Rodney Dinkins: Making a Difference in Kids’ Lives

Rodney Dinkins has traveled the world extensively.

“The only place I have not been yet is the Far East,” says Dinkins, a former Account Manager for British Airways. “You meet different people, and see different ways of life.”

The satisfaction he achieves by his global encounters mirrors the joy he experiences at home. As a Tennis Coach for NYJTL’s ACES After-school Program, Dinkins has met countless students from all walks of life.

“I love tennis, and I really like kids. I find it very gratifying being around them,” he says.

His Senior Tennis Program Manager, York Chu, says Dinkins really connects with the kids.

“He is super into bettering the life of any kid he comes in contact with through tennis or any walk of life. He has a great heart,” he says.

Dinkins has worked with NYJTL for much of the last decade, and says he stumbled up on it by chance. He had been independently teaching tennis, and happened to be passing a tennis court where an instructor was incorrectly teaching a skill to youngsters.

He approached the site director to ask to help, and the director jumped at the chance, noting the challenge she faced in recruiting someone to come to Staten Island to instruct kids.

“So I volunteered,” said Dinkins, who was born on Staten Island and still lives there. “I was invited to be the instructor, and then became site director for two years at Port Richmond High School.”

He later was transferred to the program at P.S. 302 in East New York, and then P.S. 250 in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where he has now worked for the last three years. Each week, he helps about 100 students – in kindergarten through fifth grade – with their homework, and then leads them in warm-ups and tennis drills.

He points out many kids don’t think they can run fast, so he holds races and awards prizes, and tells them that “even if you aren’t the fastest runner, you can compete.”

Working with the children year-round, he watches them grow and prosper, bringing a smile to his face. “Watching kids blossom like a flower is a great thing,” he says. “They build confidence, self-esteem.”

NYJTL is dramatically changing their lives, he says. “Schools today don’t have a big physical fitness component,” he says. “So a lot of them would be at home playing with their thumbs. I hope programs like this are always available to children.”