Author: Sadia Saba

Michael Figueroa has participated in the Community Tennis Program (CTP) since he was 8 years old. His journey began when he joined the ACES Afterschool Program in the 3rd grade. Tennis and the community it has built for him has been a crucial part of his life ever since.  

Michael became a tennis coach for NYJTL in April of 2020. To him, working never felt like a job because of his deep love for the sport. Michael often would show up early on non-school days to get some practice before coaching and playing.  

Michael’s love for tennis sent ripples through his family, as both his younger brothers were inspired to give it a try. Now, he and his brothers work hard to improve their game, with his middle brother often serving as his hitting partner.    

As he got older, he grew closer to the tennis community and gained lots of experience and knowledge, making many friends and mentors along the way. Eventually he became one of the older kids among the kids at the tennis site, Bronx International. As one of the oldest, he began helping the coaches and guiding the newer and younger players on how to develop the skills needed to play.   

“After being in CTP for almost a decade, I took away 2 major lessons,” says Michael. “The first one is that confidence is key both on and off the court.”  

As a child, he was shy and found it difficult to stand up for himself. Playing tennis helped immensely in his personal growth, and eventually this new confidence opened many doors personally and professionally. 

“The second major lesson I learned is the importance of teamwork,” Michael continues. “I was able to become my best self because of the people around me.” Tennis was always more than a sport; it built a community for Michael. 

Today, Michael is a graduate of the High School of American Studies at Lehman College, and an active-duty Marine. He encourages young children to pursue tennis saying, “You should join CTP because you never know how much it would mean to you and how many memories you will have because you decided to be part of this wonderful community. You will make new friends, new coaches, new rivals, and have an awesome time.” 

New York Junior Tennis & Learning (NYJTL) is mobilizing a breadth of new efforts to bring mental wellness to the forefront of its programming, including the expansion of social work services and access to mental health resources. The mission of NYJTL is to develop the character of young people through tennis and education for a lifetime of success on and off the court. NYJTL continues to launch various initiatives to ensure that the underserved populations that it serves have the life skills to prosper.  

As most students returned to school last year for the very first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the challenges faced by these communities were especially exacerbated, making the need for mental health access more essential than ever before. A citywide Health Department survey found that 1 in 5 parents or guardians reported the emotional or behavioral health of a child in their home had been negatively affected by the pandemic, and for one-third of respondents, the emotional and social well-being of a child had been a source of stress.

“The pandemic opened our eyes to the critical importance of social functioning,” says NYJTL President & CEO, Udai Tambar. “The pandemic caused a significant delay in the crucial development stages for many of these kids, and our program actively mitigates this issue.” 

To address this urgent need, NYJTL has hired a full-time social worker, Quiana Ware, who is dedicated to improving the lives of underserved youth through mental wellness programming and social emotional learning in the ACES Afterschool Program.   

“Many of these families had very limited knowledge on their availability to various resources,” says Ware. “Our initiatives encourage families to reframe their perspective on the importance of mental health, and gives their children safe spaces to shine brighter and grow into themselves.” 

Ware graduated from the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College, whose pilot collaboration with NYJTL recently expanded to bring social work interns to seven ACES sites to provide social-emotional support groups and mental health referrals to the students in its after-school programs across the city. 

Ware, and the social work interns from the Silberman School, lead an assortment of creative activities that meet the needs of the young ACES participants such as emotion management, strengthening social skills through collaboration, addressing barriers to participation, and more. Many sites in the ACES Afterschool Program have created innovative ways to promote wellness at their school, such as PS012K’s Animal Room for Empathy and De-escalation Room, as well as PS009K’s Wellness Room.  

NYJTL continues bridging access to resources for underserved communities across all five boroughs, promoting a lifetime of success for its participants on and off the court.  

About NYJTL: 

The mission of New York Junior Tennis & Learning is to develop the character of young people through tennis and education for a lifetime of success on and off the court. Since 1971, NYJTL has changed lives through tennis, education, healthy living, and character development programs. Today, it is the largest youth tennis and education non-profit in the nation, reaching more than 85,000 K-12 New York City youth.

