USTA LI Hosts Annual Nassau County Kids’ Day

July 13, 2016 | By Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff

The USTA Eastern Long Island Region hosted its annual Nassau County Kids Day on Monday morning at Engineer’s Country Club in Roslyn, as kids from various camps and organizations hit the tennis courts for a free day of fun. 

For a lot of the kids, it was their first time playing tennis and provided a fun way to get introduced to the sport. The programs at the event included Gural JCC, Valley Stream; Alliance Junior Tennis, Rozzie's Daycare Summer Camp, Roosevelt; Freeport Tennis Camp, Hicksville Community Tennis Association and Circulo de la Hispanidad Summer Camp, Long Beach

“This is my first time playing tennis,” said nine-year old Ryan Marino. “I’m having lots of fun today.”

The day began with tennis clinics and instruction, as kids moved from station to station to work on different tennis skills. This year Long Island Tennis Magazine (LITM) assisted in putting the event together by adding a media component and making the kids feel special by doing on-court interviews and taking pictures.

The USTA Eastern LI Region and LITM also created a carnival atmosphere to ensure everyone had fun. In addition to 5 courts of tennis, there was a dunk tank, games, face painting, prizes, food, and  DJ Curtis McCalla kept everyone entertained with music throughout the event and also hosted a dance contest where the kids showed off their best moves.

Towards the end of the event, the kids got a chance to show some of the skills they learned on-court as they hit for prizes.

“I play tennis a lot with my dad but this is a lot more fun because there is a lot of cool prizes,” said Christian Lopez, a 10-year old.

Events like this are very important within the community and allow kids who can't otherwise afford a chance to play, the opportunity not only to play tennis, but also enjoy their first experience on-court. 

"Our annual Kids' Day in Nassau was a resounding success, thanks to the help and support of our many volunteers, the generosity of the Engineers Club in hosting and Long Island Tennis Magazine, our co-sponsor," said Terry Fontana, the USTA Long Island Region Kids' Day Chair. "The 150 children who participated came from all corners of Nassau County and represented a cross-section of groups and summer programs. Many of these kids had never held a tennis racket before, but whether this was their first experience playing tennis or they came in as experts, everyone had a great time learning, playing, making friends and enjoying the other activities.

We hope to see many children at our Suffolk Kids' Day in Commack."

 

 

The annual Suffolk County Kids Day will be held on Thursday, August 11 at Hamlet Golf and Country Club in Commack.

The Long Island Region hosts many free children's tennis events throughout the year at parks, fairs and festivals. For a complete list of events, please visit www.longisland.usta.com and click on Event Calendar. Many other options are available for children who want to pursue tennis instruction and play including Junior Team Tennis, 10-and-Under Tennis and After-School Tennis Programs throughout Long Island. For more information on all of the tennis choices available for Long Island kids, please visit www.longisland.usta.com or e-mail ustaonlongisland@gmail.com.

Click Here to see more photos from the USTA LI Nassau County Kids Day. 


Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
Bethpage
Century

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