BEDFORD, NH - When the Granite State Kids Community Tennis Association got started 10 years ago, the idea was to expose kids to the game and all it offers.
GSK president Diane Phelps and her legion of coaches and volunteers have certainly done their part to pass on their love of tennis to hundreds of kids. In the process, they've done a huge favor for some local high schools.
Several schools local to the area from which GSK draws its Jr. Team Tennis players have seen their varsity tennis programs benefit from an influx of fundamentally-sound and competition-tested players.
Londonderry High School senior Alex Burbine, who has played Jr. Team Tennis through GSK for seven years, is expected to contend for the state Class L singles championship this year, after finishing second in the state as a junior.
Burbine will play tennis for Sienna College next fall.
Erica Leblanc also plays for Londonderry High School, and Leblanc will be playing for Suffolk University in the fall.
"I think that the high school coaches are seeing what type of an impact playing JTT can have on their players and their team," Phelps said. "We're seeing more and more coaches encourage their players to participate during the offseason. It's a lot like high school tennis, in that it's team-based and I think the kids also get a sense of what it's like to be in a competitive match, which can only help them at the high school level."
The impact of Jr. Team Tennis isn't reserved for individuals.
At Bedford High School, both the boys' and girls' teams are perennial powers and annually on the short list of contenders for a state championship.
"Almost the entire (Bedford) roster of players from both the boys' and girls' team has played JTT," said Phelps, whose Penn State-bound daughter, Mackenzie, is one of Bedford's star players. "I think you see the difference when it comes to depth. Because they have the experience of playing in JTT - and a lot of talent and drive - the Bedford teams have very deep rosters, where any of the kids are capable of winning their match and helping the team."
Granite State Kids began with about 30 kids, and has grown each year, with more than 300 youngsters expected to participate in Jr. Team Tennis this summer.