Hendy Tennis Clinic 4/24/16
Henderson juniors Pavani Samala (pictured above, left) and Iswarya Vel (right) held the Foundation’s second annual Hendy Tennis Clinic on Sunday, April 24. Planning for the event began almost immediately after they wrapped up last year’s as the girls spent the year collecting equipment and applying for grants. We are happy to report that between USTA (the United States Tennis Association) and PATD (the Philadelphia Area Tennis District), the girls raised a total of $1,600 to cover almost all the costs for the event!
This was an open event and was available for the first 80 Chester kids in grades 3 through 5 who signed up. It was our biggest turn out yet for an open event! Usually we don’t come close to our goal of kids, but this year, we had to turn kids away. While we hated to do that, it was encouraging that so many kids are now learning about the opportunities these events are offering them. It is also encouraging to know that so many of our Chester parents support their kids and trust us with them!
After arriving to the Henderson Tennis Courts, the kids were divided up into eight courts. Each court was led by either Henderson High School students, West Chester University Tennis players and/or volunteers from USTC. On the courts, they worked on several eye-hand coordination games and other drills.
The kids then got to hear from Mr. Othello Berry, a 74-year-old tennis instructor and proprietor of Tennis with Othello. Tennis with Othello is a camp run in the city of Chester and it’s a great avenue for those who came to our Hendy Tennis Clinic to continue working on the skills they learned today!
After so much rain this Spring, we were blessed with a beautiful and fun day. After getting a snack, Domino’s Pizza, and Rita’s water ice, the kids left with full bellies and with their hands full. As mentioned above, Iswarya and Pavani ran a very successful racket drive and with the money they earned from USTA and PATD, they were able to provide each child with a bag with tennis balls in it, a brand new starter racket that they used during the clinic and a full-sized racket for someone back home to play with!
Special Thanks:
USTA
PATD
Domino’s Pizza
Sam’s Club
Krapf Bus
