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Game. Set. Match.

Former Pro Players Luke Jensen and Tom Gullickson pose with young players from Chicago International after a celebrity clinic at the Midtown Tennis Club.

Chicago International is always on the lookout for new and exciting out-of-school opportunities for our 7,500 students. The programs offered after school and on weekends cover four main categories: health & wellness, arts & culture, academic-remediation & enrichment and parent programming. The activities range from karate & drama to tutoring & chess and everything in between. The tennis story begins with an informal conversation between representatives of CICS and the USTA/Midwest (United States Tennis Association - Midwest Section). Next comes a brainstorming session to develop a pilot program that will offer tennis through the physical education curriculum on the Chicago International campuses. For the 2006–2007 school year, CICS partnered with the USTA/Midwest to bring this pilot program to fruition.

USTA School Tennis introduced tennis to CICS by training the physical education teachers and equipping them with the tools (literally and figuratively) to bring tennis to the students of Chicago International. If you are thinking, “where are these urban youngsters going to learn and play tennis,” you understand the inherent challenge with bringing tennis into the inner city. The USTA School Tennis Program provides all the training and support, including portable nets and equipment to turn the school’s gymnasium into a mini-tennis court.

Once the physical education teachers incorporated tennis into their rotations, the tennis balls started flying around the campuses, many even stayed on the court! The USTA/Midwest partnership opened up a new world of opportunities for Chicago

International students. These rookie tennis players are not the usual suspects—they come for myriad reasons with varied abilities: something to keep them busy after school; a fledgling interest in sports; a “level playing field (court);” and a chance to be part of something new.

With the help of the USTA/Midwest, CICS began additional tennis programs to build upon the joy and enthusiasm in the regular physical education classes. The out-of-school programs began in the second semester of the 2006–2007 school year on several campuses. This allowed the students to gain additional confidence while they developed more concentrated skills. As the number of students attending the on-campus after school programs increased, it was apparent that a move to a real tennis court was needed.

Before the dust settled on the first semester of the after school tennis program, our students

were participating in a weekly Junior Tennis program on Saturday mornings at an indoor tennis facility on the South Side of Chicago. The excitement of finally getting on a tennis court was overwhelming for many of the players. They had honed their “skills” and strokes in their school’s gymnasiums, and never thought about getting on a court, let alone a court in a private health club!

The vision for the CICS Tennis program is that the students of Chicago International will learn the game of tennis from professional instructors in elementary school, begin playing competitively, including team tennis matches versus other CICS campuses, in junior high and compete at the high school level, potentially earning college scholarships through tennis. This will create a tennis continuum that builds a foundation throughout a student’s academic career and into adulthood so they may incorporate tennis into a healthy life style.

Teaming up with the USTA

by R.J. McMahon

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Because kids:

Develop discipline and work ethic by improving skills through lessons and practice

Manage stress and learn to recover by adapting to the stress of each point, increasing capacity to deal with and handle other stresses

Plan and implement strategies as they learn the game and anticipate opponents’ moves

Practice sportsmanship and healthy competition

Improve aerobic and anaerobic fitness levels

Generate new brain cells through unique motions performed in tennis

Develop strength and flexibility by constantly changing direction and sprinting to return the ball

Refine eye-hand coordination and overall body coordination as players judge timing of each shot and adjust their bodies accordingly

Learn teamwork and social skills through doubles

“They [CICS] have taken a body of students, with little or no tennis experience, and created a system that will allow these kids to be exposed to tennis at no cost who normally would not have the chance to play.”Matt Smucker Tennis Service Rep for Chicago from USTA/Midwest

why tennis?