MCTA Outreach Team

A Tennis and Education Program for Middle School Students in Montgomery County, Maryland

The United States Tennis Association (USTA), has established Multicultural Participation (MP) as a national Level 1 priority and recognizes the growing need to reach out to the community in an effort to introduce individuals to the game of tennis and attract new players. Further, the USTA recognizes the need to invest in "Tennis in the Parks" to support tennis at a grass roots level. In response to a marketing initiative by the Maryland-National Capital Parks and Planning Commission and Montgomery County Recreation Department, Montgomery County Tennis Association (MCTA) expanded the partnership's successful summer pilot program combining tennis instruction and study skills into an after-school program for Latino middle school students in the down-county community.

In Montgomery County a majority proportion of the population in many neighborhoods is of minority heritage. In fact, one of our county public tennis bubbles, the Wheaton Regional Indoor Tennis Bubble, is in the heart of such a neighborhood. However, most of the players who use that bubble are not from that community.

MCTA promotes the use of local community resources such as the Wheaton Regional Indoor Bubble to the neighborhood residents, as well as continue to make these resources available to the greater Montgomery County. Recently, MCTA introduced the Youth Tennis program in partnership with the Montgomery County parks and planning department, recreation department and public school system. This successful initiative provided tennis coaching for a pilot group of multicultural youngsters from the Wheaton area.

Once these children got on the tennis court, they were playing the game for life!

Consider supporting this continuing fall/winter program with either a financial donation or a donation of your time or both! Be a mentor to a most deserving youngster -- your time and energy can make a difference in the life of a young person and - you will be making a significant contribution to your community! Remember, life is like the game of tennnis, you must serve well to win!

Target Population
Middle school students of the and other multicultural heritage in the Wheaton area cluster of Montgomery County Public Schools. This school cluster was picked because the committee felt this was an underserved population in terms of after school activity choices.

Community Partners
Youth Tennis was developed as a summer pilot program through the joint efforts of:

Montgomery County Tennis Association (MCTA),
Maryland-National Capital Parks and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC)
Montgomery County Recreation Department (MCRD)

Summer Pilot Program

32 middle school students participated in the summer pilot program of Youth Tennis at Glenfield Park in Wheaton. All of the children who initially registered completed the program and many brought friends after the program had begun.
The students were taught tennis using the USTA rally ball and team games approach.
Two head coaches, one guest coach and two assistant coaches. Coach-Student ratio was 2:16, with groups divided by ability.
Each student was given a new racquet and a USTA t-shirt.
The four most improved students each received a tennis bag.

2005-06 After School Program

Building on the success of the summer Youth Tennis program, the partners expanded the program to include after school tennis, Ice Skating, Study/Lecture Hall, and Life Skills from 3pm-6pm weekdays. The following are highlights of the program:

Up to one and one half hours of academic support include: study hall, life skills training and lectures on related topics.
Up to one and one half hours of tennis instruction per day.
Up to one and one half hours of ice skating - TBD. There is a public ice skating rink adjacent to the Wheaton Tennis Bubble.
The Ice Rink Conference room at the Wheaton Ice Rink is used as the classroom.
Target Schools: Eastern Middle School and Silver Spring International School are the target schools based on their Latino population and proximity for transportation.
Participants: 224 middle school students during 4 eight week sessions.
Season: 32 weeks; 4 eight weeks session. The first session began October 3, 2005.
Registration: Part of the regular MCRD after school registration process.
Transportation: MCPS bus transportation.
Training: Recreational Coaches Workshop: Sept 24-25 ... $60 fee per participant ... at Glenfield Park outdoor courts ... participants: high school and college students, and adults.
Fee for kids: MCRD fee of $35.00 per session.
Grants: MCTA received USTA/MD, Mid-Atlantic Tennis Foundation, and USTA grants ... and in-kind contributions from M-NCPPC and MCRD.
Cooperating Agencies: M-NCPPC, MCRD, MCTA, USTA/MD the Montgomery County Recreation Department, Montgomery County Council and the Mid-Atlantic Tennis Foundation.

Tennis in the Parks and Schools: Tentative 2006/07 Program Calendar Click here
Employment Opportunities for P.E. Teachers and USTA Recreational Coaches for fall after school tennis clubs program: Click here