The Ron James Youth Tennis Program recently partnered with the Lee County Recreation Department, Caring Adults Parents and Siblings (CAPSOL) in Bishopville, and the Darlington non-profit, Family Engagement, to introduce Bishopville youth to the sport of tennis and the life lessons it embodies. The RJYTP helped plan the event and provided tennis instructors and equipment, as well as financial support.
Tennis was a featured activity during a July 23-25 Athletic Camp, which drew 62 students between the ages of 6 and 16. Along with tennis, the camp offered football and basketball clinics to make sure the children were exposed to a variety of youth sports.
Nightly tennis clinics were provided by a RJYTP team consisting of Board member David Caldwell and volunteers Sammie Sherrod and Carl and Gee Whetsell. According to Mr. Caldwell, tennis was extremely popular, even though very few of the children had previously held a racquet. One parent told him the camp ignited a real enthusiasm about tennis in her family. Her child had so much fun, she said, that she and her husband are getting racquets so they can start playing as a family.
The RJYTP is planning to follow up with monthly Saturday Tennis Fun Days like those it offers in Florence. Program ED Garth Thomson noted that Bishopville has brand new courts and no youth tennis programming, so the Fun Days should be well received. “Like all of our programs, they will be free with equipment provided,” he said, “and we already have trained volunteers in the community.” Though most of the 1,100 students the Ron James Program has worked with over the past three years live in Florence, a number of clinics have been held in Hartsville and Darlington, and more are planned for other Pee Dee area communities.
CAPSOL Program Director Dr. Mattie Mack thanked the RJYTP for its involvement, and Representative Robert Williams, who established Family Engagement, called the camp “the start of something positive.” On the third night of the camp, State Senator Gerald Malloy paid a surprise visit to give the students book bags full of school supplies and encourage them work hard for success in athletics and academics.
The Ron James Youth Tennis Program is affiliated with the Florence Tennis Association, one of the nation’s top community tennis associations, and is a member of the National Junior Tennis and Learning network, which works to improve the lives of under-served children through tennis and education.
For more information: Contact Paul Pittman at 843-667-9804/pmpittman@gmail.com
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