Serving the community
Tennis group opens newest NYCHA site at Ingersoll Houses in Bed-Stuy
BY KEVIN DUGGAN
It’s a real racket!
A tennis club celebrated its
fi rst summer season at the Ingersoll
Houses on Myrtle Avenue
on May 4.
The Bedford-Stuyvesantbased
do-gooder group Kings
County Tennis League opened
its sixth NYCHA site at the
public housing complex at
Flatbush Avenue Extension,
giving kids from the community
between the ages of 5 and
10 a chance to grab a racket
and learn all about the benefi
ts of the sport, according to
one of the coaches.
“Tennis can teach a lot
of good values like determination,”
said Lauren Reid.
“It’s an individual sport so it
teaches resiliency of relying
on yourself.”
There will be weekly
courses every Saturday during
the summer at the Fort
Greene complex, which gives
the kids a chance to play a
sport they may not be exposed
to that often right in their back
yard, according to Reid.
“It’s tennis right where
they live so they can take ownership,”
she said.
The group also teaches
the youngsters what it calls
“life lessons,” which includes
some basic science education
as well as mentoring from the
COURIER L 16 IFE, MAY 17–23, 2019 PS
volunteers.
For example, one young
girl during the winter season
was frustrated when she kept
missing her shots, but after
some coaching she learned to
take a better approach to the
sport, Reid said.
“We talked about how we
FAS H ION S POT L IGHT
can’t always win, we have to
keep trying,” she said.
Reid oversaw the group’s
fi rst program at that location
at the nearby Ingersoll Community
Center last winter and
she said that she notices how
the pint-sized players have already
improved their skills
since then.
“They got to practice forehand
and backhand and it was
good to see how they had progressed,”
The group planned to inaugurate
at Fleet Walk, but due to the
rain, they had to move the
games back into the indoor
courts inside the community
center for the day.
According to the program’s
leader, the group aims to give
the kids a chance to try something
healthy exercise too.
“Ingersoll takes us another
signifi cant step forward towards
child in Brooklyn regular
access to an activity that is
healthy, stimulates their personal
them to new concepts, cultures,
people, and possibilities,”
said David Webley.
People can register for the
summer season at www.kingscountytennisleague.
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she said.
the outdoor courts
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READY TO SERVE: The Kings County Tennis League cut the ribbon on its fi rst summer season at Ingersoll
Community Center on Myrtle Avenue on May 4. Photo by Trey Pentecost
/www.king-scountytennisleague.Portabella
/www.king-scountytennisleague.Portabella
/www.king-scountytennisleague.Portabella
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