WEEK SEVEN RECAP FROM MARCY

Saturday, July 14, was great day at Marcy. The weather was perfect and the kids were excited to work on their game after last week's tournament at Highland Park!

Now that the Highland Park tournament was complete, the students started working towards the annual KCTL tournament, Davis Cup, on July 28. Amped for more tournament play, everyone was busy practicing competitive points and trying to build their all-around game. The younger students who use the red and orange balls played on the pop-up nets by the wall, utilizing games such as King of the court and breakout. The older kids were on the main court and worked both on their rallies and competitive points. Additionally, they played doubles points against each other and worked on basic doubles strategies such as covering your partner and attacking the net. 

After our tennis session was over, Gary, our education coordinator, led a lengthy discussion and helped us come to an agreement on our biggest debate to date, our Davis Cup Country. The Pick? Australia! 

WEEK FIVE RECAP FROM TOMPKINS

For class this week, the students focused on getting ready for competition, specifically the Highland Park tournament coming up on July 7. The students were broken up by skill level: beginner, intermediate, and advanced. For the first couple of weeks, the younger students were getting used to holding the racquet and performing simple drills focusing on hand-eye coordination. For the fifth week class, the students started to hit and develop their swing. The intermediate students were focusing on bounce serves and forehand and backhand form, while the advanced kids focused purely on serves and returns.

During the off-court portion, the advanced students volunteered to demonstrate a mock tennis match from start to finish. The advanced students showed how to start a match and end a match with good etiquette. The other students watched and discussed what they learned and how they would apply it to the competition at Highland Park next week.

WEEK FOUR RECAP FROM JACKIE ROBINSON

This week there was a tennis extravaganza like no other at Jackie Robinson Park. All of our tennis champions hit the courts and brought their family and friends along for Family Day! Everyone looks forward to Family Day each and every year for many reasons. One reason being that our students are so excited to share their love of tennis with friends and family. Another reason we love Family Day is that it gives King’s County Tennis League another great opportunity to strengthen the bond that we have with the families that makes our program so wonderful.

We rocked out with tons of fun games and activities, including a ball rolling race, a forehand volley challenge, and a fan favorite, “Breakout.” With students and parents alike, swinging low to high over their shoulder and running towards the net to hit a volley towards their team’s target, it was a fun-filled, action packed session. During the off-court portion of the class, the students were given the task of finding the measurements of the court and worked in team’s to get the job done. The Jackie Robinson Park tennis courts were filled with fun and learning on Saturday, just the way we like it.

WEEK THREE RECAP FROM SUMNER

This past Saturday, we had a full court of volunteers and three students: Jonathan (last 30 mins), Katelynn and Janelly. We warmed up with relay races and stretching followed by skills development. We focused on ball direction and hitting target areas of the court. We had volunteers stand in four corners of the court with each representing the letters B-A-L-L. If a player hits a ball near the volunteers, they get the letter. The object of the game is to spell BALL first. We did this with the carousel drill with forehands and backhands.

After the warm-up, the core skill we worked on was volleys. We played quick-volleys with three people on each side while rotating every three to four points. Volunteers and students played together and everyone had a lot of fun.

Then we drew two square boxes with chalk on the court and played rolling dodge ball. A student in the middle jumps over a ball that pairs across from each other roll. If the ball touches any part of the foot or ankle, the student is out and the person who rolled the ball goes into the middle to be the jumper. We all took turns playing and it was a good way to practice coordination and agility.

After practicing volleys and doing rolling dodge ball, we played champion of the court in pairs with students serving to start the point.

The session wrapped up with a group interview of Anna and Sahil. They asked insightful questions. Then students participated in a get to know each other exercise and completed Venn diagrams.

WEEK TWO RECAP FROM MARCY

Saturday, June 9th was a beautiful day for tennis. The students started their session with a quick warm-up which included high knees, butt kicks, lunges and sprints, which eased them into an exciting morning of drilling and games. 

The session was split into different age groups: the older kids at the full-sized court and the younger kids at the pop-up nets by the wall. 

Team Marcy worked on their forehands, backhands, serves and volleys, with games in each station. The groups rotated throughout the stations and played a different game at each. One game they played was called “Bonzai,” where two teams hit volleys and raced to get to 10 points (a point per volley). When either team hit a target, they yelled out “Bonzai” and their opponent’s score would reset to zero. The kids loved the game and so did our volunteers!

After the tennis portion was over, Gary, our Educational Coordinator, led a session where the kids got into groups of two and wrote down their similarities and interests in a venn diagram. 

Overall, it was a fantastic session and everyone had a blast!

