Since opening its doors in 2015, the Cary Leeds Center for Tennis & Learning has become a hub to meet the diverse needs of the community and continues to bring resources to the poorest Congressional district in the nation. Working in collaboration with civic, cultural, recreational and educational partners, NYJTL has transformed the South Bronx, delivering on the vision that tennis, academics, and character change lives. The Cary Leeds Center provides free year-round instruction and play for youth ages 5-18, from beginners to nationally-ranked junior players. With access to classroom space and study centers, teachers also offer young people a quiet and safe place to benefit from a wide variety of educational programs.
On February 22, a day off for many public and private schools, the vision for the center could be seen actualized. Bustling with energy as kids across all ages flowed through the space, the Cary Leeds Center brought the NYJTL family together through different events and programs:
- Community Tennis Program President’s Week Tournament: In the morning this tournament, which has taken place annually for 10+ years, brought more than 100 children to the Cary Leeds Center. Over the course of three days, participants played in doubles pairings and competed to win the tournament. This event encourages the kids to stay active and engaged even when they are out of school during Mid-Winter Recess.
- President’s Week Mini Camp:Also in the morning, children from the commercial tennis programs spent time on & off court training. The week-long Mini Camp takes place throughout the year doing planned school breaks, where a team of world-class coaches encourage participants to have fun, train hard, and improve their game.
- ACES President’s Cup: Later that day, students from fourteen ACES Afterschool sites competed to win the President’s Cup which also took place during three days of Mid-Winter Recess when students are out of school. The tournament had three different competitions which were the tennis championship, the fast serve competition, and the fitness challenge. Following this was an awards ceremony where winners were announced, and everyone’s participation was celebrated.
- ACES Learning Cohort Session: To end the busy day, Site Directors that lead the ACES Afterschool programs gathered in the Disney Creative Learning Center classrooms for a professional development session that taught how to effectively be a program manager. Here, they learned the roles and responsibilities of being an afterschool program director, how to maintain proper time management, and how to strategically set goals.
This gives you a glimpse of the important work taking place every day at NYJTL’s flagship home in the Bronx.