Emily Roller, Deputy Executive Director, Joins KCTL Leadership Team

Our Board of Directors is proud to appoint Emily Roller as Deputy Executive Director, a new role created in preparation for the 2016 tennis season. Emily has been a volunteer at Marcy for the past two years. 

Prior to joining KCTL, Emily was a high school English teacher and tennis coach in Baltimore City Schools for three years, an account executive for a software company for two years, and has been a working as a writer and opera librettist for the past three years in Brooklyn. Emily holds a BA in English from Yale, an MA in Writing from Johns Hopkins University, and an MFA in Musical Theatre Writing from New York University. She is passionate about education (and tennis!) and is very excited to join the team.

As Deputy Executive Director, Emily will oversee Programming and Grant Strategy—including recruitment, programming goals, fundraising initiatives, and new partnerships. She will help us in our goal to "deepen" our impact by focusing more effort on the mentoring side of our program, partnering with other organizations, reaching more students in Bed-Stuy and Crown Heights, and finding ways to make even more of an impact on the lives of our participants. 

Change Kids' Lives through Tennis as a Volunteer

It's official: We are accepting applications from individuals aged 16+ who are ready to activate the KCTL mission: Bringing Tennis to the Kids.

Tennis skills are appreciated, but not required. Most of all, we are interested in positive attitudes and a passion for inspiring and motivating children in underserved communities.

Most of our volunteer opportunities are "on the ground"--on the tennis courts, blacktops, and playgrounds surrounding public housing developments in Bed-Stuy. This is a biweekly commitment from May 28 to October 1 at an assigned teaching site. To quality, current and prospective volunteers must complete one training session on April 16 or 23.

Additionally, we're open to meeting volunteers who can share their skills in Fundraising, Event Planning, Grant Writing, Photography, Videography, Web Design/Development, and Public Relations.

Registration

• Complete our general volunteer signup form.

• Register for one of two mandatory training sessions in April.

We look forward to meeting you!

Students Explore Entrepreneurship, Individual Passion at Shoe Factory Visit

Saturday, February 6 marked a special day in Kings County Tennis League's off-season. Our youth athletes enjoyed a unique educational experience--off the tennis court--at a footwear factory in the Garment District of Midtown, Manhattan.

shoe-factory-field-trip

The field trip was the latest installment in our series of efforts to inspire our youngsters through non-tennis enrichment. The event comes as a follow-up to our 2015 Google visit, which exposed the students to a new possibility, a career in the Technology sector with the world's biggest employer. Both field trips function as "real life" applications of our Off-Court Curriculum, which aims to help our students develop life skills outside of tennis.

Our host, Marcy Tennis Club Volunteer Omar Bailey, graciously welcomed 30 students and 15 parents to the factory, his workplace. He's the co-founding partner of Modern Vice, a luxury shoe brand that is designed, developed, and manufactured right here in our city. Omar's factory is one of the last remaining sites of its kind in Manhattan.

As young as age nine, Omar dreamed of working in the footwear design industry. After gigs with big name brands like Nike, though, Omar was ready to take his career to the next level as an entrepreneur. Omar has created masterpieces for celebrities including Shaquille O'Neill, Terry Crews, Lady Gaga, and QuestLove.

The experience strongly inspired the students, especially the few who said they're aspiring footwear designers. Professional dreams aside, the machinery, the manufacturing process, the creative work, and, of course, the finished products kept all of the students fully engaged. At the end of the tour and presentation from Omar, we challenged students with the question "What's your shoe story?" We asked the students to draw, explain, and name their own shoe.

Shoe design and manufacturing might have little to do with tennis, but we like that entrepreneurship--an individual, risky endeavor that requires belief in oneself--can be connected to our favorite individual sport. "You don't always have to go for the obvious," Omar told his listeners on Saturday. "If there is something you want to do, be confident and believe you do it."

Visit us on Facebook for more photos from the field trip.

#GivingTuesday 2015: Your Gift Will Make a Difference

This Giving Tuesday, you can make a tangible difference for Kings County Tennis League. Through the end of 2015, we are looking for your support on three key goals. Read on to learn how you can be a part of our victory.

Three Goals for 2016

Establish two new sites. KCTL wants to grow its program to sixth and seventh locations in 2016. Each expansion costs $10,000 and we don't want to cut corners!

Jackie-Robinson-team

Renovate a tennis court. We'd like to renovate one of our existing locations— a dilapidated tennis court right in the middle of Sumner Houses in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn— with a new surface and an actual net. This $20,000 renovation will ensure that children at Sumner Houses have a safe place to play and learn.

