Building a Foundation, By: Amber Gerdes
The Oklahoma Tennis Foundation has a mission to abolish the notion that tennis is only for the wealthy by offering free tennis clinics in rural areas throughout the state of Oklahoma, coached by Oklahoma Tennis Hall of Fame members and former University of Oklahoma head coaches Paul Lockwood and Mark Johnson.
One Serve at a Time
The clinics, titled the “Oklahoma Hall of Fame Tennis Clinics,” are a part of the Oklahoma Tennis Foundation’s initiative to make tennis more accessible to all children regardless of location or demographic. Free for any child from 2nd-8th grade, the clinic provides children with a one-day session of individualized coaching and then sends them home with big smiles along with a racquet and a t-shirt both free of cost. “Tennis is for everyone,” said Executive Director Carmen Bond. “Tennis literally changes lives, and we all want to be a part of that. We all believe that and we just want to get it out there so every kid knows that if they want to play, they can.” Bond grew up in the small town of Guthrie, Okla., where tennis was generally inaccessible to her until high school. She knew she wanted better for today’s youth regarding tennis, and was inspired to revamp the Oklahoma Tennis Foundation while utilizing their resources with USTA’s Net Generation initiative and their two Hall of Fame-level coaches. Lockwood and Johnson were tennis coaching colleagues at OU for over 20 years and are still close friends to this day. Previous to the Hall of Fame Tennis Clinics series, the two coaches would occasionally partner up for a few free clinics and group lessons in Johnson’s small hometown of Henryetta, Okla., but were searching for opportunities to do more. “I know how important tennis can be in the lives of our youth in rural communities because I lived it,” said Johnson. “Tennis was a life changer.” When Bond reached out to the two coaches in hopes to pull together this initiative with the Oklahoma Tennis Foundation, they were eager to jump on board. “It is so rewarding to watch young kids experience the joy of hitting a tennis ball, many for the first time,” said Johnson. “You can see the excitement in their eyes every time you toss them a ball, and it is always a very special day when you can spend time teaching kids the game you love with a bunch of your best friends.” The coaches rely on their years of coaching and teaching experience to work on building up each child’s foundational tennis skills as well as sparking their love for the game. “We try to teach them the fundamentals of the game, try to encourage them, show them and tell them that tennis is a lifetime sport,” said Lockwood. Along with offering kids one-on-one teaching, both of the coaches can be found playing with the kids, cracking jokes, and telling stories that will stick with the kids for life. 8 FALL/ WINTER SERVE 2019 USTA.COM/USTAMISSOURIVALLEY
“Tennis is for everyone. It literally changes lives, and we all want to be a part of that.”
