To some extent it was my most memorable summer at North Central. How do you STAY SAFE? HAVE FUN? STAY OUT OF THE TENNIS HOUSE? RESPECT RULES AND REGULATIONS REQUIRED BY A PANDEMIC? Answer: Have a loving dedicated staff that plans, posts, and produces results!
Yes, we all wore masks (except when hitting balls) and our hundreds of players did the same. The posts were all reminders of social distancing as all gates were dedicated “IN” or “OUT” and there was a designated way to get to the Tot courts, rest rooms, and monitors were nearby to assure that clean hands and sanitizing stations were used on a regular basis. Five forehead thermometer assure us that no staff or players had a fever. We tried hard and no one got sick during our short month (July 2020) we were on court.
The night before our Tennis Program began, we had a Billie Jean King Zoom to both raise awareness of Opportunities to PLAY Tennis this Summer and to raise money for more Opportunities to participate and enrich the lives of our Tennis Families. Billie Jean King’s wonderful hour-long Zoom also gave us an Educational Opportunity and we launched our first Essay Contest. The Theme was “What Billie Jean King’s Zoom did for YOU to influence your own personal development and increase your commitment to improve your tennis game”. The prize: A Summer Scholarship to High Performance.
Melissa Fitch and Dan Brunette were definitely the brains behind our “Safety Net.” JT Wynne made Podcasts and videos to help families understand our “ins” and “outs” and the behavior that would help us have a great and SAFE summer. Smith Tennis reinforced social distancing among our elite players and planned classes to include both drilling and competitions each and every day. All players had masks on during off-court times and ALL respected the rights of everyone to stay safe from Covid 19 by following the rules.
ONLY all day campers had access to the Community Room in the Tennis House for ping pong and other games. The Jordan YMCA partnered with us to allow our Tennis Campers to swim three-times each week. Camp was very successful and we thank all dedicated staff.
Our Kids Helping Kids project will continue until October 15th. We were able to have several Red Ball and Orange Ball Round Robins and Riley Children’s Foundation Trophies were awarded to winners. A BIG THANK YOU to the Central Indiana Tennis Association for providing the trophies.
Due to the Pandemic, our Tournament Schedule was severely altered but we did have three tournaments that Steve Wakefield and Dan Brunette organized and were assisted by many former Tournament Players and Staff.
One outstanding accomplishment was the grounds of the Tennis House are now full of blooming gardens and a beautiful new Evergreen Tree. Thanks goes to the Stan and Janet Thompson Family for planting over 40 beautiful plants and mulching the entire landscaped area. What a wonderful Family Project they have adopted. We deeply appreciate their continued care for the gardens by keeping them watered and free from weeds and our famous choke vine.
We appreciate the School District’s partnership and hope that Generations of Families will remember wonderful days of activities at the Tennis Center.
Lastly, we our most hopeful the Pandemic ENDS soon and that 2021 is a two month Summer Program with fewer worries and NO MASKS. Thank you everyone for your continued loyal support!
