Category: News

District 9 Brings Tennis to Bronx Schools

Posted on by Sadia Saba

On March 22, 2022 the Cary Leeds Center for Tennis & Learning hosted administrators from over 50 schools in New York City Community School District 9 to discuss the opportunity to provide tennis instructional programming to their students. This joins a breadth of community outreach initiatives to bring resources and access to meet the diverse needs of families in the south Bronx. School District 9 contains one of the largest public housing units in the Bronx. Though tennis has historically been viewed as a space for predominantly wealthy members of society, this collaboration with District 9 aims to bridge the gap in the sport and bring equity and opportunity to youth in need.

“This is a very powerful partnership with NYJTL,” says Community School District 9 Superintendent Harry Sherman. “NYJTL is providing our students with access to a beautiful sport that they otherwise might not have had the opportunity to experience. This access is a crucial component to equity, and we are so excited that professional tennis instruction and resources will be brought to our students.”

Principals were able to participate in dynamic warmups and on-court time to give them a glimpse into what their students will experience. NYJTL’s certified coaches will train school staff on how to teach the fundamentals of tennis in school, and will provide instructional drills and games to use during physical education time. The impact of tennis on youth goes far beyond the court. Bringing tennis into schools provides physiological and social emotional exposure to children, which is essential particularly as young people in the city slowly return from sedentary lifestyles brought about by the pandemic.

A Day in the Life at the Cary Leeds Center

Posted on by Sadia Saba

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.

Serve & Connect is Underway

Posted on by Sadia Saba

On February 12, the Cary Leeds Center for Tennis & Learning kicked off Serve & Connect, a community engagement program designed to bring youth and uniformed police together in a fun, physical environment to promote informal mentoring, relationship building, and the delivery of a life skills curriculum. After a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, the program brought together officers from the 42nd Precinct and youth from the community to participate in activities on and off the tennis court.  

Serve & Connect serves youth from communities in the Bronx, many of whom are from the Phipps and Murphy local housing development projects, and supports the initiation of positive relations with the police. The nine-week program takes place on Saturdays from 3-5 PM, which begins with time playing tennis on the court while the officers are in plain clothes, followed by life skills mentoring in the classroom with uniformed officers. Most of the young participants are shocked when they discover that the adults they were enjoying playing on the court with were police officers all along. One of NYJTL’s core values is commitment to community, which includes a dedication to service, diversity, and inclusion. Now more than ever, relations between police officers and community members, especially those of color, are often characterized by hostility and mistrust. The unique Serve & Connect program initiates relationships between young people and the NYPD through positive interactions, mentorship, and trust.  

NYJTL’s very own Recreational Coordinator of ACES, Victor Ayudant, embodies the organization’s commitment to community and character in his volunteerism to the program.  Victor has been a part of NYJTL for eight years, first starting out as a Group Leader at Icahn 2 Charter School. Since the launch of Serve & Connect five years ago, Victor has been volunteering to help lead the program. He was drawn to it because of how officers are able to help the community through tennis. As a longtime member of the NYJTL team, Victor has always been characterized by his passion to serve.Thank you to Victor, Coaches Marilyn and Michael from the Cary Leeds Center, and the youth coordinator officers from the 42nd Precinct for engaging with our young people and building skillsets that will serve them for a lifetime!

NYJTL ACES Program Partners with Silberman School of Social Work

Posted on by Sadia Saba

New York Junior Tennis & Learning (NYJTL) is proud to announce a unique partnership with the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College to provide direct services to the students and families we serve. Social work trainees from the Silberman School are being placed in the ACES Afterschool Program (ACES) in NYC public schools and will meet with ACES students to provide social emotional support groups, workshops, family outreach, mental health referrals, and peer mediations in the program. The goal of this collaboration is to increase accessibility to mental health services and social-emotional learning support to ACES students by promoting Trauma-Informed Care, committing to service, and addressing inequity.

“The Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College is very pleased to partner with NYJTL so that our social work interns may provide services and support to children across New York City,” says Silberman School of Social Work Program Director Caroline Gelman, Ph.D.  “NYJTL’s mission aligns closely with the core values of the social work profession and we are proud to engage in this creative partnership. We expect that direct practice with the children at five different sites will be beneficial for both Silberman interns and NYJTL scholars and we look forward to seeing many positive results.”  

