He bursts with unbridled and contagious enthusiasm. He attacks agility drills (see video above) with a vociferous passion. His energy knows no bounds. And when you place a racquet in his hands? His eyes exude enough voltage to light up the tennis bubble.
Five-year-old Montez loves tennis.
“When he gets off the court, he always makes sure to tell me that he cannot wait to come back the next Sunday,” noted his mother.
Montez was introduced to the game at the Peppermill Community Center in Landover, Maryland. As part of the Junior Tennis Champions Game On! initiative, he would join a handful of other eager students and partake in a free tennis lesson every week this past Fall. Game On! is a community outreach initiative that seeks to provide tennis instruction and educational opportunities to youth in underserved areas in DC. The overarching program mission is to foster a life-long love for the sport.
“Too often, in other sports, the coaches bark orders at impressionable youngsters and he does not respond to yelling”, added Montez’s mother”. “Here, it is different. Kevin [JTCC Community Outreach Manager] and the rest of the staff have created a relaxed atmosphere and it has provided a boost in his confidence. The kids feel like winners when they are here.”
At the end of each nine week session, each student receives a tennis racquet if they attended at least 90% of the lessons. A select few are then invited to continue their training at JTCC.
Justin
When told of news that he was selected – Overwhelming, off the wall, could not wait to play with other kids that shared his same passion
Montez is one of X kids invited to train at the Junior Tennis Champions Center (JTCC) on Sunday afternoons. The training sessions are an extension of JTCC’s Game On! program.
The DC metro area is teeming with unearthed talents like Montez. Too often, these talented kids
Although countries like Serbia and Russia are churning out top-rate players at a rapid pace, there is homegrown talent here that needs to be cultivated and given a chance
train under the guidance of Kevin Borozenski
After completing the Game On! program at the Peppermill Community Center, Montez, along with X of other Game On! participants, were invited to continue their training at the Junior Tennis Champions Center.
The training sessions are an extension of the Game On! program.
Extension of Game On
The DC metro area is teeming with talented and motivated youngsters like Montez. The issue is that they are geared towards sports that they might not have the right skill set for Unfortunately, they are not exposed to tennis even if it is a perfect fit.
End – Look out for the bubbly Montez at the Tennis Center. He will surely stand out.
unbridled enthusiasm
Montez
Effervescent youngster that exudes a persistent enthusiasm for tennis – bursts with enthusiasm that is contagious
His energy knows no bounds even when faced with mundane agility warm-up drills
Mother of Montez
Gives the kids an opportunity to try out a new sport
When Montez gets off the court, he always makes sure to tell me that he cannot wait to come back the next Sunday. The Tennis Center is centrally located and I certainly do not mind taking two hours out of my Sunday to watch him have a blast and learn at the same time.
This is a refreshing program. It offers kids an avenue other than football or basketball to possibly earn a college scholarship down the road.
Mother of Jayden
Looks forward to coming every Sunday
Jayden asked – “Pop, can we go out and play tennis” – So his father packs the car and they go out in search for the nearest court
She was talking to a colleague in her office and that person wanted to help out – brought in a new racquet and tennis balls for Jayden to use
Kept him out of trouble and helped him with school
Mother of Justin
This program gave my son the drive and confidence to pick up a racquet and play
Wrote an essay about wanting to win a Grand Slam and play professional tennis
I don’t play around when it comes to school and keeping up his grades – I made him read aloud the details of this scholarship and made sure he knew that he had to keep his grades in line if he wanted to continue to play tennis
Father of Maximus
Maximus excels at mechanical tasks so tennis is a natural fit for him
I would not have thought of exposing tennis to him but this is an ideal platform – it teaches him discipline, technique, hand-eye coordination and footwork.
I will be giving him the choice of tennis or soccer camp this year and I have no doubt that he will choose tennis
There is no facility like the Tennis Center in Maryland – I hear that tennis is underrated in Maryland and both Maximus and I are elated that we stumbled upon this program.
