Current Supported Programs
PO BOX 304 Westmont, IL 60559 The ACE Project hosts a 6-week tennis camp, in collaboration with Riverdale Park District to make this life-long sport more accessible to youth and adults. The ACE Project has also hosted summer camps through partner elementary schools; providing youth an opportunity to practice new skills with their immediate peers. They utilize the renovated Art Courts in Riverdale, funded by the USTA, and have expanded tennis instruction to more community members.
2311 Campus Drive Evanston, IL 46240 Buddy Up for Life serves individuals with Down syndrome by providing a fun, active, and supportive environment for them to grow both physically and personally by engaging in activities that impact athletic, social, and emotional development. Buddy Up for Life strives to impact lives by cultivating increased independence, promoting greater health and wellness, and fostering meaningful friendships for all individuals with Down syndrome. Their services include Tennis, Fitness, Summer Camp, Life Skills, Connections, and Virtual programs. The Buddy Up Tennis program is a weekly high-energy adaptive tennis and fitness program for children and adults with Down Syndrome ages 5+. They enable athletes to flourish, succeed, and reach their fullest potential by providing a unique environment that combines tennis, fitness, and social activities through our weekly 90-minute clinics consisting of 30 minutes of fitness conditioning and 60 minutes of professional tennis instruction. They are the only ongoing Adaptive Tennis program in most areas that works specifically with individuals with Down Syndrome. Their programs are designed to embrace the physical and emotional challenges that individuals with Down Syndrome face, so our athletes can learn, grow, and reach their fullest potential. Individuals with Down Syndrome can experience physical and psychological health complications such as increased risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes, low muscle-tone, looseness of ligaments, and decreased core strength, atypical development of motor skills, high susceptibility to depression and anxiety, social withdrawal, and challenges in behavioral activity. Buddy Up Tennis was created with these risks in mind. Athletes are partnered with volunteer Buddies to provide support, develop friendships, and reinforce the Coaches’ instructions. Coaches are trained to implement the tennis curriculum specifically created for athletes with Down syndrome.
2027 W. Division Street, # 171 Chicago, IL 60622 CDTA is partnering with the Chicago Park District (CPD) in several parks in the city to introduce high quality USTA instruction as part of the summer day camp activities. This is a perfect vehicle to offer this tennis instruction to children who might not otherwise have access to the game. The program runs for 6 weeks beginning in June. The parks participating are:
Eugene Field Park
Revere Park
Gompers Park
Sauganash Park
Athletic Field Park
Kilbourn Park
Green Briar Park
Hollywood Park (at Mather High School courts)
Peterson Park
Welles Park
Humboldt Park
Tuley Park
McGuane Park
Marquette Park (two sessions – one for traditional campers and one for special recreation campers)
McKinley Park
Smith Park
Dunbar Park
Douglas Park
Rainbow Beach Park
Groups of 20-40 campers rotate through tennis instruction for 2- 4 hours every day. CDTA provides staff and instruction at each location. In addition, CDTA participates in training of all of CPD’s camp counselors, allowing them to gain some ability to provide tennis activities during non-instruction time periods. Participants range in age from 6 to 15. CDTA provides this instruction at no cost to the CPD. The tennis instruction is be free of charge to families of the camp; there is no additional fee added on to the camp registration.
27864 Irma Lee Circle #101 Lake Forest, IL 60045 GLASA’s wheelchair tennis program reaches 50 individuals with physical disabilities and provides programming 45+ weeks per year. Program participants represent a diverse range of ages, abilities, and experience levels. The tennis program includes two key components- on-going weekly practices and learn to play tennis days. Sports wheelchairs are available to all participants who need to utilize adaptive equipment to participate.
10 individuals participate in GLASA’s weekly tennis practices which last for 2 hours each Saturday afternoon. Recreational/new athletes learn the basics of the game while more advanced athletes prepare for competitions. High-quality coaching is provided by Mike Carrico and adult/experience athletes help to mentor and support younger and more inexperienced athletes. Attendees learn the rules of the game and develop their skills. Tennis skills and chair skill development help athletes to achieve their goals. Tennis practice takes place over 45 weeks per year.
3400 West 111th Street Unit 408 Chicago, IL 60655 The program plan is designed to expose and teach youth from ages 5 years old to 17 years old the basic skills necessary to play tennis. Their program is designed to incorporate the essential elements of youth development (communication, collaboration, problem-solving, personal mindset, community awareness and planning for success ) in the delivery of daily lessons. The following facilities are utilized for the program: Kroc Center Chicago (indoor and outdoor) West Pullman/Roseland Community 1250 West 119th Street Solorio Chicago (indoor and outdoor) Gage Park/West Lawn Communities 5300 South St. Louis
P.O. Box 333 Maywood, Illinois 60153 The MTA Summer Youth Tennis Program is a free, nine-week program held Saturdays beginning June 1 through August 10 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The participants are kids ages 6 to 18 who live in Maywood, IL and surrounding communities. In 2022, 94% of the participants were African-American and Hispanic, with 58% girls and 65% ages 10 and under. They are the only free youth tennis program in the Chicago West Side suburbs.
380 Forsyth Road Boca Raton, FL 33487
Serving Up Hope launched three new programs in January 2023 with their partner, the YMCA Greater Chicago, at the Indian Boundary Y (Downers Grove), Fry Family Y (Naperville) and South Side Y (South Side, Chicago). The programs are 6-week introductory tennis programs, aimed at children ages 8-12 years old. Serving Up Hope teaches their partner’s staff on how to run these starter tennis programs, provides all the equipment, follow-up training, and assists with volunteers. In addition, they include an educational component focusing on writing skills, where participants write in a journal completing weekly prompts with topics including what they learned in the program and tennis facts and history. The goal of the program is to provide an accessible, fun tennis program that encourages kids to stay in the sport. They use both traditional and nontraditional equipment (such as beach balls and dance ribbons) and can be hosted on any flat surface to offer the most accessibility and participant interest/success.
332 South Michigan Avenue Suite 1032, #T530 Chicago, IL 60604 TOP’s mission is to nurture participants in becoming exceptional individuals and community leaders. TOP’s primary goal is to enable underserved, at-risk youth to maximize their potential on and off the tennis court, and, ultimately, to achieve a college education – as their motto states, “a tennis theme, a college dream.” TOP provides financial aid and human resources that empower participants to excel as students, tennis players, and world-class citizens. TOP currently has 42 children from the Chicagoland area on TOP scholarships for the 2022 year. They range in ages from 8 years old to 17 years old.
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