VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — "If you build it, they will come."
The most famous line from one of the most famous sports movies ever, Field of Dreams. The movie was Hampton Road's tennis legend Darryl Cummings favorite. A baseball movie beloved by a tennis guy, so much so that he took his two sons to the film's location during a cross country road trip.
"We went to Iowa and Field of Dreams was probably number 1 on his bucket list," says Darryl's son Connor. "We got a whole tour of the place. It was one of his dreams that he wanted to do, and one of his dreams was also to build the tennis community in Virginia Beach."
Cummings passed away unexpectedly in November of 2023. The quote resonates strongly with the his legacy. After all, Cummings was constantly building.
Perhaps most notable is the tennis program at Old Dominion. Over the course of 20 years Cummings turned the men's and women's teams into local powerhouses and expanded the facilities to include the state of the art Folkes/Stevens Indoor Tennis Center. He didn't stop there. Cummings followed his tenure with the Monarchs by building up the Virginia Wesleyan and then Norfolk State tennis programs.
"His dream was to coach at all of the schools in his hometown, so he made that happen," says Cummings' widow Beth Gregory, who he married in 2012.
The two met near the beginning of another of Cummings' rebuilds. He took over the Cape Henry Racquet Club in 2009. Gregory had recently interviewed for a job with ODU Tennis before Cummings hired her to help oversee the Club.
"It was a special place. It started in 1974 and it was in a lot of of need of repair. We did a lot to the club to repair it," say Gregory. The club hosted its' 50th anniversary celebration this past weekend with a retro tournament consisting of wooden racquets and throwback outfits.
"I think he would be ecstatic, really happy with everything," says Gregory.
Perhaps the biggest addition during Cummings' time at the club was the construction of an indoor tennis facility. With such a massive project came nerves, even for the guy who had so successfully built so much.
"When we got that indoor we had to put a big deposit down and we were really nervous about it," Gregory recalls.
Those nerves were soon calmed by a familiar phrase.
"We were living in Norfolk at the time, I came downstairs and said "you know I don't know why but this quote came to me in my dreams last night, build it and they will come," Gregory describes. "(Darryl) goes, "Beth do you realize what movie that came from?" And I said no. "Field of Dreams, it came from Field of Dreams!" Tears begin to overtake Gregory's voice as she reaches this part of the story. "So that happened, and there's a few other things that happened building that (facility) that it was just...it was totally, it was meant to be."
The phrase fits nicely into 2 parts. "If you build it." Cummings was constantly building, in total control over his own destiny, making it happen. "They will come." That part is a little more out of one's hands, with a dependency on others. Together the concepts lead to community. Darryl Cummings wasn't just constructing teams and programs and facilities, he was creating communities. Communities that carry on his legacy, and continue to build.