News Archives - Page 23 of 25

New York Junior Tennis & Learning is Bubbling with Pride in Crotona Park this Fall Season

Posted on October 29, 2015September 24, 2018 by nyjtl

This week marks the opening of the indoor season at the Cary Leeds Center for Tennis & Learning with the bubbles going up at Crotona Park for the first time.

The two 5-court bubbles were inflated earlier this month at our flagship facility and will remain on site until after the winter season concludes in April. This allows players to practice and compete year-round, and not just during the warmer months.

“Since opening its doors in June, the Cary Leeds Center has become a destination for players of all ages in the South Bronx and beyond,” said Deborah Antoine, President and CEO of NYJTL. “Colder weather shouldn’t mean that on-court instruction ends. Instead, these bubbles allow our programming to take place 365 days a year.”

The $26.5 million Cary Leeds Center opened this June as a result of decades of planning, and a commitment by public and private partners, to create a destination that will touch the lives of an estimated 30,000 students in the South Bronx. NYJTL provides innovative and high-quality programming that helps children grow healthier, smarter, stronger, more self-confident, and become successful on and off the court at the Center, as well as throughout New York City.

NYJTL offers junior programs, adult clinics, lessons and seasonal court time, in addition to free community tennis programs and advanced training programs at the Cary Leeds Center.

You can learn more about the Cary Leeds Center and the programs offered by visiting www.caryleedstennis.org or contacting the Cary Leeds Center at 718-247-7420.

Mercy College Honors Outstanding Bronx Advocates

Posted on October 28, 2015September 24, 2018 by nyjtl

MC Photo 2 — Mercy College Scholarship Recipients pictured with President of Mercy College, Tim Hall.

Last night Mercy College hosted their Annual Leadership Awards Dinner at Marina Del Rey in the Bronx, New York. The night brought together both Bronx natives and Bronx newcomers to honor four outstanding community members who work diligently to strengthen the Bronx Community.

One of the four honorees was NYJTL’s very own President and CEO, Deborah Antoine, who received the award for Youth Advocacy. She was recognized as a leader who has contributed to the success of the youth of the Bronx and who has changed their lives in countless ways, including in the creation of the new Cary Leeds Center for Tennis & Learning.

The Cary Leeds Center for Tennis & Learning was built with a vision to serve the youth of New York City. Built in Crotona Park, in the heart of the south Bronx, the Center houses a two-story, 12,000-square-foot clubhouse and educational facility. The Center offers many programs for both Juniors and Adults, as well as hosts NYJTL’s free community tennis program, advanced training program and more.

MC Photo 4 — Pictured right to left: Tim Hall, President of Mercy College, Deborah Antoine, President and CEO of NYJTL, Honorable Kathy Hochul, Lieutenant Governor of New York, Bernadette Wade, Mercy’s Chief Advancement Officer, and Lenny Caro, former President of the Bronx Chamber of Commerce.

Fellow honoree Mark Stagg, President and Founder of the Stagg Group, mentioned the joy of walking through Crotona Park and coming upon the Cary Leeds Center, “you could be anywhere, you could be in Westchester… seeing the children playing tennis and the coaches out on the courts with them”.

The energy in the room was contagious and one could not help but get excited for what the future holds for the Bronx community. It was a momentous occasion in which men and women of all ages and backgrounds devoted to strengthening the Bronx, through housing, health, education and tennis, joined together to support each other and mainly Mercy College.

Congratulations to all the honorees!

Fall Festivities in Crotona Park!

Posted on October 14, 2015September 24, 2018 by nyjtl

Monday may have been a day off from school, but not from fun.

NYJTL served up its third annual Fall Festival in Crotona Park, adjacent to the new Cary Leeds Center for Tennis & Learning.

More than 1,000 students from our ACES Afterschool Programs and Community Tennis Programs, and more than 100 volunteers, including a number of high school students and a crew from New York Cares, turned out for the festivities.

The day was filled with music, dance, games, food, face painting, and of course, tennis. And every student was able to pluck a pumpkin from our pumpkin patch to take home.

South Bronx Students on Path to College at Cary Leeds Center

Posted on October 7, 2015March 20, 2017 by nyjtl

Thirty-four Bronx 7^th graders took a big step on their journeys to college on Monday, October 5, at NYJTL’s Cary Leeds Center for Tennis & Learning.

It was the students’ first day of after-school tutoring and mentoring in a college access program run by nonprofit organization, Breakthrough New York (BTNY). Through a new partnership between NYJTL and BTNY, the Cary Leeds Center is serving as the third site for BTNY’s year-round program.