Sumner Tennis Court

Educate through new, non-tennis experiences. After taking the kids to Google earlier this year, we have a trip planned to an actual sneaker factory in Manhattan, but we need your help to raise $1,000 to fund it. Students will learn how a sneaker is actually made, see what it takes to run and operate a production schedule, and explore the path to entrepreneurship.

KCTL Google

Click here to make your tax-deductible contribution!

Week 16 Recap: Jamboree!

Saturday, September 26 marked the grand finale to KCTL's sixth tennis season: The Annual Youth Tennis Tournament & Community Jamboree. What a wonderful day we had!

Jamboree-2015

The courts at Marcy Playground welcomed students, volunteers, parents, and family members with perfect, sunny weather. Upbeat music pumped from the speakers as burgers, hot dogs, pasta salad and fruit were served. It was the perfect community party atmosphere and farewell to summer.

The main event--the tennis tournament--featured dozens of gripping matches, positive sportsmanship, and commendable individual efforts. Regular matches were played on seven mini tennis courts simultaneously, while the Final Rounds for each bracket were held independently at the end of the day.

We're very proud to announce our 2015 Jamboree winners:

10 & Under Bracket

Winner: Julius D., Lafayette Gardens

Runner-Up: Emeka A., Marcy

11 & Over Bracket

Winner: Jonathan D., Marcy

Runner-Up: Jovani A., Marcy

In addition to the tournament bracket trophies, we presented a new award--Player of the Year--to a student who maintained perfect attendance this season and who always tried his best. This award went to Jovani A., who was also the 11 & Over Bracket's Runner-Up.

As KCTL President & Founder Michael McCasland reminded us during the Awards Ceremony, there are very few winners in a tennis tournament. Because almost all participants leave the courts as losers, there's no reason for students to get angry at themselves--or at their opponents--because they didn't finish in first place.

Instead, participants are encouraged to look to the winners for inspiration--to mimic their dedication and consistency--in order to learn and grow as tennis players and as individuals.

With this in mind, we're immensely proud of every single one of our students. Congratulations to everyone who played with us this season! We look forward to returning to the courts together in 2016!

You can view all the photos from the 2015 Jamboree on Facebook.

Week 15 Recap from Jackie Robinson

Site Leader Michele says that the final week of class at Jackie Robison Park can only be described as bittersweet. She's extremely proud of all the hard work that her students and volunteers have put in over the past four months. She's incredibly grateful to have been able to work with such an amazing group.

Although Michele and the rest of Jackie Robinson tennis club are saddened that this season is coming to a close, they are especially excited to be competing in the Jamboree next week. Since this is Jackie Robinson's inaugural season as part of KCTL, this is also their first time participating in the Annual Jamboree Tournament.

Class on Saturday focused on match play in preparation for the Jamboree. The site conducted a mock tournament to acclimate the students to competition. The friendly matches were fun and the children felt well-prepared for the Jamboree afterwards.

As a complement to the off-court session included a discussion about our expectations during the Jamboree as well as how was can continue to conduct ourselves with good sportsmanship.

The anticipation of our final stand at the Jamboree has everyone feeling a bit nervous--but, above all, excited. After their second-place finish at Davis Cup, Jackie Robinson is more motivated than ever to capture the number one spot at the Jamboree!

Highlights from Serving Courtside, Our Sixth Annual Fundraiser

Last Wednesday, September 9, Kings County Tennis League held its Sixth Annual Fundraiser at M1-5 Lounge in TriBeCa.

Entitled "Serving Courtside," the celebration was a fantastic night out in support of our goals to expand, extend, and enrich youth development and community building through tennis.

Serving_Courtside_2015

Marcy_Tennis-68

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To complement our fundamental operations--bringing tennis to children right where they live--Serving Courtside brought tennis to the masses in a centrally located space. Complete with synthetic grass, portable tennis nets, racquets, tennis balls everywhere, and a Serena Williams cardboard cutout, Serving Courtside presented the ultimate tennis party experience to more than 200 guests.

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Robert-Cornegy-2015-Fundraiser

The fundraiser was immensely successful for the organization. We can't say thank you enough to everyone who joined our celebration.

We're extremely grateful for our beverage sponsors, Sixpoint, Flatiron Wines & Spirits, and Purity.Organic, as well as for our synthetic grass sponsor, SYNLawn New York. We'd also like to thank our raffle donors, whose names and generous prize contributions are detailed on the official event page.

View the event highlights on Facebook.

Peruse the event program to learn more.