‘SHE IS IRREPLACEABLE’

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
  A proud South African, Jacqui Haddock came to the United States with the idea of traveling when she was 21 years old.

            But other than her annual pilgrimages back to South Africa, Baylor's Director of Tennis Operations has lived in Texas for the last 31 years, became an American citizen about 10-12 years ago and giving up her South African citizenship two years ago.

            "Renewing is so complex, so hard, that you actually have to be in South Africa now to renew your passport. They just changed the law," she said. "I can get back if I want to, it's just for now I gave it up.

            "I decided to become an American citizen several years ago, and I went to San Antonio and waved my little flag. I had to pass a history test and officially became a proud citizen of the country."

            Jacqui got an early introduction to tennis in the first grade as part of the curriculum in a physical education class in Port Elizabeth. She played both tennis and field hockey for the Eastern Cape province and played tennis at Victoria Girls' High School in Grahamstown.

            "Most people in South Africa at least know how to play tennis," she said. "You start with a little paddle. So, it just kind of clicked, and I stuck with that. I played field hockey as well growing up, so I was pretty athletic."

            Growing up during the apartheid era in South Africa, Jacqui said her parents considered immigrating to Australia, "and then changed their minds."

            "Honestly, I would encourage anyone to take a trip and experience the culture and beauty of South Africa," she said. "My older sister, Joanna, got her doctorate in law and has actually given a lecture at the law school here at Baylor. My brother, Simon, took over my dad's company; he owned a plumbing and building company. And then, my younger sister, Paula, lives in Cape Town. So, my parents, all three siblings and all their kids are still in South Africa. Obviously, South Africa has its issues, but they would never move."

Jacqui Haddock with her extended family

  After finishing a two-year business degree through Beckley's College, Jacqui decided she wanted to travel "and figured that being a nanny was the way to go." Moving to the U.S. at the age of 21, she took a job as a nanny for a single mom and her 7-year-old daughter in Houston, Texas.

            "They gave me a car, and she went to school, and I traveled with them," Jacqui said, "and had the time of my life pretty much."

            Houston was also where she met her husband, Robert, and gave birth to twins, Ashleigh and Kaitlyn. Taylor, the youngest, was born two years later. Staying at home when the girls were young, Jacqui initially took a job as a secretary at Kennedy-Powell Elementary School in Temple when the family moved back to Waco native Robert Haddock's Central Texas roots.

            "They went to school, and I joined them, so we were kind of on the same schedule," Jacqui said. "I stayed with them for four years, and then this position opened up (at Baylor)."

            Finding out about the job through a friend who she played tennis with socially in Temple, Jacqui was hired at Baylor in 2007 as an administrative assistant for men's and women's tennis and softball.

            "It was totally different from what I had done in the past," she said. "In South Africa, we didn't play softball, so learning the game of softball was all new to me. It was an adjustment to try to figure out what this was about. Tennis, I knew, because I grew up playing tennis. But college tennis is a different ballgame. The scoring is different, the format is different, it's just different. That was also a learning process for me, but I love what I do every day."

            That changed about six years ago, when Jacqui transitioned into her current role as Director of Operations for men's and women's tennis.

  Among her numerous responsibilities, she arranges all the travel for the teams, orders all the Nike apparel and equipment they need, including racquets, string, etc., and basically keeps the machine running. She also oversees the team managers, does all the game-day setup for home matches and serves as a "sound board for the coaches to make sure they stay sane."

            "She's the type of person that's really irreplaceable," men's tennis head coach Michael Woodson said. "She knows what to do, she knows how to do it. I don't think that there's a day that's gone by in my seven years where I haven't reached out to her, whether she's at home in South Africa visiting family or I'm on vacation somewhere recruiting. She's just always that calming presence that has solutions to any problems that come up."

            That's also included running the summer tennis camps for the last 10 years, taking care of the administrative side with the "website, the rooming lists, making sure everyone gets registered and everything turned in . . . being responsible for 120 kids a week," Jacqui said.

            "We all have different things that we need," Woodson said. "And it doesn't matter whether it's how to feed the guys next or how to get to a certain place or putting on a great event. Whether it's a match or a fundraiser or anything, she understands how to get things done in a professional and disciplined way. For us, we really couldn't do this job without her. And I would have no interest in being a part of this program without her here."

            Unofficially, Jacqui is also the team mom for 20 or more student-athletes every year.

            "They all come and talk to me at some point, the girls more so than the guys," she said. "Although the guys realized that they can just come in and sit in here for 10 minutes and chat and see how my day is going, which I really enjoy. Same with the trainers. I love being around young kids. It just makes me feel a little bit younger."

            Keeping up with most of them through social media, "I absolutely love seeing them grow up and become adults and achieve what they achieve. And I'm close to all of them."

            "I can go anywhere in the world," she said, "and pretty much there's somebody I know that I can reach out to, which is nice. I get to see them grow up and have kids. And when they go home, they bring me little knickknacks."

            Lenka Broosova was a freshman when Jacqui started at Baylor, becoming an All-American and eventual Hall of Famer. After a seven-year stint at Tulsa, Broosova returned to Baylor as the associate head coach under Joey Scrivano in December 2020.

            "We started at the same time," Jacqui said, "so to see her come full circle and come back as a coach is pretty cool. She has achieved so much."

            Scrivano, who's had her by his side for all but five of his 21 years at Baylor, says "Jacqui is a super star!"

            "She is a big part of our programs and plays into the success of both teams," Scrivano said. "Jacqui is a beautiful person and such an amazing role model for our student-athletes. I know our team really values Jacqui for more than just her job responsibilities. They enjoy talking to her about both tennis and life."

            In much the same way that she relishes the achievements of Baylor's former student-athletes, one of Jacqui's biggest rewards as a mom has been seeing all three daughters graduate and "how much they have achieved."

            Ashleigh and Kaitlyn both earned their undergrad degrees at Baylor and went on to get their master's at North Texas and Texas Tech, respectively, while Taylor got her business degree from UMHB.

            "They would have never come here, if I hadn't worked at Baylor. We just couldn't have afforded it," Jacqui said. "Having them here was amazing. Probably more amazing for them, because they could just pop in and say, 'Hey, I need something.' They always come home at some point, crying for something, but they're all working and supporting themselves. So, I can't ask for more than that."

Jacqui Haddock's daughters, Ashleigh and Kaitlyn

Jacqui Haddock with two of her daughters at a Baylor football game

  At 52, Jacqui says she plans to "work as long as they'll have me, because I enjoy it."

            "I am grateful for every amazing opportunity that Baylor has given me," she said. "I have been blessed to be able to work with unbelievable people over the last 16 years. Michael and Joey have been so good to me, and of course (softball coach) Glenn Moore, you can't ask for a better human. Even now, if I needed him to do something, he would drop a hat to do it."

            An avid reader who also likes to watch sports and travel, Jacqui's favorite hobby is actually entering contests and sweepstakes.

            "It's just a hobby that I do in my spare time," she said. "But I've won quite a few things. I actually won a trip to Las Vegas to play tennis with Andre Agassi. I've won a TV, my kids won a Disney prize. Just something fun to do when I have the time. And if I can travel outside of (the job), I will."

‘SHE IS IRREPLACEABLE’

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