STC SUMMARY

Sportsmen’s Tennis Club (STC) has brought tennis into the lives of literally thousands of Greater Boston residents, young and old, since it was founded as a not–for–profit club in 1961. Hundreds of young men and women from the Club have attended college on full or partial tennis scholarships, and thousands more have discovered strength, courage and self–determination off the courts as added benefits of their work on the court

STC is far more than a Tennis Club. Our youth programs develop academic, health and social skills that improve lives and build communities. Participants become more resilient and resourceful in overcoming obstacles and setbacks, learn to set and attain goals, identify and develop skills for success in life, and develop the discipline and persistence to persevere and progress towards their goals. Adults find an enjoyable vehicle for life–changing exercise, and parents trust STC to provide a safe and nurturing environment for their children.

Our mission is to create an interracial setting where urban youth can develop a healthy, competitive spirit on and off the tennis court; to teach the value of teamwork as well as individual achievement; to encourage interaction and friendships between people from different backgrounds; to learn to win and lose gracefully; and most importantly, to be winners in life.

STC offers three distinct but overlapping program tracks to achieve this mission:
1. Recreational tennis and fitness programs;
2. Instructional and competitive tennis programs;
3. Programs that enrich the social, emotional and educational development of our youth.

STC stands poised to further extend our reach into the community, impacting the lives of thousands more young people and adding enjoyable physical activity to generations of families. We are committed to our community, and strive for excellence and a common purpose in all of our programming. All of this comes at a time when the city of Boston is in dire need of more opportunities for young people to identify with and experience programs that demonstrate their ability to create a positive future for themselves and their communities.

STC is located in an economically diverse section of Boston where no child is turned away from recreational or instructional tennis for lack of funds. We traditionally underwrite the cost of tournament and league participation for some economically disadvantaged families that can not afford the cost for instruction. As a committed community partner we reach more than 1,500 young people who participate in STC programs every year, to play tennis, study at the homework center and interact with adults and peers who care about their social and emotional development.

STC HISTORY

Landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted noted in 1870 that Boston was an overcrowded, noisy, and dirty city. Concerned with the health and happiness of Bostonians, the city hired Olmsted to design a park system (1), and he created Boston’s famous Emerald Necklace, stretching from the Boston Common to the Arnold Arboretum and Franklin Park. Designed primarily as a series of passive recreational grounds, Olmsted recognized they wouldn’t meet the growing need for active recreation. He urged the city to purchase what became Franklin Field, and by 1898, it was the most heavily used playing field in the city.

The Field has long been a place where community members congregate, and the stone wall along Franklin Field is a gathering place that reflects Dorchester’s increasing diversity; residents watch games on the fields, enjoy family outings, or simply soak up the sunshine. In the 1980s, a community group fought to have the name changed to one that reflected their history and values as a community of primarily African Americans, more than being named after Benjamin Franklin, and the area was renamed Harambee Park: Harambee is a Swahili word meaning "pull together." This is the ideal location for Sporstmen’s.

Since its inception, Sportsmen’s Tennis Center has been guided by a vision of tennis as a sport that can open doors of opportunity and hope, doors which should be open to all members of society. We focus on strength and opportunity for young people who are often bombarded with troubling images of themselves and their peers. While promoting excellence in tennis, we identify and fill gaps that weaken our youth, families and community.

STC was the first African–American tennis club in the US. The founders were committed to introducing and teaching tennis to inner city Boston youth. For over 45 years Sportsmen’s has been a guiding force in the lives of thousands of low and moderate–income minority youth. The Club has helped introduced local players to worlds of opportunity, and the world of tennis to Boston.

In the early to mid 1970’s, in just our first few years of operation, STC’s 16 and under team was the New England Lawn Tennis Association (NELTA) Suburban League champions, our 12 and under team was the NELTA Indoor League Champions, a 12–year–old STC junior won a NELTA sanctioned singles tournament, and our 18 and under team was NELTA’s League Champion, undefeated in ten matches.

Club founders Jim & Gloria Smith organized a Sportsmen’s USA/Soviet Union Goodwill Tennis Tour in 1989, allowing Sportsmen’s Juniors to travel to and play in the Soviet Union, and in 1998, Harvard University’s Men’s Team played it’s first match in the inner city against Penn State at Sportsmen’s Club. By 1999, the Smith’s estimated that 30,000 young people had grown up with STC helping them to learn about life and tennis. Today, we believe that number has grown to exceed 40,000 young lives touched.

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(1) Parknet National Park Service:
www.cr.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/86bostonparks/86facts2.htm

STC TODAY

Today, STC fulfills many crucial roles within the city of Boston and beyond. Local residents know that the club is an accessible, positive, nurturing environment for young people, where they can advance their tennis game and their academic achievement and social skills. Aspiring athletes can access safe, quality courts and lessons at an affordable costs. Our members and instructors, as well as our administration and governing board, mirror the city of Boston’s demographics.

STC programs fall loosely within three overlapping categories, with tennis instruction as the common denominator throughout. We offer recreational tennis and physical fitness programs, instructional and competitive tennis for individuals and teams, both of which are Club staples, and an emerging portfolio of youth enrichment programs aimed at nurturing and strengthening young people, preparing them to face and conquer the challenges facing youth in Boston today.

