Sheila McInerney's earliest "classrooms" were the public tennis courts at Franklyn Field in her hometown of Rome. Following a brief career as a professional tennis player, she has become highly successful in conveying the lessons she learned to a new generation, including some of America's finest amateurs.

Born on Feb. 22, 1958, McInerney was eight-years-old when she turned to tennis.

Conveniently, she had only to cross the street from her home to get to Franklyn Field. By her early teens, she was attracting considerable attention with her strong play in local junior tennis tournaments. By 1970, she was already ranked eighth in the nation in the girls' 12-and-under age group.

She continued to climb the ranks, reaching as high as No.3 nationally when she was 14.

She attended Rome Free Academy for two years, but her family and her coaches realized that in order to reach her potential, she needed to play competitive tennis year-round. She left Rome and moved in with a family in Miami, Fla. In June 1976, McInerney graduated from Palmetto High School. In both 1975 and 1976, she was ranked No.6 in the nation in the 18-and-under category.

Her hard work earned her a full, four-year tennis scholarship to the University of Southern California in 1976. She was also chosen that year for the Junior Wightman Cup team, consisting of the best 18-and-under female players in the nation.

In 1977, while still an amateur, McInerney was ranked 82nd in the nation and 162nd in the world. She qualified for the U.S. Open and had the unenviable task of playing her idol, Billie Jean King, in a nerve-wracking third-round match, and losing 6-1, 2-6, 6-1. McInerney confessed she had butterflies. "She was my hero, and then to play in a venue like the U.S. Open. it was very exciting."

From 1977-1980, she qualified for the U.S. Tennis Association's Junior Federation Cup team. In 1977, she qualified for Wimbledon in addition to the U.S. Open, and finished the year ranked 82nd in the world. In May 1980, she graduated from USC with a 3.7 average and a degree in public relations. She turned pro in August 1980 and was ranked 113th in the world.

She was briefly an assistant pro at the Los Angeles Tennis Club. She retired from professional play in 1983 to accept a position as assistant women's tennis coach at USC. In 1984, she was named head coach at Arizona State University in Tempe. During the last 21 years, she has posted a career record of 309-194 (.614 winning percentage), including three 20-win seasons.

Through 2004, the Sun Devils made it to the NCAA Tournament 17 consecutive years and 19 of the last 20 years, and have reached the NCAA quarterfinals eight times. McInerney has coached 16 All-Americans and 12 all-conference players. Her 2001 team was ranked seventh in the nation (20-6).

She has the fourth-highest number of wins among ASU coaches with 20 years or more of service.

She has also racked up numerous coaching honors. She was chosen head coach of the 2001- 2002 USA Tennis Collegiate Team, an elite training program for the top American collegiate players. In 1997, she was honored as the Wilson/ITA National Coach of the Year and the Pacific 10 Conference Coach of the Year when her team went 15-7 and finished seventh in the nation.

Three times, she was honored as the Wilson/ITA National Coach of the Year and was a finalist for national coach of the year honors all three times.

McInerney has been selected to coach the U.S. women's national team numerous times. In the Goodwill Games in Moscow in 1986, she guided her players to gold and silver medals in singles play. In 1987, she coached in the Pan American Games, and the women's double team racked up a gold medal.

For the last 10 summers, she has coached the USTA Collegiate Team. She was inducted into the Rome Sports Hall of Fame in 1991.