nyjtl, Author at NYJTL

South Bronx Students on Path to College at Cary Leeds Center

Posted on October 7, 2015March 20, 2017 by nyjtl

Thirty-four Bronx 7^th graders took a big step on their journeys to college on Monday, October 5, at NYJTL’s Cary Leeds Center for Tennis & Learning.

It was the students’ first day of after-school tutoring and mentoring in a college access program run by nonprofit organization, Breakthrough New York (BTNY). Through a new partnership between NYJTL and BTNY, the Cary Leeds Center is serving as the third site for BTNY’s year-round program. thumb_IMG_1478_1024

“This inaugural day represents two community-based organizations coming together in a partnership to best serve students on and off the court in their home community,” said Jessica Kruskamp, NYJTL’s Senior Director of Education. “The excitement of our students was thrilling and motivating.”

BTNY transforms the lives of motivated, low-income students by shepherding them to and through college with services that include academic support, test prep, and guidance through the high school and college application processes. The program serves over 350 students each year at sites in Manhattan, Brooklyn and now the Bronx.

Demand for NYJTL and BTNY’s free services is steep in the South Bronx, one of the poorest congressional districts in the country. NYJTL is delighted to host BTNY in the Cary Leeds Center’s state-of-the-art classroom space, as well as collaborate with BTNY to provide services on and off the court.

Two days a week after school, the students will receive an hour of tennis instruction from NYJTL coaches before heading into the classroom for academic support. Next summer, the Cary Leeds Center will host over 60 BTNY students for a six-week program of intensive learning and tennis.

BTNY students can also sign up – for free – to NYJTL’s Community Tennis Programs throughout the year to receive additional training.

“Through this partnership NYJTL, at the Cary Leeds Center for Tennis & Learning, is hosting one of the highest quality academic and college preparation programs in the country,” said Kruskamp. “I’m really proud of BTNY, NYJTL and everyone’s dedication to the students.”

Hector Henry: Cricket + Soccer = Tennis

Posted on October 2, 2015March 20, 2017 by nyjtl

Tennis wasn’t the first sport Hector Henry fell in love with, nor the second. As a child in Jamaica in the 1940’s he and his friends spent many long hours playing cricket and soccer. He was even so gifted at soccer that he earned a spot on the Jamaican national team and later went on to play semi-professionally in the United States.

“In Jamaica, at that time, tennis was an upper class sport,” Henry explains. “But when I moved to the States, more people were playing it here.”

With his soccer career behind him, Henry enrolled at Brooklyn College and competed on the tennis team. After graduating, he coached the school’s men’s and women’s teams from 1983 to 1992, as well as several professional Jamaican players.

Two of the first things he noticed about tennis were parallels with the games he grew up with. The groundstrokes were similar to swinging a cricket bat and the running reminded him of soccer. His athleticism translated from the field to the court.

In the early 1990’s be began his NYJTL tenure, shifting his focus from elite professionals to youth players. For the last 17 years, he has been the director of NYJTL’s Linden Park site in Brooklyn, which currently serves 162 kids, ages 5 to 18, from all different skill levels, including special education students. During the winter, he directs NYJTL’s Early Morning Winter Program at the Heights Casino indoor courts in Brooklyn Heights.

“Because of my experience, I work a lot with the advanced and intermediate groups, and some of them have metro rankings,” Henry says. “But we also teach beginners whose parents just want them doing something constructive.”

Located in East New York, NYJTL’s Linden Park program attracts many low- and middle-income families from diverse backgrounds, including African, Caribbean, Hispanic and Asian.

“It’s a challenge to compete with the most popular sports like soccer, basketball and football,” Henry says. “But tennis is becoming more accessible to kids and NYJTL has done a wonderful job bringing it to communities like this.”

Henry notes the recent growth in the program among his youngest group (5- to 9-year-olds) and Hispanic youth. “It’s tied to Nadal’s success,” he says. “He’s an exciting player and they want to be like him.”

On a recent afternoon, one of Henry’s former NYJTL players stopped by Linden Park to visit. She was one of the dozens of players who earned a college scholarship thanks, in part, to his coaching. Those are the successes that make him most proud. “It’s a wonderful thing,” he says with a smile.

Returning the Serve

Posted on August 26, 2015March 20, 2017 by nyjtl

NYJTL and JPMorgan Chase brought together 150 students from across the city on August 13 for a tennis festival culminating with Chase presenting NYJTL with $10,000 to support free tennis and education programs for kids.

Students from NYJTL’s free Community Tennis Program and Advanced Tennis Program enjoyed a variety of engaging lessons in tennis fundamentals, interactive and lively literacy and mathematics activities, and healthy living and nutrition workshops during the three-hour event at the new Cary Leeds Center for Tennis & Learning in the South Bronx.