“This partnership with the Silberman School of Social Work is the perfect complement to the work we do in underserved communities,” says NYJTL President and CEO Udai Tambar. “Especially with the circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, it has never been more critical that we take a mental health approach to support our young people.”  

One of NYJTL’s core values is healthy living, which includes a commitment to physical exercise, nutrition, and mental wellness. Safeguarding mental health is a priority for NYJTL, especially in our service to communities who have historically been underserved in the city. The support offered by the social work students adds to the social emotional learning lessons that are regular components of ACES curriculums.

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.

NYJTL is looking forward to celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2022!

Contact: Joe Ceriello
Chief Marketing & Development Officer
jceriello@nyjtl.org
(917) 693-6672

About the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College: 

The Hunter College School of Social Work, currently renamed the Lois V. and Samuel J. Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College, was established in 1958 and is the oldest and largest public school of social work in New York. As part of CUNY, the Silberman School’s goal is to provide social work education of the highest quality at the lowest possible cost. Their location in the urban public system of New York City directs them to seek and encourage social work talent for and from the least advantaged in the population. The mission of the Silberman School of Social Work promotes civic engagement and dedication to public services in the City of New York. Their student body, field agencies, and alumni are the primary social work workforce of the public human service departments and not-for-profit agencies in New York City.

Contact: Caroline Rosenthal Gelman, Ph.D.
Master of Social Work
cgelman@hunter.cuny.edu
(212) 396-7542

Pershing Square Foundation Donates $1.0 Million to New York Junior Tennis & Learning

Posted on by Sadia Saba

New York Junior Tennis & Learning (NYJTL) is proud to announce a donation of $1 million from the Pershing Square Foundation. This gift will support the NYJTL Scholar Athlete Program, which will offer high quality tennis and educational support to provide a pathway for under-resourced NYC children to attend and graduate from college. After 50 years of successfully providing tennis and academic support for NYC youth, the Scholar Athlete Program will serve as its flagship program and beacon for the entire organization.

NYJTL is excited to continue its relationship with longtime donor and supporter Bill Ackman, who has previously contributed $1 million towards the capital campaign for what is now the Pershing Square Foundation Stadium at the Cary Leeds Center for Tennis & Learning.

“Over the past 50 years, NYJTL has enabled countless children to develop their foundational tennis skills and provided critically important academic support,” says Pershing Square Foundation co-trustee Bill Ackman. “We are delighted to continue our partnership with NYJTL as it expands its programs to empower under-resourced children in New York to attend and graduate from college.”

“We are so grateful for the support of Bill Ackman and the Pershing Square Foundation,” says NYJTL President & CEO Udai Tambar. “This foundational contribution is pivotal in providing pathways to college for under-resourced youth and gives them the resources needed to excel in their personal and academic ambitions.”

Historically, NYJTL has provided a broad range of programming to under-resourced youth in all five NYC boroughs to get them enrolled in meaningful after-school, weekend and summer activities.

The Scholar Athlete Program will serve as the flagship NYJTL program that highlights the substantial benefits of providing in-depth services to underserved youth. It will launch during the NYJTL 50th Anniversary Gala at the Ziegfeld Ballroom on May 4, 2022. The gala will be the culmination of 50 years of service, celebrating the legacy and future of the institution.

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.

NYJTL is looking forward to celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2022!

Contact: Joe Ceriello
Chief Marketing & Development Officer
jceriello@nyjtl.org
(917) 693-6672

ACES Programs Run Strong Despite Pressures from Pandemic

Posted on by Sadia Saba

As students return to school in the new year, evolving circumstances regarding the COVID-19 pandemic’s Omicron variant has created challenges for school administrators and families alike. New York Junior Tennis & Learning (NYJTL) is dedicated to supporting our schools and participants’ families as we navigate the ever changing nature of the public health crisis we are currently facing.  

Approximately 300,000 students missed class on average this week in the country’s largest school district, which serves one million young people. With new cases of the COVID-19 virus proliferating citywide, attendance in the first week back to school after the winter recess hovered around 70 percent. NYJTL ACES staff is committed to continuing to deliver specialized, high-quality enrichment programming throughout all of our sites. ACES sites and staff have been working together to provide supplies to ensure the safe delivery of programs that abide by all health regulations. Depending on the different sites, schedules have been changed to address the needs of specific student populations. All staff have been working diligently to support school principals and families in managing the changing challenges of the pandemic. Undoubtedly, our staff, families, and school administrators have been demonstrating resilience and adaptability when met with the demands of today.