By Tom Flanagan
CORNWALL, CT – Todd Piker had the motivation and the fortitude to approach his local school about bolstering its tennis programming on his own.
But, he didn’t have to.
"It’s certainly a huge advantage when you go to meet with a school and make a proposal when you have an organization like the USTA on your side," said Piker, who founded the Cornwall Bridge Community Tennis Association. "I think schools are open to the idea of adding tennis programming, but when you can show them that the USTA has looked so carefully at every element and has so much in place, it makes it a lot easier."
Piker, a lifelong tennis player, wanted to see tennis in schools, particularly at Cornwall Consolidated School.
At the urging of Deirdre McCormack, USTA New England’s Director of Community Tennis, Piker attended last year’s School Tennis Summit at Babson College.
"The School Summit really opened my eyes to what was possible in terms of bringing tennis into schools," Piker said. "What I took away was that the curriculum is so strong and complete that even a phys. ed teacher who isn’t necessarily a tennis player can see the value in teaching tennis and will have the tools to do it."
After Piker convinced the a group of schools within the district to give tennis a try, he helped to organize and facilitate a QuickStart Tennis workshop that was attended by area physical education teachers, parents and young players.
USTA New England Community Relations manager Nikita Zaharov ran the workshop.
"Nikita was great, and he brought a lot of insight," Piker said. "In a short time, the teachers and parents got a good vigorous exposure to the program and became familiar with the concept of QuickStart."
Piker’s efforts were rewarded last spring, when the area’s after-school program got off the ground and about 25 students in grades K-5 took part. Piker noted that only about half the participating students had previous experience in tennis. The program generated enough interest and positive response that it will continue during the 2010-2011 academic year.
"This is something that I feel strongly about," Piker said. "I’ve been playing tennis since I was 4 years old and the game has given back so much to me over the years. As a lone parent, trying to start a program may have presented more obstacles, but working with the USTA and having access to their resources made for a successful and rewarding experience."
The 2010 School Summits are taking place Sept. 20 at Babson College and Sept. 27 at Yale University. For more information, click here.