The event is the culmination of Chase’s Return the Serve program, in which JPMorgan Chase provided the USTA Foundation with $110,000, distributed to National Junior Tennis & Learning Network chapters, including NYJTL. The contributions support programs that combine education and tennis by engaging kids in an academic curriculum.

NYJTL is grateful to Chase and the USTA Foundation for their continued support of our community efforts!

Click here to view pictures from the event.

Maria Sanz: “Love” at First Sight

Posted on August 25, 2015March 20, 2017 by nyjtl

Maria Sanz has been both a student of New York Junior Tennis & Learning and a teacher to young students picking up a racket for the first time.

Based on the suggestion from her softball coach, Maria joined one of NYJTL’s free community tennis programs near her home in the Rockaways when she was 10 years old. She immediately developed a strong love for the sport.

“I fell in love the first time I picked up a racket,” she says. “I kept making new friends and I liked playing tennis.”

Thirteen years later, you can find Maria serving as an NYJTL tennis specialist at PS 42 in Far Rockaway, about two miles from her home. A 2013 graduate of Brooklyn College with a degree in Psychology, she has worked with the nonprofit since 2009.

Maria is an avid athlete. She has played softball throughout her life and can still be spotted on weekends in center field. She also works out, runs and enjoys bowling.

Back in 2009 she suffered an injury that sidelined her from softball and during that time she reconnected with tennis. It was a blessing in disguise. Maria went on to play tennis for four years at Brooklyn College. During that time she served as Captain and CUNYAC All-Star for three years. In 2013 she won the CUNYAC Sportsmanship Award and was an Arthur Ashe Sports Scholar.

Maria now works with about 90 students from kindergarten to fifth grade at PS 42, teaching them about teamwork and good sportsmanship. “They do a lot of work with partners so they learn to work with each other and help each other out,” she says.

She most enjoys seeing them progress – as players and as persons. She says, “Sometimes they may not be able to hit the ball at all or consistently, but then they return and they are able to do something they were not able to before!”

New York Junior Tennis & Learning’s Festive Summer Gala with the Stars Draws Hundreds to The Boathouse in Central Park on August 12, 2015

Posted on August 18, 2015December 9, 2024 by nyjtl

New York Junior Tennis & Learning (NYJTL) held its annual Summer Gala with the Stars on Wednesday, August 12, drawing nearly 500 people to a festive celebration that featured music, dancing, dining, gondola rides and magicians at The Boathouse in Central Park.

The event raised funds to support NYJTL’s programs and make a difference in the lives of children across New York City. The benefit, chaired by Jacqueline Corba, Sumit Nihalani and Brian O’Connor, featured a silent auction (with 57 amazing items, including a Jade Mountain experience and a seasonal court at the newly built Cary Leeds Center for Tennis & Learning), tarot card readings, magicians, caricaturists, and much more.

Attendees included former Mayor David Dinkins, NYJTL Board members and many young corporate professionals. They spent the night dancing to a live band and a DJ, adorned whimsical NYJTL sunglasses and glow rings, stepped into a popular photo booth and enjoyed a buffet of Boathouse favorites.

The guests received an NYJTL tote bag as they departed well into the night!

The evening’s top Gold donors were Elena and Tory Kiam, Valerie and Steven Rifkin, Jeremy Mindich, Polly Scott and Jim Maher, and Yvonne and Leslie Pollack Charitable Foundation. Silver donors were Advantage Tennis Clubs, Citi, Laurie Lindenbaum and Bob Horne, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, and Joan Teaford. Bronze donors were Acupay System, LLC, Cushman & Wakefield, Samir Gandhi, Lisa and Kyle Kliegerman, Sidney Migdon, Olmstead Properties, Anna Pinedo, Kristen and Robert Rahr, RR Donnelly, Rachel and Matt Snyder, Sports & Arts in Schools Foundation, Tennis Channel and the USTA.

A Visit to City Hall – and a Surprise!

Posted on August 1, 2015September 24, 2018 by nyjtl

Each summer, we collaborate with USTA Eastern to host a sleep away camp that focuses on tennis, education and culture for five days. The event brings together 36 student athletes, a group comprised of six players in grades nine to 12 from each of the six USTA Eastern regions (Long Island, New Jersey, Northern, Metro, Southern and Western). The student athletes stay in the dorms at Pace University, and they participate in tennis drills and match-play, off-court training, educational workshops and cultural activities at the Cary Leeds Center for Tennis & Learning in Crotona Park in the South Bronx. This summer, the three dozen students got a special treat – they visited City Hall (across the street from Pace) and got a tour led by New York City Council Member Costa Constantinides.

Dean Fuleihan, the Mayor’s Budget Director (Pictured front row, center)

During the visit, they also met New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who was more than happy to pose for a few photos with our stellar athletes. And Dean Fuleihan, the Mayor’s Budget Director, also posed with the students (one of whom was his daughter).