BRIDGEPORT, CT - Long Island Sound provided the backdrop for a day full of sports, fitness and fun.
But, on this day, there was no surfing, sailing or swimming - tennis was on the agenda.
As part of Healthy Kids Day at Seaside Park, USTA New England provided an afternoon of tennis for more than 700 fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grade children.
"This was a great event and I feel fortunate that the city believes strongly enough in the health and social benefits of tennis to have invited us to take part," said Meg Angeletti, USTA New England's Community Relations manager for Southern Connecticut. "The event allowed us to introduce a huge group of new players to the game."
Healthy Kids Day seemed a natural fit for USTA New England and the sport of tennis.
Bridgeport was chosen by the USTA and the USTA New England section to receive funding and resources to grow youth tennis participation and programs.
Centered around the USTA's new 10 and Under Tennis initiative, the USTA national office and USTA New England are granting a total of more than $68,000 to the city over the course of three years. For its part, Bridgeport will invest $7,500 per year from 2011-2013.
The resources will be leveraged to provide enhancements to existing tennis programs and to implement new programming by working closely with partner organizations, including the Bridgeport Public Schools, Bridgeport's Lighthouse After-School Program.
"Talking with the kids who came through the tennis stations, it was great to hear that many of them had played the sport before and really enjoy it," Angeletti said. "A lot of the kids who have already taken part in tennis programming were taking the initiative to show their peers some of the basics."
The children were divided into several large groups and, with their counselors, got the opportunity to sample several different sports in the span of five hours.
The tennis station featured demonstrations, instruction, games and a fitness component and utilized QuickStart Tennis equipment including mini-nets, smaller racquets and low-compression foam balls.