Tennis Coach Shares Life as a Documentary Film Maker

Emory & Henry tennis coach Jim Barker has an interesting claim to fame: he’s done just about everything. From frying pan tennis to filming documentaries, Barker has tried it all.

A graduate of nearby East Tennessee State University, Barker also served with the U.S. Army in Vietnam for a time. After graduating from ETSU, where he fell in love with tennis, he decided to move to Florida.

“I decided that I wanted to go somewhere that I could play tennis on a regular basis,” Barker said.

After a stint working in the Florida Department of Education, Barker moved to an occupation in his true passion, tennis. He became an assistant professional at a YMCA before continuing to own and operate a tennis facility near Fort Myers, Florida where he met John Biffar, who would become a long-time friend and business partner. Biffar, who owns Dreamtime Entertainment, was working with the CBS affiliate station in Fort Myers at the time and coerced Barker into his involvement in the entertainment world.

“I have extreme OCD,” Barker said, possibly joking, possibly not. “It’s nice to switch up things from time to time because I get bored.”

When Biffar started Dreamtime, previously known as Long John Productions, Barker was hired full time as a videographer. During his time with Long John Productions, Barker and Biffar produced documentaries on Mel Fisher, one of the world’s most successful treasure hunters, Pope John Paul II, and many philanthropic issues, most notably his film Children of the Fourth World about underprivileged children in Guatemala. Barker and his colleagues have also done multiple pieces for the History Channel and the Travel Channel over the years. He is planning to make a trip to Haiti to document the devastation from the recent earthquake there, as well as to do some humanitarian work.

Barker combined his love for tennis with his love for entertainment, specializing in frying pan tennis (yes, that is tennis using a frying pan rather than a racket). He and Biffar traveled around Florida to challenge the best in frying pan tennis, and Barker even earned the nickname ‘Frying Pan’ Barker. His most noteworthy opponent was five-time U.S. Open and two time Wimbledon champion Jimmy Connors, who owned a resort in Fort Myers. Barker challenged the former world No. 1, saying that the town was “only big enough for one Jimmy.” Connors beat him in straight sets.

“That was my only frying pan tennis loss,” said Barker.

After Hurricane Andrew devastated Florida in 1992, Barker and his wife moved to Virginia, where he began work as the tennis coach at Virginia Intermont College in Bristol. When the tennis coaching position came open at E&H, Barker jumped all over it, and he’s been here ever since.

“The thing that satisfies my OCD at Emory & Henry is that I get to wear a lot of hats here,” Barker said.

He has served primarily as the tennis coach, but he also hosts his own radio show on WEHC-FM, The Eclectic Hour, and has even done some teaching. Barker took the tiller on one of the Transitions I courses in the College’s new Engaging the Liberal Arts curriculum this past fall.

The Eclectic Hour is designed to be half interview and half music. Barker encourages his guests to bring in their own tunes.

“I try to focus more on their music, and how they use music,” he said. “Music is like the eyes; it’s a window into the soul.”

Barker has also been a contributing member of the community since moving to Glade Spring. He served on the town council for four years and even ran for mayor once.

“I developed a sense of community,” Barker said.

Barker decided not to run for reelection after his term ended in 2008 because he wanted to get more involved here at Emory & Henry.

“Every couple of years, you find something that keeps you going,” Barker said. “I imagine I’ll always be doing tennis…I love playing tennis and I love being a teacher.”

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