Week 2 Recap from Marcy

With about 30 students and 10 volunteers, Marcy Tennis Club was swarming as usual on Saturday, June 6. The lesson theme was Racquet and Ball Control, which we taught through exercises to strengthen dexterity and to facilitate comfort with tennis equipment.

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Five groups of students moved about four unique Racquet and Ball Control stations and a fifth station that was used for the off-court discussion. Each student group was accompanied by one volunteer who followed them through the rotation. Meanwhile, one to two volunteers remained fixed at each station. This format provided students with constant attention from a single individual throughout the class along with detailed instruction and feedback at each station.

On one small court, the students practiced "Bump-Up and Tap-Downs" to master controlling small ball movements with their racquets.

On another small court, the name of the game was "Partner Bump-Ups," in which a pair of teammates stood about 10 feet apart and passed a ball back and forth using their racquets. The objective was to let the ball bounce on the rubber dot placed on the ground halfway between theme.

A third small court was used for a racquet-free, ball-free activity: footwork! Though nothing to do with tennis equipment, footwork exercises a ladder are great for improving agility.

Lastly, the big court was designated for Split Steps, and was far and away the students' favorite station. Here, the students practiced preparing for their groundstrokes with the proper movement--a split step--and enjoyed the excitement of attempting full-depth shots on a real tennis court.

In the shade, Marcy's Site Coordinator, Gary, conducted the off-court discussion on Healthy Lifestyles. The students reviewed the components of the Food Pyramid and shared their opinions regarding a list of health advice from tennis professionals.

We concluded with a mega game of breakout--and split steps were mandatory! So if players didn't start their groundstroke with a split step, they were automatically out! With so many participants, we only had time for one round. We look forward to resuming next week with our first lesson on forehands. Go Marcy!

A Wonderful Reminder of Our Purpose

What a great start to the 2015 Kings County Tennis League (KCTL) season this past Saturday. Bringing tennis to the kids, as our motto goes. KCTL now operates programs in five Brooklyn communities in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood. I stopped by Marcy Playground for opening day to experience the program first hand. What an uplifting experience it was.

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The weather was perfect, turnout was high and the court was full of smiling faces. Some were new and others were returning for another year of the program. And the volunteers were as upbeat and enthusiastic as ever. (We have the best volunteers in the New York, hands down!)

The highlight for me was meeting the mother of a girl who has joined the program this year. We chatted while she watched the activities and cheered her daughter on. Her daughter had shown an interest in learning tennis last year, but the season was already nearing an end. She made sure to get registered early to take part this season.

I learned that her daughter also takes piano lessons and learns ballet. “I want her to be exposed to many different activities. When she gets older she can choose what she prefers, but I want her to have options,” the mother explained. I was more than a little impressed, as I wondered if I was looking at a future tennis pro, breakout musician or ballerina. Or even all three.

The conversation brought me back to the organization’s purpose – to empower youth in Brooklyn to learn tennis as both a healthy activity and also to impart life skills. And as this parent so eloquently explained how she wants her daughter to have options to help her make future life decisions, I was reminded of just how important KCTL is to our local communities. And that in turn inspires me to look for creative new ways to support and expand this important program. If you have ideas, I’d love to hear them. Please let me know at cmcmanus@kingscountytennisleague.org.

Author Chris McManus is a member of the Board of Directors for Kings County Tennis League.

Season Opener Recap from Tompkins

Tompkins Tennis Club had a spectacular start to the season on Saturday, May 30!

10 students bright and ready to play, accompanied by five dedicated volunteers, participated in a series of activities and drills designed to introduce new students to tennis and to refresh the skills of our returned students.

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We started off with running and stretching, followed by a racquet and ball control drills, all as a group.

After that, we initiated our off-court session, establishing the time as an open space for students, volunteers, and staff to share ideas. For this first session, we also conducted an ice-breaker that used movement and call/response to learn everyone's names.

Following off-court, students were divided into different stations: introduction to tennis and games. For introduction to tennis, students learned how to hold the racquet when not at play, how to move when hitting a forehand, and how to stay on their toes in ready position.

At the games station, students played lobster-trap, which also engaged the practice of being explosive and staying on their toes. They leapt forward to capture the balls tossed by volunteers by trapping the ball with their hands against the sweet spot of the racquets.

To close off the class, students regrouped to do an obstacle course where side-step footwork was emphasized. They then played a few rounds of Red Light, Green Light, balancing tennis balls on their racquets and moving forward or freezing according to the volunteers' instructions. The students enjoyed it; they were really expressive about succeeding and remaining in place or losing and having to start over again.

