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"I like how not only do we get to actually do some of the training, but we also at the end of the day get to play games and have more of that competitive side," says 15 year-old Andres, a player who came to the camp on more than one occasion.
Throughout June and July's scattered storms, heat and air quality warnings, the majority of kids like Andres in the Slice category, still choose to show up to tennis camp. Many bring their own racquets as they excitedly step onto court to rally with friends or the instructors before 9 AM, when the warm up is scheduled. They come prepared. Many are decked out in hats or visors, big jugs of water are carried by some and quite a few bring gadgets like spray bottles or hand held electric fans. The kids are ready to start the day, despite the scorching sun. From 9:00-9:30, the kids do warm up games and activities. Once it hits 10:00, the drills begin, with lessons ranging from groundstroke basics to serves or volleys, with games aiming to strengthen skills also scattered in. At 11:00, the teens are grouped into teams and play team tennis until noon. Team tennis is an activity where the children play doubles against one another and accumulate points, the number of points being based on match wins and losses. By the end of the week, the team with the most points wins the first place prize, a decorated ball trophy with gold accents. Teams who won 2nd, 3rd and 4th place also receive them, but in different colours. This award ceremony also includes ball trophies for Most Valuable Player, Most Improved Player and the Sportsmanship award. Some prefer the games while others like to compete. Andres says he likes both. "I'm really competitive in a lot of things, so I really like the games, not only team tennis; I like to play with the coaches." In terms of games, the one most of the teenagers ask to play every time is 'jailbreak,' a game that exercises both groundstroke technique and aiming but also keeps them entertained. The objective is to hit the ball over the net and inside the court, otherwise they must catch balls coming from their friends on the coach's side of the net, with the coach being free to change the rules or make variations to the game at any time. James, a frequent camp participant and often a fierce competitor, says he prefers team tennis over the games and drills. "Because I get to play against my friends, with my friends and get used to game experiences in tennis," he says. Chloe, 12, who enjoys playing tennis alongside her passion for crocheting, says her preference goes towards the drills and games. "It helps you learn and it's also fun," Chloe says as she recounts the team tennis experience being a little stressful in comparison. When it's time for team tennis however, most of the kids are elated, with it being hands on deck by the time the instructors start building teams; all of them huddle close around the picnic table, barely touching shoulders with the coaches, as they lean over to peek at the paper listing their names. Some jubilate when they realize their friend is on the same team, while others sigh in frustration when that isn't the case. Clearly this activity is a big deal. The kids call out to their favourite coach to act as umpire for their match, while others choose to count the score using the mounted scoreboards on their own. In almost all occasions, surprisingly, the teenagers don't cheat so often and they do not mind playing with and against those they've never socialized with before. Their eyes are focused and their serves well calculated; the kids truly enjoy the sport, especially when it comes to match play, with most of the kids quickly rotating on and off the court for a sip of water, many having just finished their matches wishing to play again. Besides team tennis, Andres reflects on what he likes about the camp in particular. "I really like how there's a variety of kids from different ages and how the coaches are really welcoming," he says. Their love for the sport and for the camp itself is evident by the way they behaved. Danielle, who organized the camp and created the 12+ age category believed this was an excellent way to get kids active again and to get them off their phones. Most intriguingly, this worked. Very rarely did any of the kids pull their phones out of their bags during water or lunch breaks, as most of them chose to socialize or wait patiently instead. Even in the sweltering heat, the teens ran to every ball, followed coaches back on court after breaks and participated in picking up the balls with only few showing reluctance. Most importantly, despite a good portion of kids being experienced in tennis, having been coming every summer, a sizeable amount did not. After having access to the sport by participating in the morning camp, those without such experience proved to be decent players themselves, as a lot of them showed great improvement in a matter of days. This is what such a program can do. All in all, even with only a few more weeks remaining, the teenagers continue to come to the Hillcrest courts, whether from a long walk, a bike ride or from a parent's car. Virtually all of them want to come to play, so the camp ensures they get that opportunity.
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After leaving nursing at CHEO's neo-natal ICU, Danielle knew she wanted to continue serving the community, but by "creating something great," she said.
