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!

Off-Court Talk: Back to School

Our off-court talk at Marcy was all about the upcoming 2014-2015 school year—now just around the corner for our students. Gary began the discussion with an announcement and a question: “One month from today, you will go back to school. How do you feel now that summer is almost over?” The question received mixed responses. Some kids were enthusiastic, while others were disappointed. The latter group didn’t shock us; we remember how happy they were to have begun summer vacation a few months ago.

After the reminder that summer’s freedom is officially slipping away, we moved into expectations for the upcoming school year. How will this year be different than the last? Advancing to a higher grade means the work will be a bit difficult, they said. At the same time, they remembered that they’ll get to reunite with both old and new friends upon returning to school. This heightened everyone’s excitement and led more to express that they’re now looking forward to the school year.

The conversation ended with questions about favorite subjects and future careers. We learned that Marcy has a few aspiring scientists, media professionals and artists!

Off-Court Talk: Fitness & Nutrition

This week for our off-court talk, we focused on Fitness & Nutrition. We discussed what are healthy foods, and what is consider not healthy for them. We also talked about how many meals per day we should eat each, and how the size of the portions we eat also matters in maintaining good health. We talked about the effects drinking plenty of water verses drinking countless cans of soda or sugary juices, and how water with every meal helps their complexion and helps cleanse their body. We discussed hydration verses dehydration and the effects of each. At Tompkins, we provided bananas and carrots to the students as part of the discussion on nutrition--as well as hummus, which many of the students were willing to try!

Regarding the Fitness discussion, we found out that many of our students are very active in one way or another... many mentioned that they exercise with family members and play other sports. This topic was one that the students really enjoyed expressing their views about, so much, that we'll likely revisit it again next week.

Off-Court Talk: The Environment

Our Off-Court discussion this week was about the Environment/Recycling. We talked about ways we can help protect the environment, and we discussed recycling.

We asked our students what they knew about the subject recycling... many of them knew a lot about recycling! We discussed the 3Rs: reduce, reuse, recycle. We discussed littering and the harmful effects it has on the environment. We talked about how the trees and plants help the environment by producing clean oxygen. I asked our students what they knew about landfills. Most of the older students knew what a landfill was.

We talked about air pollution. Mainly about how all the cars in NYC pollute the air, and what we could do to reduce air pollution. Our kids stated that walking was a great way to reduce air pollution (and a great way to stay in shape!) or to ride a bike or travel using mass transit.

We're asking all of the students to bring in an item that was recyclable and one that isn't. Lafayette Garden students can bring their items to Candice and Marcy students can bring their items to Gary. A prize for the winner will be determined by Michael.

Off-Court Talk: Our Future

Saturday’s off-court discussion at Marcy called for a bit more creativity than usual. Gary posed the question, “How do you see the world in 25 years?” to kick off the conversation.

Of course, there are no objectively right or wrong answers, so the students were inspired to use their imaginations. The kids made a number of fun predictions about what human life will be like in 25 years--mostly related to technology. For instance, the kids expect that by 2039, hovercraft cars and vacuum tube trains will be our primary modes of travel, while gas-powered cars and existing modes of public transit will become obsolete. They also anticipate robots assisting with human beings’ daily functions and tasks, providing a great benefit to mankind.

In addition to their expectations for technological advancement, the students brought up some more meaningful ideas about life 25 years away. For one, they were confident that a woman will be—or will already have been—President of the United States by 2039, and pointed to some of our female volunteers as possible candidates. They also spoke of their hope for environmental improvements. People will have to change their habits now, the kids said, if we want to enjoy a clean and beautiful environment in the future.

All in all, the Marcy students expressed desire that our future world will be a better place. More importantly, they touched upon an important reality: While we can’t possibly guess all the little details of the distant future, we can modify our current actions to shape the big picture into something positive.

Off-Court Talk: Education & Learning Styles

Now that school is officially out for summer in New York City, the volunteers at Marcy led a reflection on the academic year this past Saturday. As the previous day marked the first day of summer vacation for our students, we started the water break asking, “How does everyone feel now that the school year has ended?”

“Happy!” the students shouted in unison--no surprise there! Summer’s onset is just about the most exciting time of the year for any child.

Even though our kids were expectedly thrilled to have temporarily escaped the woes of waking up early, being on their best behavior, doing homework etc., they agreed that the most recently completed school year was a good one, and spoke positively about their teachers.

Gary asked, “Who is your favorite teacher, and why do you consider him or her to be the best?” Their responses were varied, but it seemed like Science, Physical Education and English Language Arts teachers received the most votes. The most likeable teachers are those who dedicate the most time and energy helping students get through difficult topics, the kids explained. Conversely, we explored what actions make a good student, either in school or at KCTL, to encourage appreciation for a learning relationships from both perspectives.

As a group exercise, we asked a few kids to pretend to be “teachers,” while the rest listened as “students.” The teachers led a tennis lesson by demonstrating proper technique for groundstrokes.

Afterwards, we asked the teachers how it felt to stand in front of the “class” to educate students about an assigned topic. They said that they felt nervous at first, but soon became relaxed and confident about the experience. Our exercise was a success! The kids understood the effort required to successfully teach a class. We closed out with a discussion about who would like to become a teacher someday before returning to rallying.

Off-Court Talk: Community

Over the weekend at Marcy, our off-court discussion borrowed the central theme from the day’s earlier ribbon cutting ceremony: community.

The ceremony unveiled our newly restored, beautifully painted blue tennis court—but our celebration didn’t stop there. Together with students, parents and volunteers from all four KCTL sites, along with local leadership figures, we also celebrated something more meaningful than a tennis court--our community. Speakers at the ceremony praised KCTL’s impact on the community, and expressed confidence that the new court will intensify this positive influence.

Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams and 36th District Council Member Robert Cornegy applauded our program’s creation of a new community. KCTL is a fusion of children, parents and adult volunteers in safe and fun learning environments, they said.

KCTL president and founder, Michael McCasland emphasized that the new facility welcomes an entire community. Although it’s located at the Marcy Playground, closest to the Marcy Houses, the renovated space is open to all KCTL students, including those who reside in Tompkins, Sumner and Lafayette Gardens.

Brandon, a 15-year-old KCTL student who has been with the program since it began in 2010, enthusiastically told the audience that KCTL has created a new community for him, a “second family.”

After the ceremony, we talked about community in our off-court discussion to round everything out. Appropriately, some of our neighbors in the community sat alongside us, since we’d invited students and volunteers from Tompkins to join our site for the day.

In our conversation, we explained that communities are best defined by where you live. We pointed out how earlier that day, we had united four communities to join as one. With this understanding, the kids told us about the importance of taking care of your community and its resources. If someone’s damaging community property—say, with graffiti or breaking glass—you should ask them to stop or alert someone who can help.

The students learned that any community is strongest when its members interact in cooperation in pursuit of common good—just like the community we’d come together to celebrate earlier in the day.