“This inaugural day represents two community-based organizations coming together in a partnership to best serve students on and off the court in their home community,” said Jessica Kruskamp, NYJTL’s Senior Director of Education. “The excitement of our students was thrilling and motivating.”

BTNY transforms the lives of motivated, low-income students by shepherding them to and through college with services that include academic support, test prep, and guidance through the high school and college application processes. The program serves over 350 students each year at sites in Manhattan, Brooklyn and now the Bronx.

Demand for NYJTL and BTNY’s free services is steep in the South Bronx, one of the poorest congressional districts in the country. NYJTL is delighted to host BTNY in the Cary Leeds Center’s state-of-the-art classroom space, as well as collaborate with BTNY to provide services on and off the court.

Two days a week after school, the students will receive an hour of tennis instruction from NYJTL coaches before heading into the classroom for academic support. Next summer, the Cary Leeds Center will host over 60 BTNY students for a six-week program of intensive learning and tennis.

BTNY students can also sign up – for free – to NYJTL’s Community Tennis Programs throughout the year to receive additional training.

“Through this partnership NYJTL, at the Cary Leeds Center for Tennis & Learning, is hosting one of the highest quality academic and college preparation programs in the country,” said Kruskamp. “I’m really proud of BTNY, NYJTL and everyone’s dedication to the students.”

Hector Henry: Cricket + Soccer = Tennis

Posted on October 2, 2015March 20, 2017 by nyjtl

Tennis wasn’t the first sport Hector Henry fell in love with, nor the second. As a child in Jamaica in the 1940’s he and his friends spent many long hours playing cricket and soccer. He was even so gifted at soccer that he earned a spot on the Jamaican national team and later went on to play semi-professionally in the United States.

“In Jamaica, at that time, tennis was an upper class sport,” Henry explains. “But when I moved to the States, more people were playing it here.”

With his soccer career behind him, Henry enrolled at Brooklyn College and competed on the tennis team. After graduating, he coached the school’s men’s and women’s teams from 1983 to 1992, as well as several professional Jamaican players.

Two of the first things he noticed about tennis were parallels with the games he grew up with. The groundstrokes were similar to swinging a cricket bat and the running reminded him of soccer. His athleticism translated from the field to the court.

In the early 1990’s be began his NYJTL tenure, shifting his focus from elite professionals to youth players. For the last 17 years, he has been the director of NYJTL’s Linden Park site in Brooklyn, which currently serves 162 kids, ages 5 to 18, from all different skill levels, including special education students. During the winter, he directs NYJTL’s Early Morning Winter Program at the Heights Casino indoor courts in Brooklyn Heights.

“Because of my experience, I work a lot with the advanced and intermediate groups, and some of them have metro rankings,” Henry says. “But we also teach beginners whose parents just want them doing something constructive.”

Located in East New York, NYJTL’s Linden Park program attracts many low- and middle-income families from diverse backgrounds, including African, Caribbean, Hispanic and Asian.

“It’s a challenge to compete with the most popular sports like soccer, basketball and football,” Henry says. “But tennis is becoming more accessible to kids and NYJTL has done a wonderful job bringing it to communities like this.”

Henry notes the recent growth in the program among his youngest group (5- to 9-year-olds) and Hispanic youth. “It’s tied to Nadal’s success,” he says. “He’s an exciting player and they want to be like him.”

On a recent afternoon, one of Henry’s former NYJTL players stopped by Linden Park to visit. She was one of the dozens of players who earned a college scholarship thanks, in part, to his coaching. Those are the successes that make him most proud. “It’s a wonderful thing,” he says with a smile.

Returning the Serve

Posted on August 26, 2015March 20, 2017 by nyjtl

NYJTL and JPMorgan Chase brought together 150 students from across the city on August 13 for a tennis festival culminating with Chase presenting NYJTL with $10,000 to support free tennis and education programs for kids.

Students from NYJTL’s free Community Tennis Program and Advanced Tennis Program enjoyed a variety of engaging lessons in tennis fundamentals, interactive and lively literacy and mathematics activities, and healthy living and nutrition workshops during the three-hour event at the new Cary Leeds Center for Tennis & Learning in the South Bronx.

The event is the culmination of Chase’s Return the Serve program, in which JPMorgan Chase provided the USTA Foundation with $110,000, distributed to National Junior Tennis & Learning Network chapters, including NYJTL. The contributions support programs that combine education and tennis by engaging kids in an academic curriculum.

NYJTL is grateful to Chase and the USTA Foundation for their continued support of our community efforts!

Click here to view pictures from the event.