SILVER SPRING, MD — A new initiative to provide healthy and safe after school recreation and mentoring for middle school students has been created through a partnership between the United States Tennis Association/MD (USTA/MD), the Montgomery County Tennis Association (MCTA), the Mid-Atlantic Tennis Foundation (MATF), the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC), and the Montgomery County Recreation Department (MCRD).
“TEAM” is an acronym for Tennis, Education And Mentoring, and is an eight-week after school program designed to provide access to tennis instruction, life skills and mentoring for students of all backgrounds, with an emphasis on Latino youth. “We want these kids off the streets and on the tennis court. We want to give them an alternative that helps them succeed in life and in the classroom,” says Charles Carter, First Vice-President of USTA/MD and MCTA Vice President, Community Tennis.
To fund the first pilot session of the TEAM program, which begins on October 17 at the Wheaton Regional Park Indoor Tennis Bubble and Ice Arena, USTA/MD contributed $25,000, MATF donated $10,000 and MCTA provided the remaining $5,000. Each session can accommodate up to 48 children and runs from 3PM-6PM, Monday through Friday. (The program will not run on half days, school holidays or November 23, 2005.) Each after school session will include at least 1 hour of tennis instruction from USTA recreational coaches and at least 1 hour of education including a study hall, life skills training, and MCPS study circles. Mentoring will be done on the weekends for selected students by trained MCTA members and other volunteers. The cost is $75 per student per session and includes a brand new tennis racquet and t-shirt for each participant.
The first pilot session will be offered to students at SSI and Eastern middle schools through their existing MCRD RecExtra programs. Three more sessions are being planned to accommodate a broader group of area middle schools and funding will be requested if there is sufficient interest from area students.
Anyone interested in signing up for the TEAM after school program sessions should contact the MCTA directly at 301-924-2249 or visit www.mctatennis.org and click on community tennis for more information.