“Say Yes to Tennis, Say No to Violence” Event a Success
June 8, 2011 | By Anthony Pastecchi
Credit: Anthony Pastecchi
On May 26th, the United States Tennis Association, in conjunction with the Queens District Attorney’s Office hosted its 13th Annual “Say Yes to Tennis, Say No to Drugs” event at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. The free event was presented to hundreds of elementary school students from schools throughout the Far Rockaways.
The event promoted the sport of tennis in the QuickStart format and was a fun and very motivational day for all participants. There were many on-court activities ranging from ball toss games to entertaining racquet skill drills. It was clear that teamwork was a key focus as the students worked cooperatively with one another in many of the different activities. The volunteers included the National Tennis Center’s coaches and volunteers along with Beach Tennis USA and their interns.
Former New York City Mayor and current USTA Director-at-Large David Dinkins was present and gave a motivational speech to all attendees and said, “You students must not give into peer pressure from those around you and must never be a follower. Find that something in life that you enjoy and stick with it, it will keep you out of trouble.” Also in attendance was Queens District Attorney Richard Brown. The students received t-shirts and left with a sense of motivation and mindset that anything is possible if you follow your dreams. The “Say Yes to Tennis, Say No to Violence” event was once again a great success in its 13th year.
Credit all photos to Anthony Pastecchi
Anthony Pastecchi
Editorial and Marketing Assistant, Long Island Tennis Magazine
Anthony Pastecchi is an editorial and marketing assistant with Long Island Tennis Magazine. He is currently an undergrad at C.W. Post and participant in the honors program. He is also a USTA volunteer and coach for Hicksville Community Tennis. He was recently named USTA/Eastern-Long Island Region 2011 Junior Volunteer of the Year.
