To our Community: A letter from KCTL's Executive Director

Dear KCTL Family,

On May 25, 2020, the senseless killing of George Floyd by four police officers in Minneapolis was filmed and viewed by millions of people across America and around the world. Their blatant disregard of George’s pleas for life led to his tragic death, which was preceded by the unjust deaths of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Atatiana Jefferson and countless black people across our communities. Their deaths expose the undeniable lethality of racism that America has yet to confront, and the need for full accountability.

Over the last several weeks, these events, as well as the disproportionate impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, have devastated Black and Latino communities. KCTL feels the unbearable pain that our community endures and we stand, as always, against any structural organization or system that routinely disenfranchises or discriminates against them. KCTL will always support our communities’ desire to peacefully communicate our shared frustrations. We stand in solidarity with our students, their families and our neighbors across Brooklyn. We are watching, we are listening, and we are in solidarity.

I can promise you that our solidarity will not relent. Please know that we are by your side, standing firm, and want to help create change that is long overdue.

With love,

Dave Webley

Executive Director, Kings County Tennis League

KCTL becomes Official Charity Partner for the 2020 TCS New York City Marathon

We are THRILLED to share that - for the first time - KCTL has been accepted as an Official Charity Partner for the 2020 TCS New York City Marathon!

This means we have FIVE race bibs to give out to FIVE runners who agree to fundraise at least $2,500 per runner for KCTL and pay the race registration fee ($255 for NYRR members/$295 for non-NYRR members).

In addition to having the privilege of running in the 50th anniversary of the TCS New York City Marathon on November 1st, all KCTL runners can expect to enjoy the following perks:

• A customized KCTL running singlet and KCTL hat

• An invitation to join a Team KCTL:

  • WhatsApp group text for training support and to share fundraising tips

  • Regular “long” run group for runners living in the NYC area

  • Conference call to answer runner questions and to share race-day logistics

• On race weekend, runners will be invited to:

  • A Saturday pre-race lunch on October 31st for runners, their friends, and their family members during which they will have the opportunity to mingle with KCTL staff and students

Interested runners should complete the TCS New York City Marathon KCTL Runner Application by midnight (EST) on Saturday, March 7th.

Runners will be selected by a KCTL Runner Selection Committee comprised of a board member, junior board member, staff member, volunteer, and student. Final decisions will be emailed the week of March 15th.

Got questions?  Send them to info@kingscountytennisleague.org

KCTL SELECTED AS 2019 PROJECT PLAY CHAMPION

KCTL is thrilled to have been selected as a 2019 Project Play Champion at the Aspen Institute’s annual Project Play Summit in Detroit, Michigan. KCTL founder, Michael McCasland, is joining in-person with leaders from a cohort of other organizations making new, meaningful commitments in alignment with Project Play’s 8 strategies.

The Project Play Summit is the nation’s premier gathering at the intersection of youth, sports and health and KCTL is honored to both share our expertise and learn more about how our commitment impacts the broader youth sports ecosystem while connecting to the Don’t Retire Kid campaign.

Click here to learn more about Project Play’s dedication to discovering why kids are quitting sports.

JULY VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH - JOHN REYNOLDS, TOMPKINS

Volunteer of the month for Tompkins goes to John Reynolds. John is the newest member of the Tompkins team and has already been an amazing addition. The Tompkins volunteers have consistently been the best group of coaches a site leader could hope to have, so it is always hard to pick just one! This month goes to John because of his willing spirit and supportive attitude that he has had since day one. He worked with our youngest students on the first day, which is no easy task. They drew to him so fast and I really appreciated the attention and patience he had with him. When given the chance to work with our advanced students, the transition was easy and it was as if he had been working with us for years. The students respond to him well and there is nothing more important than our students feeling supported and having fun. We are fortunate to have him on our team!

JUNE VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH - CORBIN WONG

The volunteer of this month is Lafayette Gardens’s Corbin Wong. Corbin has been with KCTL for what seems like even before it started! Over the past few years Corbin has shown his commitment to KCTL’s mission both on and off the court. On the court he’s been a consistent volunteer who’s familiarity, abstract thinking, and play with the students have helped advance their confidence and skill. Corbin was recently seen on the court teaching the “zen” and focus of tennis to our youngest and newest LG players—after which followed a skillful forehand from one of the students.

Off the court Corbin has dedicated his time to spreading KCTL’s mission and fundraising as a Board Member. Recently, Corbin along with John Richmond (another Board Member) organized KCTL’s first ever Pride fundraiser. This event not only exceeded turn out expectations, but also garnered donations from names such as Diane von Fürstenberg.

Cheers to Corbin for all he’s done and all he continues to do.

WEEK 5 CLASS RECAP FROM TOMPKINS

Class at Tompkins this Saturday was all about the serve. Students were split into three groups based on skills and learned different aspects of serving. Our beginner players are still learning to hit so they spent the first half of class on the continued development of their forehand. They then got the chance to serve by bouncing the ball then hitting. You can already see they are stars in the making.

Our intermediate players are already developing solid rallying skills so this week they got to learn the ins and outs of serving. One of the coaches shadowed serves for them, then walked them through the process. They learned how to place their feet, how to toss the ball, when to make contact with the ball, and what parts of the court to serve the ball too.

Our more advanced players have been learning to serve for a few years now. They already know the basics, so this week was about perfecting their serve. They were tasked to target their serves to various locations in the service box. They also learned how to serve under pressure: the score is 30/40, it's break point. Can you make this serve count, stay in the game?

Overall it was a fun day, and as always our students showed that they were up for any challenge.