At The Net: Karl & Lilian Poling, CourtSense
For the Polings, tennis has always been an integral part of life. Growing up as the daughter and son of a dedicated collegiate tennis coach, Karl and Lilian have had a racquet in their hands since they can remember.
“Growing up, tennis was a big part of my life,” said Lilian. “Both my parents played in college, and my dad was a college coach, so my brother and I spent a lot of time at the courts both playing and watching tennis. My dad would play this game with us where he would try and roll the ball past us.”
Karl added:
“I was always surrounded by the game. I think I learned to ride a bike on the tennis courts, and I’d watch my dad’s team play their matches. I don’t remember exactly when I started tennis, I just remember every day after school, my sister and I would go to the tennis courts and hit with my dad. I believe we started at like 15 minutes a day because he didn’t want to over-do it with us, but that always left us wanting to do more.”
From an early age, James “Jim” Poling would play various tennis games with his children, teaching them the value of winning and losing, but doing so in a light-hearted way.
“We would always play this half-court approach game my dad called ‘beat the creature’ where my brother and I would team up against him,” Lilian recalls. “If he won, we would do the dishes, and if we won, we got to eat ice cream. We ate a lot of ice cream but looking back, I think my dad might have lost on purpose because he wanted ice cream too.”
Jim Poling was a decorated collegiate coach that included stops at Mississippi State, South Alabama, Tulsa, Rollins, and finally Army, where he coached for 20 years. His dedication to the sport and his players, and his generous spirit, earned him the 2024 USTA Eastern Leslie J. Fitz Gibbon Man of the Year Award.
Unfortunately, Poling passed away last June, and he received the award posthumously.
“He was a bit of an everyman,” Jim’s wife Marianne said. “He definitely cared about anyone who was in his orbit. No matter who you were, he treated you with kindness and respect. He loved tennis, he loved people and he loved coaching. I think that’s why he was so good at it.”
Poling’s legacy lives on through the players he coached, and through Karl and Lilian, who because of Jim’s caring spirit, and not being overbearing on them, allowed his children to find their love and passion for tennis on their own.
Two of those players he coached during his decades-long career were Gordon Uehling and Ognen Nikolovski, who competed together on the Rollins team in the early 90s. The impact he had on the two of them was immeasurable, and they remained close long after the two of them finished their collegiate careers.
When Uehling founded CourtSense Tennis Training Center in New Jersey and Nikolovski became the General Manager, Poling trusted them with the training and development needs of Karl and Lilian.
“Coach Poling was very passionate about the game, and during our time together he was really driven, and wanted to improve every player on the team. What was special about him was also that he really tried to reach each player individually off the court and help them grow as a person,” said Nikolovski. “I can honestly say that our relationship grew much more once we graduated as he was very proactive about staying in touch, and made sure we knew that he was there for us for any type of support. The unique thing was that once he left Rollins College and got the job at West Point, he was relatively close to our CourtSense facilities, and we got to help his kids grow on and off the court, which was a full circle moment.”
Karl and Lilian trained at CourtSense during their formative years, and it was on those courts and inside those facilities that their tennis games really began to thrive.
“I told my parents I wanted to take tennis seriously and wanted to be homeschooled to be able to train more. So my dad took me to a try out at an academy but I didn’t really feel a connection there,” Lilian said. “On the way home, my dad decided to make one more stop, and we stopped at CourtSense. We talked with Ogi, and the following week I was playing there. I loved it. CourtSense has been a huge part of my development, and my coaches have been a huge reason why I have continued to play after college as well.”
Karl, being the younger brother, started playing at CourtSense soon after Lilian did.
“I remember going there sometime to pick Lilian up, but I didn’t join there until a little later,” he said. “The first connection was definitely through my dad coaching Gordon and Ogi, and once we got there it really felt like a family, and I have a lot of fond memories at CourtSense.”
Lilian would go on to play collegiately at Boise State and then Mississippi State, while Karl would play at Princeton before transferring to North Carolina. After decorated collegiate careers, both of them are now competing on the professional tour. Karl is ranked 627th on the ATP Tour, and Lilian is ranked 785th on the WTA Tour.
When they aren’t traveling for tournaments, they use CourtSense as their home training base, continuing to put their trust in Gordon, Ogi and the team there.
“I think I am where I am in a large part because of CourtSense,” said Karl. “They have helped me so much with my understanding of the game, and how to approach things the right way to improve and succeed. As I play professionally now, I am on the road quite a bit, but I go back whenever I can to train out of there. I feel like I am improving a lot at CourtSense, and that is one of the big things that keeps me going, knowing that if I steadily improve, I have a shot of climbing the rankings and making this a career. I’ll be at CourtSense probably 1-2 weeks out of every month, and then the rest will be tournaments on the road.”
Lilian was at CourtSense for a big part of the summer before heading off to Europe and Africa for tournaments.
“I just got done spending a month training there, and then will leave for a month for tournaments and then come back for two weeks or so to train, and then go on the road for a bit and come back. So I am there quite often,” said Lilian. “It has been super beneficial because I’m learning that going on the road for too long without a coach is hard, and I start to develop some bad habits. It’s been really important for my tennis that I go back there and have my coach Asher [Salam] help clean everything up, and also add things to my game. They have a great fitness program so it’s good to go back, get a training block in and get my body stronger and in the best shape to compete.”
Like any siblings, Karl and Lilian were competitive with each other while growing up, which at times brought out the best in each other, but also the worst. There was a time when their mom Marianne wouldn’t even let them play together because they would just fight.
But as both have gotten older, they appreciate the fact that they have been so close to somebody who understands what it’s like being a high-level tennis player, and all that comes with it. As each continues to embark on their professional tennis journeys, they have someone who they can talk to who gets it.
“We have been able to play some of the same tournaments together which has been really fun, and it is always nice to have him there at my matches coaching me if he’s not playing, and I always enjoy being in his corner and watching him play,” said Lilian. “I think it’s also great to have someone close to you that you can talk to about the ups and downs because he understands what I am going through and how it feels, and vice-versa.”
“Growing up there were definitely times where my sister and I were a little too competitive. I think we both wanted to be better and to beat the other, but we both matured enough to be able to practice together,” Karl said. “Since then, I think it has been extremely beneficial to have a sibling taking the same path as you, and you also have a built-in practice partner as well as a second set of eyes to see how things unfold. Pro tennis is difficult, so just to have people around you who understand it helps a lot.”
As the two continue to make their mark as professional players, they will not only do their best to represent the Poling name in the best way possible, but also serve as ambassadors for CourtSense, as they embody its values and what it means to not only be the best tennis players they can be, but also the best people they can be.
“They are great human beings in every aspect, on and off the court. They have different personalities, but both of them have always been hard working, humble, kind and respectful, being both coachable but also competitive,” Nikolovski added. “Regardless of how their tennis careers end up, I have no doubt they they will do great in every aspect of their lives, and make a positive difference in whatever environments they are in.”
