Tennis Champions: The Gift of Tennis

Fiend at Court Unplugged

The December challenge for the USTA Champions Program is to donate two tennis “Quick Start” kits to promote tennis in the local community. After exploring my options in the Wichita Falls area, I decided to donate the sets to the Angel Tree operated by the Salvation Army.

When considering my options, I reached out to the operators of the Angel Tree to see if there were any requests for tennis equipment. They expressed high confidence that they would be able to match the sets with kids who had requested tennis equipment. It kind of makes me wonder if there are kids in the local area who would also like some exposure to tennis that won’t receive that gift this year. It breaks my heart.

Legitimately, if I could purchase additional kits for donation, I would be highly likely to do that. I feel like the USTA might be missing a seasonal giving opportunity that would also promote tennis. The Net Generation starter sets used in this exercise are not available for retail sale. They should be.

I added a note to my kits to help guide the Angel Tree volunteers to match the kits to the kids. Navigating the racquet length and the red and orange dot balls in the bag is not intuitively obvious to non-tennis people. One modification that I would recommend to the USTA is adding age guidance to the external packaging for next year.

I believe that the primary motivation of the USTA for the Tennis Champions program was to put the promotion of tennis into the hands of people who were best positioned in their communities to promote tennis at the grassroots level. I have done my best to be effective in that regard.

However, the most enduring benefit from the program may be the way it captures the hearts and minds of the Champions and opens their eyes to the tennis promotional opportunities around them. I have been transformed by the experience and I am hoping that it is a widespread effect among the other participants

If you still have the opportunity this season to participate in an Angel Tree or Toy Drive, please consider quick start racquets and balls. It could make a child’s Christmas and potentially change a life.