Kyle Andrew Hiers

Hiers, Kyle, age 42 of Birmingham, AL passed away on April 8, 2011. Kyle was an All - American tennis player at the University West Florida. Beloved, father, son, husband, brother and friend. He is survived by his wife; Tanya Hiers, children, Riley, Mary Madison, Kyle Noah and Hamilton Hiers. Parents Linda and Mitchell Hiers. Brothers, Mitchell, Eric, Brendan and Nathaniel Hiers and sister, Stephanie Chitty. Grandmother, Margaret Hiers. Family will receive friends from 11-12 on Wednesday at Southern Heritage Funeral Home with the funeral service to follow at 12:00. Burial at Southern Heritage Cemetery. In lieu of flowers a scholarship fund has been set up for his children at Servis 1st Bank. 5403 Highway 280 Suite 401, Birmingham, AL 35242. (205)-949-0870

During his 31 years as the tennis coach at Moultrie/Colquitt County High School, Mike Jenkins produced a number of outstanding players and Kyle Hiers was certainly one of them, winning two region singles championships and three southern state titles between 1983-1986. Hiers, who went on to an outstanding career at the University West Florida, was killed last Friday in car wreck in Alabama. His funeral was held in Pelham, Ala. The obituary appeared in Tuesday’s edition of The Observer.

As a freshman in 1983, Hiers won the Region 1-AAAA singles title and followed with the championship at the Southern tournament at the Abraham Baldwin College courts. As a sophomore in 1984, he advanced to the Class AAAA state singles finals, but fell to Redan High’s Hank Parichabutr. He had earlier won the southern title. In 1985, Hiers defeated Valdosta’s Eric Anderson for the Region 1-AAAA championship and went on to win the southern title as well. And as a senior, Hiers won the region championship again and was a finalist in the Southern tournament.

Following his high school career, Hiers went on to play at West Florida in Pensacola, Fla., where he became the school’s first singles All-American. Hiers played at West Florida from 1988-1991 and was a two-time NAIA All-American. He finished his senior season ranked No. 22 in singles in the final Volvo Tennis/Collegiate Rankings for NAIA schools.

In 2005, he was elected to the West Florida Sports Hall of Fame. Jenkins said he considers Hiers the best male player he coached. Hiers played No. 1 singles all four years of high school and played top competition during the rest of the year. “He was ranked No. 10 in the nation in doubles with (Valdosta High’s) Eric Anderson,” Jenkins said. “And he was No. 62 in singles. He went to all the big tournaments.

“He did pretty good for a country boy from South Georgia”

Jenkins especially remembers what a hard worker Hiers was and not just practicing tennis. “He’d work at the Dairy Queen to get money to pay for tournaments,” Jenkins said. “He was such a good kid and such a hard worker. “And he developed into a great player.”