Category: The Racket

Excitement is building for the launch of NYJTL’s Cary Leeds Center for Tennis & Learning in the Bronx this June. But, we’ve already started preparing, so get your rackets ready!

What’s in store?

Mayors Cup All-Scholastic Tennis Championships (May 30 to June 7). With 14 different events and 600+ participants, this Tournament provides the perfect opportunity for New York City’s junior tennis players to showcase their on-court talents.

Advanced Training Program (June 29 to August 22). NYJTL’s Summer Tournament Team is designed to help players ages 6-18 develop necessary skills and improve technique, footwork patterns, shot selection and point construction. Tryouts and evaluations take place on Saturday, April 25^th at the Cary Leeds Center at 1720 Crotona Avenue in the Bronx.

Summer Tennis Camp (June 29 to August 28). The camp is designed for players ages 6-18 with intermediate & advanced skill levels. The application period has begun, and enrollment is limited.

We’d like to tip our visors this week to our founder, Skip Hartman.

The International Tennis Hall of Fame presented Skip with The Samuel Hardy Award at its 2015 Annual Awards Luncheon on April 12th in recognition of his long and outstanding service to the sport of tennis.

NYJTL Board Member, Mayor David Dinkins, led a heartfelt introduction to Skip Hartman upon which Skip accepted The Samuel Hardy Award.

The Award honors United States Tennis Association (USTA) volunteers who exemplify Mr. Hardy’s dedication. Recipients of the award “exemplify those qualities of personal unselfishness and devotion to the game that has been an inspiration to others.”

The Samuel Hardy Award was established in 1953 after the passing of Samuel Hardy, the former Editor of Spalding and the Wright & Ditson Official Tennis Guide, who worked extensively with the United States Lawn Tennis Association and served on a number of its committees.

Skip began his service to the game of tennis in 1969 when he persuaded the New York City Parks Department to transform public park tennis courts into usable indoor facilities for the winter season. His dedication led to what became the Stadium Tennis Center in the Bronx, a site first-of-its-kind which he managed until 1997.

In 1971, Skip co-founded the New York Junior Tennis League – what is now known as New York Junior Tennis & Learning (NYJTL) – along with Hall of Famer Arthur Ashe.

“For the next 40 years, Skip tirelessly dedicated himself to the growth and success of junior tennis in New York,” the Hall of Fame noted. “By 2007, NYJTL became the largest nonprofit youth tennis and education program in the U.S.”

Additionally, Skip was chairman and CEO of Sports and Education in Schools Foundation, and was involved in the creation and development process of countless organizations including the USTA Schools Program, the National Tennis Teachers Conference, and Play Tennis America.

The International Tennis Hall of Fame & Museum was established in 1954, and is a nonprofit institution dedicated to preserving the history of tennis, inspiring and encouraging junior tennis development, enshrining tennis heroes and heroines, and providing a landmark for tennis enthusiasts worldwide.

The Hall of Fame is recognized both nationally and internationally as the premier steward of the rich tradition of the sport of tennis.

Young tennis players from across New York City gathered at the U.S.T.A. Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, Queens last weekend to play in NYJTL’s Hartman Cup tournament semifinals and finals.

The action started bright and early at 5:30AM each morning, but that was nothing new for the players and their parents who had been waking up before dawn for the past 20 weekends to participate in NYJTL’s Winter Early Morning Program. Children from NYJTL’s afterschool Aces Club program competed in the tournament as well.

Earlier in March, boys and girls in four different age brackets – 12’s, 14’s, 16’s and 18’s – participated in the preliminary rounds of the annual tournament.  By the final Sunday, two players in each of the eight divisions were left standing to play for the championships. See the results of the finals matches below.

The morning concluded with a special awards ceremony in which winners received trophies and finalists received medals.  During the ceremony, NYJTL President and CEO Deborah Antoine and Columbia University men’s Associate Head Coach Howard Endelman, an NYJTL board member, spoke to the players about the tremendous impact that tennis, education, discipline and hard work will have on their lives.

Congratulations to all of the players on a great tournament, and a productive, fun winter of tennis and learning!

Results from the 2015 Hartman Cup Tournament Finals on Sunday, March 28

Each player’s WEMP or Aces Club site is listed in parentheses.

Boys 12: Jonathan Rabinowitz (Bay Terrace) defeated Lonnie McKinstry (PS 147 Aces Club)

Girls 12: Tori Lai (PS 228 Aces Club) defeated Ginella Grimes (Heights Casino)

Boys 14: Cristian Rabinowitz (Bay Terrace) defeated Anthony Fratarelli (National Tennis Center)

Girls 14: Nia Dabreo (Heights Casino) defeated Natalie Corella (National Tennis Center)

Boys 16: George Arteaga (National Tennis Center)

Girls 16: Coney Bank (Roosevelt Island Racquet Club) defeated Mariana Santamaria (Roosevelt Island Racquet Club)

Boys 18: Joel Cantila (National Tennis Center) defeated Anthony Coneo (National Tennis Center)

Girls 18: Jazmine Cantila (National Tennis Center) defeated Jahnavi Selvam (National Tennis Center)

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Deborah Slaner Larkin, a member of New York Junior Tennis & Learning’s Board of Directors since last year, credits her parents with fostering her love of all sports, including tennis.

The Clinton Foundation recently profiled Ms. Larkin, who serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the Women’s Sports Foundation, calling her a “ceiling breaker” and highlighting her commitment to girls’ empowerment.

The Cary Leeds Center for Tennis & Learning also will be home to the Billie Jean King Clubhouse of the Women’s Sports Foundation. (The Center is due to open in mid-June.)

You can read the full post here.

 

 

 

Earlier this month, New York Junior Tennis & Learning was proud to take part in the annual BNP Paribas Showdown at Madison Square Garden to mark World Tennis Day.

One of our exceptional student players – 9-year-old Nina Wiese – took part in the ceremony that day. Nina, a member of NYJTL’s Tournament Team, is ranked No. 6 (Eastern Section, 10 & Under Division).

Born and raised in Queens, she practices at the NYJTL Winter Early Morning Program at the U.S.T.A. Billie Jean King National Tennis Center each weekend, and soon could reach No. 1 in her age division.

 

 

 

The following email was received from Elena Alarcon, who spoke about the impact of New York Junior Tennis and Learning.

I am the mother of two children, Nathalie Camacho, who is 10 years old, and Kevin Camacho, who is 11 years old. They go to PS 215 in Brooklyn, and since they were in kindergarten they have been attending the NYJTL afterschool program. One is now in fourth grade, and the other is in fifth grade.

I do not know how to thank this amazing program. For our children to be healthy – physically and mentally – they need to be involved in extracurricular activities besides just attending regular school.

For our family, NYJTL has been the best program, because I have the opportunity to attend college while my children are in good hands learning really good skills, such as socializing and sports.

Without this amazing program I could not have had the chance to go to college, and my children would just stay at home playing video games and be on the computer.

They love the NYJTL program. They cry when, for any reason, I am not able to take them or when I have to pick them up early.

I hope this program will continue giving this opportunity to families like mine to have a healthy environment for our children. And I give a special thanks to Dr. Deborah Antoine.

I remember one time when I was almost crying, and begging her not to close the program in our school, and she heard me!