Loretta Cooper

65

Split between Allenwood, N.J., in the summer and West Palm Beach, Fla., in the winter.

Green Gables in the summer and NCC in the winter, but most often found at The Everglades Club in Palm Beach, where I work as a pro in the winter

Soloman grip with the wrong (non-dominant) hand on top Mallet: Trimmer, 11-inch, 2.8 pounds, brass head, 34-inch shaft

16 total (1985-1994, 2014-2023)

National Croquet Center — Not only are the courts great, but also the level of competition is unparalleled. I call the veranda “Grandma’s porch.” Eventually all the members of croquet show up there.

Playing as a member of “Danny’s Dames” in a friendly tournament against the women of Ireland at the Carricksmines Club in Dublin, Ireland.

My origin story is twinned with my husband, Tom. We began with an annual backyard tournament. One of our friends saw Jack Osborn on “Good Morning America,” and discovered the USCA. We then called the USCA and were invited to attend the MidAtlantic Regionals in Quoge, N.Y., where we first witnessed American Six Wicket croquet played. Jack Osborn was announcing and the finals were between Teddy Prentis and Johnny Osborn. We were hooked.

We took up six wicket in the backyard for two years (no public access courts in Philadelphia) until we moved to New York City and joined the New York Croquet Club. I am proudly USCA member #300. We played on the tournament circuit for seven years until we retired for 20 years to raise our family in a croquet desert (Princeton Junction, N.J.).

We returned to croquet in 2014, with the Green Gables Club in Sea Girt, N.J. We went back on the tournament circuit and were delighted to find that many of our pals from the first time were still playing. Tom became a certified turf manager, and we became certified referees and instructors. We taught classes and ran tournaments as volunteers and graduated to doing it professionally. We became active in the USCA, Tom in marketing and me as USCA New Jersey rep and members of the education and grants committee. In 2021, we began working as pros at The Everglades Club in Palm Beach and made the transition to winter in Florida. Croquet 365. Living the dream!

2022 AC Nationals where I managed to win the First Flight Singles against an all-male field of contestants.

I have given up skiing, snowboarding, riding and golf. It’s all croquet now.

I’m from the Philadelphia suburbs, so rooting for the Eagles and the Phillies is congenital.

Public television and radio, detective fiction and puzzles of all kinds.

The USCA has standardized the rules, provided handicaps and organized local croquet clubs into a national collective. The sport has grown substantially since we attended the Nationals in Central Park (on two courts) in the 80s. The USCA has created a national croquet community that is a very special feature of our sport.

The sport of croquet continues to lack diversity in age, race and income. This is not the fault of the USCA but it is a challenge that it is trying to address. Croquet needs to have more affordable public access venues in addition to country clubs and residential venues. The best examples are Sarasota County Croquet Club, the New York Croquet Club and the Chesapeake Bay Croquet Club.

Although the meteoric rise of golf croquet has transformed croquet, I am a six wicket player at heart. I would love to see more folks playing 6W, especially AC. I would like to see more diversity in our membership.

Stay focused on the task at hand. Never give up. Anything can happen.

As a croquet educator, I am always in search of mnemonics to help folks remember basics. These are often culled from popular songs. One of my favorites comes from an old tune “Just walk away, Renee.” It is a reminder to stalk the ball.