The Need for Sportsmen’s
Dorchester, Roxbury, and Mattapan account for 46% of Boston’s total K–8 population. These neighborhoods have the lowest quality of life ratings and the highest rates of poverty, teen pregnancy, and violence in the city. Further, the Harvard study, Play Across Boston, indicates that the youth from these neighborhoods participate less in sports/physical activity than their counterparts in other Boston Neighborhoods.

The World Health Organization reports that regular physical activity helps prevent and control feelings of anxiety and depression, that the more often adolescents participate in physical activity, the less likely they are to use tobacco, alcohol or other drugs, and that children who are more physically active showed higher academic performance and less of a tendency towards violent behavior(1). Studies show that low–income children are significantly more likely to be overweight and/or obese at a younger age than other youth and suffer more frequently from asthma and other conditions. Our goal is to provide a safe, affordable environment that offers inner city youth access to quality training that will lead to a lifetime of physical activity and on-going personal development

STC offers a wide range of non–competitive, easily accessible programs aimed at increasing enjoyable physical activity by all demographic segments of the community: youth, teens, adults and seniors. Court and membership fees for adults are nominal and we offer special rates and programs for senior citizens. We don’t charge court fees for youth when the courts are not in use. Discounts are available to families with more than one child enrolled in any program and a limited number of scholarships are available based upon financial need. We furnish racquets and balls to any student who needs them so that no child is turned away for want of equipment.

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(1) World Health Organization Move For Health:
http://www.who.int/moveforhealth/publications/en/

STC INSTRUCTIONAL & COMPETITIVE TENNIS

Instructional tennis at STC combines best practices gleaned from 45 years of experience introducing and advancing the sport amongst players of all skill levels and athletic ability. Studies have often shown that children who engage in extracurricular activities are more focused on their studies, and are often better able to manage their time to accommodate, school, studies and practice.

Through the Junior Program, STC has positively impacted the lives of generations of low–income youth from diverse backgrounds and cultures, thousands of whom have gone on to earn full or partial tennis scholarships to colleges around the country. Through the game of tennis, we teach critical life skills for youth ages 4 – 18. Meeting six days a week year round, the program combines strong literacy, academic support, and youth mentoring components to promote hard work, discipline, appropriate goal–setting, cooperation, respect for racial and cultural diversity, and winning and losing gracefully.

Competitive play demonstrates that hard work and perseverance can result in personal gain. In addition to the annual Mayor’s Cup Tournament, we also host over 20 USTA sanctioned juniors’ tournaments for beginners and more advanced players from around the region and/or the country and two wildcard tournaments for entrance into the qualifying round for our 50K Pro Circuit Challenger tournament each July. This creates a space for youth to come together in ways that racial, social and economic factors might otherwise preclude. When our players compete in away tournaments, they experience firsthand how much is available to them outside of the environment they see everyday, and how their own commitment to personal growth and development can turn possibilities into reality.

• In 2006, 3 more STC Juniors achieved national ranking:
• Erica Robertson ranked #8 in New England and qualified for the NE National Team to compete and represent USTA NE & STC in St. Louis, MO. Erica also qualified to compete in the G16 Hard Court National Championship in San Diego.
• Noah Bragg ranked #5, was named to the Boys 14 National Team & qualified for the National Hard Courts Championship in San Antonio;
• Erroll Lawrence ranked and was named to the Boys 12 National Team and competed in Pennsylvania.

STC YOUTH ENRICHMENT

In addition to promoting athleticism and awakening a passion for tennis, STC works with youth to develop self–esteem on an individual level, and in doing so, builds and strengthens the community. While STC produces a number of high–ranking tennis competitors, its guiding mission is to produce a wealth of healthy, motivated, self–reliant youth who strive to do their personal best both on and off the court.

STC came into prominence in the 1970’s, at a time when Boston was reeling from the racial tensions dramatized by the busing crises. In response, we created programs seeking to foster friendships and interaction among youth from varied racial, cultural, and economic backgrounds and to impart a sense of belonging and community to all who participate. We continue that effort today, and provide opportunities for social enrichment and academic support commensurate with our high quality, affordable tennis instruction.

We recognize that the same core skills and habits that are being taught on the tennis court are those needed for academic achievement and self–actualization. We foster a positive peer culture that offers alternatives to the negative peer pressures of a social life on the streets, and an abundance of caring adults who understand the challenges facing urban youth. The result is a community program that has, for over 45 years, provided a positive alternative for thousands of young people each year – a sustained, yearlong program dedicated to helping youth develop critical life skills, self–esteem, and a sense of responsibility for oneself and community.

Sportsmen’s is a place where young people belong to a team and a positive peer group instead of a gang. It fosters a sense of community among generations of children and their parents who provide on–going volunteer support. In many ways, the Club’s facility, located on Blue Hill Avenue in the heart of the Franklin Field neighborhood, serves as an anchor in the community. All who live around or visit the club knows that it is a safe, community site that serves and welcomes any that wish to participate.