match always helps me focus on exactly what I needed to do to play better,” Belova said. “He has a way of making the hard sport more manageable and simple.”

Whether it’s during the game point of an important match or simply while serving in practice, Corky has a way of breaking things down that allows every player to truly understand what they are doing right and wrong. He knows what works and what doesn’t, and his guidance is crucial to the development of the girl’s team. 

Having been part of the tennis world his entire life, Corky isn’t shy about sharing valuable pieces of tennis knowledge. As a child, he was quickly introduced to the sport of tennis.                                                                                                                        

“I grew up in a tennis family. My grandpa was a high school teacher and a tennis coach, and for two years, he was the US Davis Cup coach,” Corky said. “My dad got involved in tennis growing up and later began coaching. Him being a tennis coach had a lot of influence on what we did as a family.” 

Despite growing up in a tennis-centered family, Corky himself didn’t decide to make tennis his main focus until later. 

“When I was young, I played all of the sports — tennis at first wasn’t even my favorite; I loved baseball. In high school, my doubles partner and I lost in the finals of State. That loss is what really ignited me to stay in tennis,” Corky said.

To those who know Corky well, it may come as a surprise that tennis hasn’t always been his favorite sport. However, what is definitely not surprising is that he bounced back from a loss with an even stronger determination to win.

This is advice that is consistently repeated to the players that he coaches. Drawing from his own experiences as a player in order to make his teams the strongest they can be is exactly what makes Corky more than simply a coach– he is a mentor. 

For Corky, coaching is more than just a job; it’s a commitment to continual growth. His motivation stems from the belief that there’s always room to help players refine their skills and achieve more.

“I keep coaching because I can always find other things to help people improve,” Corky said. 

This dedication reflects his mindset for both coaching and life in general, continuously enhancing the skill and mentality of the tennis team. He’s never willing to settle until he knows he has done everything he could to push a player to the top of their game. 

While his guidance is always top-notch, few get to know him outside of the tennis team. Whether he is pulling out a new contraption to help the team with their serves or explaining why drinking salt water is the best remedy for a sore throat, Corky always has an insightful fact up his sleeve. 

Corky’s wisdom is shaped not only by his experience as a tennis player, but also from his time in the Air Force and his career in public health.  

During his senior year of high school, Corky was offered a scholarship to Toledo University, a Division 1 school where his father was formerly the coach. After playing there for three years, he transferred to the University of Illinois. Shortly after graduating, he entered into the Air Force. 

“One year, I was in Vietnam. I worked in air transportation and my job was aircraft allocation– figuring out what to put on the planes and getting them in and out of the base,” Corky said. “When you are in a war zone, you never know what to expect.” 

The unexpected nature of working in the Air Force inspired Corky to never accede to a job that wasn’t making him happy. Transitioning from being in the Air Force, to working in public health, to becoming a tennis coach at a country club, Corky was able to find exactly what he needed to understand his true passion in life. 

 “I realized that you need to find something that you love doing and are willing to do for the rest of your life.”

While at first career-oriented when entering the public health industry, Corky trusted his gut and made changes to align with what is most enjoyable to him. 

Now, Corky has lived in Northbrook for 48 years, raising both of his children there. One of them is currently a tennis coach at Deerfield High School, following in his father’s footsteps. 

Whether it’s a win or a loss, you can trust that Corky will be on the sidelines, ready to explain exactly what worked and what didn’t. 

Over the years he has learned a lot about what it takes to be a great tennis player, and now he is able to connect it all into what he believes is the most fundamental piece of advice he could give: “You must play within yourself. Be completely honest with yourself, you could be your own best friend or worst enemy and it is much better to be a friend.”