Faces In The Crowd: Royce Ramey
July 17, 2007 | Men's Tennis
July 17, 2007
By Wes Skipwith, Texas Tech Athletic Media Relations
As a Texas Tech tennis player, Royce Ramey was known for his hard work and dedication on the court and in the classroom. He now puts those same qualities to work when dealing with his client's financial future.
Ramey roamed the courts for the Red Raiders from 2000-02 after spending his freshman and sophomore years at tennis-powerhouse Illinois. He said he came to Lubbock because he saw a chance to do something special with a coach and a program that had a lot of potential.
"When I left Illinois, it was one of the toughest decisions I have ever had to make," Ramey said. "But it turned out to be one of the best, if not the best. What I looked for when I came to Tech was to help bring a work-ethic and experience from a team that was in contingent for a national title every year to a team that I believed in and I believed could do something. I wanted to and to be able to pursue tennis after college and I felt like Coach (Tim) Siegel was the guy that could help me do that."
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His first year at Tech, Ramey struggled with mono and shoulder surgery only to bounce back his senior year and be named All-Big 12 for sinles, Academic All-Big 12, and win the Texas Tech Tennis "Hardest Worker" Award. That same year, Ramey was named Tech's Male Student-Athlete of the Year after finishing with an 11-7 record and a 4.0 grade-point average. His scholastic and athletic efforts earned him the Big 12 Post Graduate Scholarship.
Ramey said his injury was a blessing in disguise because it helped him refocus his efforts in the classroom. Before then, he was convinced that he would not be doing anything outside of tennis.
"When I had surgery on my shoulder," Ramey said, "it put some things in perspective that I may not be playing forever. I spent a lot of time training and giving myself the best opportunity to play after college, but I also knew that if I wasn't able to continue on playing then I would need some thing in my back pocket."
As he was finishing up his degree in finance at Tech, Ramey worked as a student assistant for Tech tennis coach Tim Siegel. Upon finishing graduate school, Ramey decided to put his degree to good use, so he moved to Dallas and became an independent financial planner with Linsco/Private Ledger.
After six months with LPL, Ramey said he still had a desire to coach tennis. Siegel set him up with a friend who was coaching elite youth tennis players. Ramey moved to Houston and began training and traveling with the group of 14-18 year-old tennis amateurs, several of whom ranked nationally and internationally.
He remained with the group for about a year and a half, before leaving coaching and joining Inlign Wealth Management, based in Phoenix. Ramey has been with Inlign for almost a year and a half, working as a financial planner.
When not working, Ramey helps run the Phoenix chapter of the Texas Tech Alumni Association and spends time as a mentor for a youth tennis star.
"He's one of the most talented 10-year-olds I have ever seen," Ramey said about his protégé. "He is pretty much committed his life to the sport. So I kind of help him and his family understand what they are going to go through in the future and what is going to happen now and the rollercoaster ride that they are going to come across."
Ramey said his career as a full-time tennis coach is probably over. He enjoys his current job and does not see himself leaving it anytime soon.
"I don't want to say never, but most likely not," Ramey said. "I'm pretty happy doing what I'm doing. Coaching is always there and it will be something that I miss but I think at this point and time I don't miss it enough to stop doing what I'm doing."
Ramey said he is excited about the recent success the Tech tennis team has been enjoying and he feels great pride in having been able to lay down a strong foundation while he was there.
"I think what brings me joy, more than anything I accomplished as a player, was to see that team having had the success that it's had after the years that I, Richard Crabtree and Ben Gudzelak were there in 2002. We all left but Coach Siegel has been able to put together a team and pass on some of the things that we put together there and have such great success. That makes me more proud than any win or anything that I did there."