Category: Latest News

Tennis is a sport Shenay Perry has enjoyed for nearly her entire lifetime. The hobby began at the age of 4 when she would join her father, a fireman, on his days off to play on the courts in Maryland where she grew up. Soon, her talent for the game became apparent and her parents enrolled her in classes. Perry had a unique aptitude for sports like basketball, but tennis felt the most promising because of its number of female players. “As a young girl, I knew there were others like me doing well in tennis, so it seemed more accessible for someone like me,” she recalls. 

Tennis provided a space for her to explore her talents, though it was anything but easy. At the age of 16, Perry turned pro and began a memorable tennis career playing across the world reaching a career-high singles ranking of No. 40 and winning nine singles and seven doubles ITF titles.  

Being a professional tennis player was not easy. Perry remembers the long, strenuous days and constant self-criticism that the career demanded. “Nobody looked like me and that culture shock was hard, but it helped me grow and exposed me to a lot,” she says. Retiring from the WTA tour in 2010, Perry notes the often-overlooked social and emotional ways that tennis impacted her life, beyond her more physical skills seen on court. 

“Touring shaped my discipline, drive, and ability to be present in all situations,” Perry describes. “The sport really does develop you both on and off the court.”  

Perry now brings these principles and more to her work at New York Junior Tennis & Learning’s flagship Cary Leeds Center for Tennis & Learning in the south Bronx where she is the Associate Director of High Performance for Juniors & Adult Programs. Her favorite part of the job is being able to see so much growth in those she coaches. “I love seeing them rise to their potential, and it’s special to be a part of their path.” 

This growth is most important to Perry, noting NYJTL founder Arthur Ashe as a source of inspiration for her approach to coaching. “When he said ‘Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can,’ it’s the epitome of everything,” she explains. “You have to put in your best and keep going.” 

-Former Top 10 Pro Lori McNeil Leads Tennis Clinic, Guides Youth on Success On and Off the Court, on February 3-5-  

-Hundreds of Youth from Underserved Communities to Participate During NYJTL’s Annual Presidents’ Week Tournament During the Midwinter Break-  

(New York, NY)—Throughout its 51-year history, New York Junior Tennis & Learning (NYJTL) has engaged youth from underserved communities – providing instruction, fun competition, skills development and a host of other educational supports to help NYC youth succeed on and off the court.  

This Black History Month is no exception: the nonprofit will continue its series bringing prominent Black professional tennis players to the organization’s flagship Cary Leeds Tennis Center for Tennis & Learning in Crotona Park in the South Bronx, bringing hundreds of youth together for an inspiring Community Tennis Program (CTP) Presidents’ Week Tournament during their midwinter break.   

“This month, and every month, NYJTL strives to celebrate the accomplishments of our Black community,  not only in the sport of tennis but also across our great city and throughout our history,” says NYJTL President & CEO Udai Tambar. “Through our tennis and education programming across all five boroughs, we diligently work to address the inequities still faced by our NYJTL families.”  

Holding Court: Player Series  

This Friday through Sunday (February 3-5), NYJTL will be hosting former professional tennis icon Lori McNeil at the Cary Leeds Center. Lori McNeil is a former pro and national USTA coach who was on the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Tour for 17 years and reached career-high rankings of No. 8 in singles and No. 4 in doubles. The weekend will consist of tennis clinics and moderated discussions by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Hall of Fame athlete. The activities will inspire more than 200 children from across the city to improve their tennis game and achieve academic excellence in school.   

McNeil’s visit is the second installment of NYJTL’s Holding Court: Player Series, which launched last year with inaugural guest Chris Eubanks. Eubanks, another distinguished Black professional tennis player, has a career high ranking of No. 103 in the world, and is a tennis commentator on the Tennis Channel. Currently on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) tour, the college graduate participated in tennis clinics with NYJTL program participants and spoke about his career based on the theme, “I am a Scholar Athlete”.  

“It’s so important for us to bring excellence to the underserved youth we serve because many great icons come from similar backgrounds,” says NYJTL Director of Tennis Ahsha Rolle. “These events inspire our kids to dream bigger and strive to become the next generation of stars.”  

On Friday, McNeil will lead tennis clinics from 2-6 pm with young participants from NYJTL’s ACES Afterschool Program and from the community. On Saturday, McNeil will visit and work with the Scholar Athlete Program and CTP from 11 am- 3 pm. NYJTL’s 2022 Scholar Athlete Program provides students with academic support and intensive tennis instruction with the goal of 100% high school graduation and college entrance to create socioeconomic mobility.  

Community Tennis Program (CTP) Presidents’ Week Tournament  

Later this month, during mid-winter break from February 20-24, NYJTL will present its annual Community Tennis Program (CTP) Presidents’ Week Tournament. This tournament brings program participants from elementary and middle schools across the city to the Cary Leeds Tennis Center for tennis and fitness competitions, along with awards ceremonies on each day.   

While Black History Month is a moment to celebrate the stories of legends on and off the court, NYJTL continues to do this year-round, not only showing youths that they can succeed but also providing access and opportunities to achieve their dreams.  

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. Learn more at www.nyjtl.org.  

For more information on NYJTL’s Black History Month schedule and other offerings, contact:  

Sadia Saba 
Communications & Content Specialist 
ssaba@nyjtl.org  

New York Junior Tennis & Learning (NYJTL) has launched its inaugural Holding Court: Player Series with guest professional tennis player Chris Eubanks. From December 2-4, 2022, more than 250 participants across NYJTL programs, the neighboring Bronx community, and commercial clients filled the courts at the flagship Cary Leeds for Tennis & Learning for a weekend of clinics and exercises showcasing the event’s theme, “I Am a Scholar Athlete”, in recognition of the inaugural Scholar Athlete Program that welcomed 60 students this fall. 

Eubanks is a prominent Black professional tennis player with a career high ranking of no. 120 in the world, a tennis commentator, and a college graduate who is currently on the ATP tour, exemplifying NYJTL’s commitment to the inextricably powerful combination of tennis and learning. Throughout the weekend, Eubanks engaged with NYJTL’s CTP+, ACES, and Scholar Athlete Program participants, local community youth, and commercial clients through various tennis clinics and moderated discussions. This included fitness challenges and other drills to sharpen the kids’ tennis skills along with a video screening of Arthur Ashe and his legacy, and discussions with Eubanks on his personal journeys through his tennis career and education. 

“As someone who has gone through the ranks of tennis and the journey of life, it is important for me to help motivate these kids to do something great,” Eubanks says.  

“As a college graduate and successful professional tennis player, Chris Eubanks embodies and inspires the idea of being a ‘scholar athlete,’” says NYJTL President & CEO, Udai Tambar. “We are excited to continue to bring world-class players to our programs and model for our youth the ways they can achieve success on and off the court.” 

This Player Series continues NYJTL’s Holding Court: Speaker Series, which invites prominent youth development leaders, such as Lisette Nieves, President of the Fund for the City of New York, and Khary Lazarre-White, Co-Founder and Executive Director of The Brotherhood Sister Sol, to discuss important youth development issues with the organization’s staff. NYJTL is excited to welcome Lori McNeil in the next installment of the Player Series in February 2023.  

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.”