Driving past Hillcrest High's abandoned tennis courts every day, courts once loved back in the 1960's, Danielle had an idea: why not serve the community through sport? Whereas most people would choose to make a tennis club out of available courts, she knew through experience how clubs often have an air to them, restricting their facilities to people who can pay for lessons and courtside fees. Thus creating a financial barrier to the sport and not being open to the community at large. Instead of making a profit from developing the courts into a club, Danielle decided to do the opposite: to create Ottawa's first and only grassroots tennis charity, giving anyone and everyone the chance to play tennis. Speaking with the principal of the high school, both settled on a lease agreement, where Danielle and the team would use and maintain the courts and the school would own the site and let its kids use it during school hours. In 2003, she secured the Ontario Trillium Foundation grant and received $33,000 to resurface the decades-old courts. This spoke to her resilience in achieving her long-term goal of giving everyone from all walks of life the opportunity to play tennis, even if it meant putting in the work to revitalize long neglected courts. Shortly after Hillcrest, she expanded her charity, as Ridgemont Highschool also opened their two courts to Danielle and was resurfaced as well. Nearly a decade later, Danielle tried to figure out how to operate her ambitious plan: to give women and children the ability to play the sport for free through charitable donations, enabling them to build their confidence through learning tennis skills and match play, as well as promoting tennis as a sport. To do this, she hired high school students and scoured the city to find people with tennis experience to coach lessons, invited volunteers, high school volunteers included, to lend a helping hand, applied for more grants to upkeep the space and paid insurance to maintain its operations among many more initiatives to kickstart it. To truly achieve her goal, her charity needed to reach charitable status. After three years of waiting, in 2012, A Love of Tennis finally received such a status. However, not everything came easy, but Danielle never gave up, keeping her charity operational through it all. This was evident from frequent program schedule changes, as some years were more chaotic than others. Even worse, when COVID-19 raged on through multiple summers, programs were halted altogether, losing precious time to give people the chance to play. After COVID restrictions lifted, the charity had to be promoted all over again and it was a challenge to get it going. Now, A Love of Tennis proudly provides a variety of programs and events all spring and summer. With a donation based model, free tennis lessons are given to children aged 5 through 17, all with particular names categorized by age, women's beginner and intermediate lessons are provided to women of all ages, school programs on and off site are organized, tennis camps and tournaments are hosted, adult leagues are scheduled and team tennis leagues are created for kids. Although busy, the charity continues to have a myriad of opportunities open to all, with registrations filling up early and waitlists existing every year. In addition to A Love of Tennis, Danielle created Tennis on the Streets, a local initiative to provide tennis lessons to children of low-income families who do not often have the means or transportation to participate in sports or commute to sports facilities. Furthermore, through her collaboration with Tennis Canada's Girls. Set. Match. program, she has provided all-girls league programs and encouraged multiple women into becoming female tennis coaches and receive coaching certification. As a result of her passion for tennis and her perseverance lasting over two decades, opportunities have finally come along. Just this spring, she was invited to participate in the inaugural Women Who Rally leadership cohort, a 10-month learning program for women tennis coaches with Danielle being one of only 20 women chosen worldwide. What's more, in August, the courts at Hillcrest will be resurfaced to improve play as a result of successful grant applications. In addition, after years of not having lighting on court, Danielle finally received an Ontario Trillium grant of nearly $70,000 to update the lights in the fall to extend programming into evenings. After 23 years since A Love of Tennis' founding, creating tennis opportunities for all through thick and thin, a lot has been achieved thanks to Danielle and her family pushing for the charity's continued existence. Six hard courts have been refurbished, 10,000 volunteer hours were put forth by the community, a total of 12,000 children participated in programming, six coaches were certified as instructors by Tennis Canada, 10 schools were given tennis equipment and training as well as incorporating the sport into their physical education, 100% of participants improved their physical literacy scores and 85% retained participation. Most importantly, besides the charity's milestones and personal achievements, it has touched the lives of so many people, something Danielle herself has made sure to promote. From giving children of all backgrounds and incomes the chance to play the sport and gain the confidence to play sports in general, providing mothers time for themselves, making youth players and coaches feel like they can achieve something, to even just giving people of all ages the ability to lead a healthier lifestyle, A Love of Tennis has done more for the community than Danielle has ever hoped for. "Where one door closes, another opens," Danielle said, referring to how post-retirement she was able to create a lasting impact on the community long after her nursing career. From saving lives, to changing them, she believes it's important to put the community first. That comes from giving people a taste of tennis, the world's healthiest sport, for free. |
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