NYJTL provides after school programming in approximately 30 schools and community tennis programming at approximately 40 sites throughout New York City in the summer months and at additional sites that operate during the school year. In addition, NYJTL designed, funded (with NYC), built and operates the Cary Leeds Center for Tennis & Learning, at which it provides free and commercial tennis programming year-round as well as life skills, character development and healthy living lessons. All NYJTL community tennis and after school programs are offered at no cost to its participants.

Contact:

Sadia Saba
Communications & Content Specialist
ssaba@nyjtl.org

For some, service is a place where they find themselves in their personal journey. For Herlecia Owens, service has felt like a calling. Owens has been the Site Director for the ACES site at PS 037 in Queens since 2018. She describes herself as a Southern Belle, being raised in Alabama but eventually making her home in Brooklyn, where she led a daycare center for nine years and worked in the public school system shortly after.

Owens first heard of New York Junior Tennis & Learning (NYJTL) as she was completing her master’s degree in Education from Brooklyn College. Though she was initially interested in the role of a Group Leader, ACES staff noticed her skillsets would make her an effective supervisor for an entire site. Owens became a Site Director of PS 037Q and never looked back.

“I fell in love with the school because the students are the best,” she says fondly. “Just seeing the kids smiling and laughing makes me excited to come to work every day.”

Owens’s commitment to service to her community through education began at an early age, as her grandmother was a schoolteacher. “She really instilled in me the importance of education,” Owens recalls. “I want to do the same thing for our kids.”

Owens’s dedication to her community does not go unnoticed. Recently, her role has been elevated to Senior Site Director to oversee the special events of the ACES Afterschool program, where she has led successful Banned Book Week and Fall Festival events in the last month. For her, collaborating with her fellow ACES staff has been a highlight. “The staff are really invested in NYJTL’s message, and want our kids to succeed in life,” she says.

To those who know her, Owens is often called a “flower child” because of her keen ability to see life through “rose colored glasses”. Her positivity and resilience are at the forefront of her approach to life, grounded in the belief that there is always something to smile about amidst life’s greatest challenges. She brings this perspective to her work daily, urging her students to understand their full potential. “I want them to know they can do whatever they dream to do. You must crawl before you can run, and you can achieve your greatest goals if you have the courage to try.”

Nonprofit provides students with a range of academic and wellness services; mental health support expands to additional sites this fall— 

All sites to participate in Banned Book Week activities highlighting the benefits of free and open access to all books— 

Starting Monday, September 19, New York Junior Tennis & Learning (NYJTL), the largest nonprofit youth tennis and education program in the nation, is launching its free afterschool programming at 34 sites across New York City, offering students in under-resourced neighborhoods additional academic, enrichment and health and wellness support. 

The afterschool program, ACES Afterschool (ACES), takes place at elementary and middle schools (and one high school) in Manhattan, Brooklyn, The Bronx, and Queens. Operating from 3:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. daily, ACES serves as a nurturing retreat for more than 3,000 students who need additional support after school hours.  

ACES is funded through the Department of Youth and Community Development and New York State Education Department, and offers a myriad of enriching opportunities for kids, including tennis instruction, academic support, healthy living, character education, and multi-disciplinary activities.  

“Our school-based after school programs offer year-round support to support the whole child,” said Jen Wohl, Chief Education Officer at NYJTL. “This includes everything from enrichment, tutoring, fitness, wellness, nutrition education, arts programs, character education, STEM, literacy activities, educational field trips, and access to city-wide tournaments. Every NYJTL program is rooted in character development and social learning.”  

Additionally, NYJTL has expanded its mental health counseling to a number of additional schools – and even hired a full-time social worker – this season through a partnership with the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College. Graduate social work student interns at the College work with youth who are experiencing increased anxiety, depression and stress, encouraging young students to be open about their mental health challenges and seek out help when needed.  

