Tuesday, June 4, 2002
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- A local group wants to see more inner-city youth on area tennis courts.
This marks the 10th year the Marcus Garvey Institute of Awareness has offered its community tennis association sessions. Youths who have enrolled in the tennis lessons have gone on to play tennis for area high schools, said Abdu Awolowo, chairman of the institute's board.
He believes working with the younger pupils has increased the number of blacks playing tennis.
Programs are divided into categories depending on age and skill level. An informational meeting is set for 10 a.m. to noon Saturday in the Rebecca Williams Community Center, 760 Main Ave., in the after-school room.
Sessions for beginners ages 7 to 17 are from 9 to 11 a.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays starting Monday and running through Aug. 23 at Packard Park.
For advanced players ages 7 to 17, sessions run from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays from Monday to July 17 and from July 22 through Aug. 28 at Deemer Park
Sessions for players 18 and older run from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. Saturdays from June 15 through Aug. 24 at Deemer Park.
The cost is $35, or $80 if a family of three or more people wants to sign up.
Fun for everyone
"Both boys and girls can play tennis," Awolowo said. "It's something you can play for life and it's pretty inexpensive. You don't need a lot of equipment."
The idea for the tennis program started several years ago when Awolowo was coaching a youth baseball team. The mother of one player attended each game and practice, with her daughters in tow.
"They would just sit there through all of the practices and all of the games," Awolowo said.
He wanted to start an activity girls could participate in too.
MGIA is a nonprofit organization named for a Jamaican-born activist who preached black nationalism in the United States in the 1900s. Garvey also organized the Universal Negro Improvement Association.
The community tennis association is part of the institute.
Essay contest
The tennis association is designed to teach tennis to inner-city youth in Trumbull County. Participants also may enter the Arthur Ashe essay contest by writing an essay of no more than 300 words explaining why Ashe is a sports legend. Winners will be chosen locally and then sent to sectional and national judges. The winner of the essay contest gets a trip to New York City.
Awolowo said Ashe is credited with being the inspiration for more black people to become interested in the sport.
"Arthur Ashe did for us in tennis in the 1970s what Tiger Woods did for golf in the 1990s," he said.
Awolowo stressed that the programs aren't restricted to blacks.
"We get a mixture of black and white students," he said.
dick@vindy.com