2005 MIDDLE SCHOOL PROGRAM

AAACTA’s Spring 2005 Middle School Program was a big success.

Although there were slightly fewer participants (approximately 135 students in 2005 compared to approximately 140 students in 2004), the program benefited significantly from the addition of newly hired Executive Director Sarah Cyganiak’s handling of the volunteer schedule. There were more volunteers in 2005 – including 6 new fulltime adults, 8 Huron High School girls varsity players and 1 Pioneer High School player.

The tournament was held on June 10^th at the UM Varsity Tennis Center – again this year on a beautiful day. Our volunteers from the weekly programs were supplemented for the round-robin tournament by a number of additional high school students and others who were available. This may give us a source for new volunteers in 2006. The students enjoyed their colorful USTA t-shirts, pizza, and water donated by Arbor Springs.

The lead volunteers at each of the 6 middle schools developed increasingly strong relationships with the respective physical education teacher. AAACTA purchased additional indoor nets in 2005 so we now have enough to dedicate two nets for each school for rainy days. This relieves a lot of stress that occurred in prior years when we’d be making last minute arrangements to transport nets to the school(s) that needed them.

Of course among the most rewarding aspects of the program are the tennis skills that are developed during the 7-week program. The majority of the students (primarily 6^th graders) have no prior tennis experience. Their demonstrated ability to focus, cheer their teammates, and compete with some degree of skill during the tournament is a wonderful thing to see.

Finally, the All Star Camp developed by Nurit Weizman and Kyla Rowe, was a great way to offer the opportunity to continue tennis for 12 of these beginning players.

Respectfully submitted,

Helen A. Peters