CHICOPEE, MA - After spending a couple years building up her business, Eileen Hurley was looking to spend some time volunteering.
A huge tennis fan and avid player, Hurley was presented an opportunity she simply couldn't pass up - coordinating a Jr. Team Tennis league in her area.
Hurley, a resident of West Springfield, took on the task of starting a beginner league in her area, and by the time she and the other volunteers were done, three teams from three communities - made up entirely of children who had never before played tennis - had a league.
Hurley was able to form teams based out of the Dunbar Community Center in Springfield, the Boys & Girls of Greater Holyoke and the Boys & girls Club of Chicopee.
"I wanted to get involved with something that I was passionate about," said Hurley, who plays on USTA League and Mixed teams. "To see these kids who have never picked up a tennis racquet try it out and enjoy themselves was great."
The three teams practiced and played matches over a six-week span using the QuickStart Tennis format, a factor that Hurley believes was paramount to the league's success.
"I know children well enough to know that if they try something and can't do it and don't enjoy it, they won't ever come back," Hurley said. "With the QuickStart equipment, the kids could understand the game and play right away and they were having success. The improvement all the kids made was phenomenal."
The league, which featured 25 players ranging in age from 6-10, concluded its season with a jamboree on Dec. 17 at Grande Meadows Tennis Club.
Hurley was quick to credit her fellow coaches - Ann Mann at Holyoke and Michael Rucks from the Dunbar Community Center - as well as the generosity of the Western Mass. tennis community, which came through with donations to defray the cost of the league for the children. Additionally, Hurley was grateful for the training and support she received from Jon Kostek, USTA new England's Community Relations Manager in Western Mass.
"Some of the kids would have a hard time coming up with the $35 to cover their cost, so I figured I would reach out to some of my friends and see if they could help," said Hurley, who will help to run a similar league in the spring. "I posted on Facebook asking if anyone would be willing to sponsor just one kid and the response was tremendous and my tennis friends were among the first to help out."
Hurley was most pleased with the individual success stories born of the overall success of the league.
"We had one kid in the league who wasn't really into sports and wasn't very active," she said, "but, once he tried tennis and saw that he was able to enjoy some success, he stuck with it."