“As the need for mental health support has grown during the pandemic, we needed to take a close look at how to adapt to meet the needs of those we serve, and this required incorporating mental health support to recognize the warning signs that students are struggling so we can connect them with services,” said Udai Tambar, President & CEO of NYJTL. “Opening up and being able to talk with an adult was only a first step; the next was connecting those who are struggling with resources, such as counseling.” 

Every participant in NYJTL programming receives 500 to 700 contact hours throughout the year at no cost to families. Through such educational enrichment programs, children reap the benefits of an accessible education: A study done by the TASC Research Team in 2014-15 reported that nearly 60% of participants increased their English and Math skills from the first to the final marking period.  

As students begin the afterschool programming this coming week, they will take part in activities highlighting Banned Book Week through activities – such as art contests – that promote awareness of the dangers of censorship in education. The programs will seek to highlight books that have been banned across the country and focus on the benefits of open access to all forms of literature.   

For more information about the programming, visit NYJTL’s website at https://www.nyjtl.org/aces-afterschool/.  

On Friday, August 26 New York Junior Tennis & Learning (NYJTL) was joined by RALLY4EVER at the Cary Leeds Center for Tennis & Learning for a tennis clinic. RALLY4EVER is a not-for-profit organization that aims to foster community connection through tennis, emphasizing the benefits of tennis for mental health and overall sense of well-being. The morning consisted of more than 100 children from across the Bronx joining NYJTL tennis coaches and RALLY4EVER CEO and former professional Australian tennis player, high-performance coach & grand slam commentator Louise Pleming to sharpen their tennis skills and create meaningful relationships through the sport.  

“I’ve always believed that through movement we can create connection and momentum to empower people, and what better way of doing it than through the game of tennis,” said RALLY4EVER CEO & founder Louise Pleming. “It’s such a privilege to be working alongside such an established organization that has helped so many young kids live out their dream of becoming professional tennis players.” 

“We are so excited to be partnering with RALLY4EVER,” says NYJTL President & CEO Udai Tambar. “The youth that we serve come from underprivileged communities across the city, so collaborations like this that underscore the importance of mental wellness are paramount to addressing the needs of our youth.” 

Many of the children who attended Friday’s event are from the South Bronx community, which is the poorest Congressional district in the nation. NYJTL’s core values include a deep commitment to mental wellness of the children its programs serve, especially as research shows that low levels of household income are associated with several lifetime mental disorders. The morning’s activities not only strengthened participants’ tennis skills, but also celebrated their resilience and bravery when approaching challenges on-court. This encouraged the children to maintain a positive mindset in the face of adversity and cheer each other on while trying new things- lessons the group brought off the court as well. The day concluded with a shared meal, and the kids left the tennis court with new skills, new friendships, and increased confidence when facing life’s challenges. 

On Saturday, August 27, Racquet House and the renowned sports equipment company Yonex, invited 30 New York Junior Tennis & Learning (NYJTL) players from the Intensive Training Program (ITP) to Rockefeller Center. Along with a day of on-court activities and drills and games off-court, the young tennis players were joined by Polish pro Hubert Hurkacz and Canadian pro Denis Shapovalov to improve their game.  See BizBash’s feature on this event in “US Open 2022: See Inside the Events and Activations That Made a Grand Slam” here. 

“We are so excited to provide this unique opportunity to play tennis with world-class players in the heart of New York City,” says NYJTL President & CEO Udai Tambar. “It is wonderful to see our kids inspired by renowned tennis stars while being equipped with high quality rackets during the special week of the US Open.” 

The iconic Rockefeller Center served as a striking backdrop as the young tennis players sharpened their tennis skills through a variety of dynamic warm-ups, a tennis clinic, point play, and other fun activities with tennis pros ahead of the US Open. Then, each of the participants were gifted with Yonex rackets, apparel, and accessories before playing for special prizes as well. The memorable day was deeply cherished by NYJTL’s young generation of future tennis stars, who went home with smiles after meeting their idols at this legendary site.