Growing up in Swampscott, said Erik Heitmann, he was exceedingly shy. Tennis helped change that and proceeded to help shape his life and career.

His brother Scott, older by seven years, introduced him to the game and was his early instructor. Later, Erik took lessons from legendary North Shore tennis coach John Foley.

He was a captain of the Swampscott High team, won a New England collegiate doubles tournament while teamed with Mark Smith as a junior at University of Maine, and then was a Black Bear captain as a senior in 1983.

A tennis teammate, and fraternity brother at Maine, the late Zane Lowry, went into the Air Force and gave Heitmann the idea he could do that as well. He served in the Air Force for six years and flew air refueling tankers in the buildup to the Gulf War during Operation Desert Shield.

Now 54, he’s been a pilot for UPS since 1994 and lives in Louisville, Ky., with his wife Susan and their sons, Brevik, 15, and Bryce, 10, and daughter, Sydney, 12. All the kids swim competitively and play other sports as well. Susan, who grew up in Louisville, was a Division 1 swimmer at East Carolina University.

Erik and Susan met through tennis. No surprise there. They will celebrate their wedding anniversary on Monday.

“I love my career,’’ Heitmann said. “I love being a pilot and I don’t know that I would have done that without tennis. I was extremely shy when I was young and tennis helped me meet people. I fell in love with tennis and I’d go down to the park every day and would ask anybody to play — old guys, young guys, women. I came out of my shell and met some great people and that continued at the University of Maine.’’

And beyond.

Allen Lessels can be reached at lessfam321@gmail.com.