Update from Kings County Tennis League - May 2018

Wrapping up the 2018 Winter Program

On Sunday, March 25, KCTL wrapped up our Indoor Winter Tennis Program! Based in Pratt Institute's Activities Resource Center (ARC) Building, this year's program was a huge success. Pratt's indoor tennis courts are located just outside of Bed-Stuy in Clinton Hill, a short distance from the five housing developments we serve. Winter lessons prioritized high-intensity tennis with an emphasis on form, placement, and consistency. 

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KCTL Hosts its Inaugural Team Challenge

On Tuesday, April 24, KCTL hosted a round-robin doubles tennis tournament at McCarren Park Tennis Center to benefit towards Kings County Tennis League's 2018 goals. These goals include the renovation of our Lafayette Gardens site, the enrichment of our tennis and life-skills program which will offer even more students the chance to benefit from extra sessions and the introduction of the new ACE Program focusing on the social and emotional development of our students.

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KCTL’s Junior Board is Hosting a Fundraiser to Help Renovate Lafayette Gardens

On Friday, May 4, KCTL’s Junior Board is hosting their first fundraising event of the 2018 season. Spend Friday night at TBA in Brooklyn for a good cause—renovating the courts in Lafayette Gardens, a housing development in Bed-Stuy. First two drinks are on us!

Our goal is to renovate the Lafayette Gardens site to create a unique training facility for our students and the local community. The project will mean that all five KCTL sites have a physical tennis court and a permanent space for our students to hone their skills. We will build between three and five tennis courts of varying sizes to ensure all students can learn tennis at the same site, regardless of age and ability.

Where: TBA Brooklyn (395 Wythe Avenue, Brooklyn)

When: 8:00pm - 11:00pm Friday, May 4

Tickets are $55 and are available below and at the door.

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Starting up our new Pee Wee Program

KCTL is excited to announce that we are expanding our current programming with the addition of our new Pee Wee Tennis Program! Formed through a partnership with Brooklyn Kindergarten Society, this new program will offer four-year old BKS students at Sumner and Tompkins tennis classes midweek.

These 45 minute classes will take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 10:00AM - 12:00PM from now to November 1, 2018.

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We're heading back to Lafayette Gardens, Marcy, Tompkins, Sumner, and Jackie Robinson

Season Opener: June 2 at all five KCTL sites. Can't wait to see you there!

Student Enrollment: Reserve a space for your child; register here. 

Volunteer Registration: Are you around to inspire kids through tennis this summer? Let us know.

To prep for our summer season, KCTL is once again hosting our annual Play Days at three of our sites.

• Play Day #1: 10:00AM - 12:00PM Saturday, May 5 at Jackie Robinson

• Play Day #2: 10:00AM - 12:00PM Saturday, May 12 at Lafayette Gardens

• Play Day #3: 10:00AM - 12:00PM Saturday, May 19 at Sumner

GoGirlGo!

Starting June 2, we we will be enriching our female students with an all girls tennis and education class that will enable many girls to participate in tennis and life-skills lessons. Our goal is to increase female participation throughout our programming by engaging and empowering our female students. 

Register to Volunteer

Register a Student

Upswing Program

This summer, we are developing our Upwing Program so that it will run at multiple sites during the week and on Saturday afternoons. The Upswing Program will enable many students to benefit from tennis and fitness sessions to improve technique, introduce strategy and matchplay scenarios and further their commitment to the sport. Through the Upswing Program we intend to have our first students compete in USTA sanctioned tournaments by the end of the year.

KCTL Sees Two New Staff Updates for 2018

KCTL is pleased to announce two changes in staff for 2018: Dave Webley, previously Program Manager, has been appointed our first-ever Executive Director. Taking Dave’s place is 2017 Marcy Site Leader Rob Gerstman.

The commitment to KCTL that Dave and Rob demonstrate will be valuable to the organization as we continue to learn and grow in the community. In 2018 alone, we aim to install youth tennis courts at the Lafayette Gardens site, introduce our new Pee Wee Program through partnership with Brooklyn Kindergarten Society, and increase more educational opportunities. 

See what both Dave and Rob have to say about their new roles:

                                        Dave Webley, Executive Director

"I am thrilled and honored to lead KCTL into its next phase of growth. I’m looking forward to working with everyone to continue delivering our mission by providing structured and meaningful tennis and life skills lessons for our KCTL students. By further developing the KCTL pathway, we will work to ensure that every one of our students has access to regular physical exercise and is given the opportunity to follow their dreams.” - Dave Webley

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                                                                   Rob Gerstman, Program Manager

"It was my pleasure and privilege to be the Site Leader at Marcy last summer. I gained a lot of valuable experience and learned so much from the students, staff, volunteers, and families. Lots of fond memories were made teaching in the inaugural season of the Upswing and Go Girls Go! programs and these were just the beginning of a long journey together. Thanks for the opportunity to be your Program Manager. I look forward to sharing in the growth of the KCTL community.” - Rob Gerstman