All of our students, new and returning, were excited about the start of the season, as were our volunteers about working with them. We're looking forward to next week. Go Tompkins!

Class Recap: The End

At Marcy:

To celebrate the fact that the students are "graduating" from another year of KCTL, we played a graduation-themed game where the kids completed various challenges to progress through different levels of education. To graduate high school, they had to hit a forehand past the service line. To graduate college, they had to hit a backhand past the service line. To get a masters degree, they had to hit three volleys. To get a PhD, students had to sustain a rally with a volunteer for 10 shots total (meaning they had to successfully hit the ball 5x). To become President of the US, they had to hit a target. After everyone successfully became president, we played a rallying game with the class and then played our final game of breakout.

At Tompkins:

We divided the kids based on age, and had them play/hit as many ball as possible as final preparation for next week's end-of-season tennis tournament. The kids hit against each other and then with volunteers. It's amazing to watch to see how their skills have improved since the beginning of the season--I'm really looking forward to seeing them play against the other kids next week. We held a large, off-court talk, where each student talked about what tennis (and the weekly classes) meant to them. As a volunteer, it was incredibly touching to hear how much the kids enjoyed tennis, learning something new each week, and befriending the volunteers. We ended our final class of the season with a site favorite, an oldie but a goodie, a big group game of breakout!

Off-Court Talk: Stress Management

Stress Management was a timely off-court discussion topic this past Saturday at Marcy, where our students were about two weeks into the school year and two weeks away from the end-of-season Jamboree tournament. In between match play station drills and games, the kids chatted with Gary at a court-side picnic table. The table seats about four to five people comfortably, so Saturday’s conversations were a bit smaller and more personalized than usual, allowing for greater individual contribution from each student.

The small groups spoke extensively about school-related stress. “Is a particular subject going to stress you out?” Gary asked to introduce the concept. Yes, while the kids are mostly comfortable with the upcoming school year, they remarked that they’re worried about one or two classes, and they agreed that stress is no fun. Stress causes poor health, they explained; stomach problems, bad eating habits and disorders and insufficient sleep are often the products of one’s nerves. Fortunately, the kids keenly understand how stress also motivates them to do better and promotes a sense of urgency. Moreover, they’re all well prepared to handle academic stress effectively. The Marcy kids pointed to music, friends, teachers and guidance counselors as their favorite resources for stress reduction.

Gary connected the upcoming Jamboree to the previous reflections on stress. “Will you be worried on Game Day? Will the competition and the eyes of your friends, family and other spectators cause you stress?” Luckily everyone agreed that nerves in sports are a positive thing in that they promote healthy competition.They closed out the conversations with reminders to practice good sportsmanship in the tournament.

Week 17: Class Recap

At Marcy:

We hosted students from Sumner Tennis Club AND we had almost a full house at Marcy. So class was a very large group of students--the more the merrier, right?! Despite lousy weather, we managed to squeeze in almost a full class before it rained. We did stations including: footwork obstacle course, groundstroke target hitting, rallying, match play, and various "racquet-free" hand-eye coordination games for some of the smaller kids. Then everyone joined up on the big court for a game of breakout, which we didn't finish--in part because of the rain, but also because site leader Maayan told us if anyone caught a ball hit by Bryce (Sumner's site leader and very strong player,) everyone on the "catching" side of the net would be given amnesty to return to hitting. On our fourth try, a student caught one (!) and everyone scrambled back to the safe side, then shortly after, it began to rain.

Off-Court: Art Project

Off-court sessions at KCTL are typically reserved for verbal expression through guided conversation, but this past Saturday at Marcy, our players expressed themselves artistically instead. Working with one blank canvas and just six paint pens of a limited, basic color scheme (red, yellow, green, blue, black and white) our kids turned the prompt--"What does KCTL mean to you?"--into a mini masterpiece.

In between rallying and serving practice, the Marcy kids took turns contributing to the canvas. By the end of the class, they had collaborated to create a beautiful montage of tennis-related illustrations, as well as some tennis terminology and even a few professions of love for the game! It seems like our students at Marcy are not only athletes, but also artists! Just see for yourself:

Want to see the final masterpiece? See it first at the KCTL 5th Annual Fundraiser on Wed. Sept 3 to see Marcy's art board as well as the art board from Tompkins, Lafayette Gardens and Sumner sites!