The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Partnership allows tennis events
Partnership allows for greater tennis opportunities
Teaching the area’s youth how to play tennis and strengthening local high school tennis teams are just some of the outcomes noticed by the Lorain County Community Tennis Association.
The local nonprofit is facilitating a partnership among the Avon Oaks Tennis Center, the parks and recreation departments in Avon and Avon Lake and the U.S. Tennis Association.
And the association’s president, Mary Herrick, explained the tennis center’s partnership with Avon Lake’s Parks and Recreation Department began two years ago, while the relationship with Avon’s Parks and Recreation Department began just this past winter.
Herrick said grant money provided by the USTA has allowed for the additional programs through both cities’ parks and recreation departments.
“For the past two years we’ve worked with Avon Lake and we have over probably 125 children playing tennis through the grant money that we’ve been given,” she said, not- ing the winter program through Avon’s Parks and Recreation Department included about 70 children. “Our goal is to try to in- troduce the sport of tennis to as many children as pos- may otherwise not have sible in Lorain County that an opportunity to play or are interested but we just haven’t had the ability to get in touch with them,”
Herrick said. “The parks and rec is doing a great job of delivering the message for us.”
This summer, Herrick and Brian Dehaven, program director at the Avon Oaks Tennis Center, hope to start a league that would combine children in both Avon and Avon Lake.
“Our goal is to try to strengthen tennis in Lorain County,” Herrick said.
Dehaven said a benefit of having the tennis center, located at 32300 Detroit Ave., is athletes can play yearround. September of this year will be the third anniversary since the Avon Oaks Tennis Center opened its “bubble,” or indoor tennis facility.
“A lot of times, the rec program is summer only, but with combining the bubble we have we’ve been able to get them to play all year, which is kind of a big thing in tennis,” Dehaven said, noting year-round play allows the student athletes to watch their quality of play improve.
In addition to being a good year-round sport, Herrick, who began playing at the age of 11, said tennis is also a great lifelong sport. Dehaven mentioned the interesting dynamic created when a tennis player turns 18 and is able to join the adult USTA leagues.
“It’s sometimes a neat combination of fathers and sons playing on the same team together or mothers and daughters playing on the same team together,” he said.
Children wanting to play tennis through the programs offered by the Avon and Avon Lake parks and recreations departments can join the 10 and under group or the 11-14 year old age group. Herrick said the youngest children to play at the tennis center are typically around 5 years old, and recent changes to USTA regulations including lower nets and smaller rackets for younger age groups is making tennis easier to pick up.
“We have a really big 10 and under program,” Herrick said. “That program has been very successful for us.”
Student athletes participating in programs through the parks and recreations departments learn basic fundamentals, such as hand-eye coordination and the proper swing, and are also afforded opportunities to play against other athletes.
“What we’ve noticed is the more we start to add little bits of where the kids are actually playing each other, the more they start to see the benefit of it later,” Dehaven said. “The earlier you can get them into where they’re actually hitting with each other and playing, the more I think they see the goal and the fun of it.”
Dehaven said the goal is to keep the children playing tennis no matter the season. Herrick said the indoor winter program should feed right into the anticipated outdoor summer program. Details regarding the summer league, including a start date, have yet to be decided.
“The parks and rec programs are always a great way for kids to get introduced to sports and activities,” Herrick said, noting that is how she stared playing tennis.
“It’s an inexpensive way for people to try a sport and see if they like it. Then as they become a little more serious, it’s nice to know there’s an avenue for them to make more of a commitment.”
Dehaven said tennis is a sport that calls for a lot of self-reflection, and when young athletes begin to figure out the various techniques it results in a sense of confidence in not only tennis, but other areas of life as well.
“It’s their game and all their games are different,” Dehaven said. “What’s good for one person might not be good for another, but they can all be successful in their own way.”
Herrick said the overarching goal of the tennis programs provided through the partnerships is to ensure children are having fun. Looking to the future, Herrick said she hopes members of the next generation join the Lorain County Community Tennis Association and keep it going for years to come.
Dehaven said when he first started coaching in 1999 he was more concerned with the competitive end of tennis, but he has since changed his focus.
“The goal is different than when I first started coaching, which was how good could you make a kid, and now it’s more of how many kids can I get to play this game,” he said.
Dehaven said the goal is to keep the children playing tennis no matter the season. Herrick said the indoor winter program should feed right into the anticipated outdoor summer program. Details regarding the summer league, including a start date, have yet to be decided.