Building a Foundation

By: Amber Gerdes

The Oklahoma Tennis Foundation has a mission to abolish the notion that tennis is only for the wealthy by offering free tennis clinics in rural areas throughout the state of Oklahoma, coached by Oklahoma Tennis Hall of Fame members and former University of Oklahoma head coaches Paul Lockwood and Mark Johnson.

The clinics, titled the “Oklahoma Hall of Fame Tennis Clinics,” are a part of the Oklahoma Tennis Foundation’s initiative to make tennis more accessible to all children regardless of location or demographic. Free for any child from 2nd-8th grade, the clinic provides children with a one-day session of individualized coaching and then sends them home with big smiles along with a racquet and a t-shirt both free of cost.

“Tennis is for everyone,” said Executive Director Carmen Bond. “Tennis literally changes lives, and we all want to be a part of that. We all believe that and we just want to get it out there so every kid knows that if they want to play, they can.”

Bond grew up in the small town of Guthrie, Okla., where tennis was generally inaccessible to her until high school. She knew she wanted better for today’s youth regarding tennis, and was inspired to revamp the Oklahoma Tennis Foundation while utilizing their resources with USTA’s Net Generation initiative and their two Hall of Fame-level coaches.

Lockwood and Johnson were tennis coaching colleagues at OU for over 20 years and are still close friends to this day. Previous to the Hall of Fame Tennis Clinics series, the two coaches would occasionally partner up for a few free clinics and group lessons in Johnson’s small hometown of Henryetta, Okla., but were searching for opportunities to do more.

“I know how important tennis can be in the lives of our youth in rural communities because I lived it,” said Johnson. “Tennis was a life changer.”

When Bond reached out to the two coaches in hopes to pull together this initiative with the Oklahoma Tennis Foundation, they were eager to jump on board.

“It is so rewarding to watch young kids experience the joy of hitting a tennis ball, many for the first time,” said Johnson. “You can see the excitement in their eyes every time you toss them a ball, and it is always a very special day when you can spend time teaching kids the game you love with a bunch of your best friends.”

The coaches rely on their years of coaching and teaching experience to work on building up each child’s foundational tennis skills as well as sparking their love for the game.

“We try to teach them the fundamentals of the game, try to encourage them, show them and tell them that tennis is a lifetime sport,” said Lockwood.

Bond, Lockwood, and Johnson held the first of many clinics this June in Clinton, Okla., with the second one following in early August in Enid, Okla.

The Foundation has successfully funded all of the clinics through grants, donations, and fundraising events. The clinics are a collaboration between Bond and the two tennis coaches, along with the help of board members and volunteers. Bond coordinates schedules, locations, and proper resources, the coaches drive out to the clinics to offer valuable teaching and connect with the kids, and board members and volunteers offer much-needed support putting on the clinics and encouraging the children.

After two successful clinics this summer, the future is bright. The team is confident that this program will be introducing tennis to hundreds and hundreds of kids in Oklahoma for years to come.

“We won’t stop until we’ve reached them all,” said Bond.

The Foundation’s drive to reach all kids in rural Oklahoma is best summed up by their tagline: “We start with love.”

“When you start a game of tennis, you start with love,” added Bond. “That’s our main goal —we love on these kids, show them how fun the sport is, and they gain a life-changing skill.”