Monfredo: Tenacity Continues to be Attractive Program for Worcester Children
Saturday, August 10, 2019
According to Kate Breen, Tenacity’s program director in Worcester 689 students registered for the program which runs from July 8 to August 16th and that’s a record number of students in the 11 years of the program.
Mrs. Breen, a retired teacher in Worcester and a MIAA State Boys and Girls Individual Tennis Tournament Director, stated, “The children are excited to have the opportunity to learn to play the game, make friends, and build self-confidence.”
This non-profit tennis-based program creates an opportunity for children in the community to learn and have fun. The goal of the program is to attract at-risk- or under-served students, but it is open to any child from Worcester. She stated that the mission of the program is to help students maximize their potential which creates many other opportunities. She went on to say, “It’s wonderful to see the children engage in tennis/fitness and literacy during the summer months for it allows them to stay sharp, utilize creative outlets to express themselves and assist in closing the achievement gap.” Thus far the feedback from parents has been very positive and the children love coming for they have developed many new friendships.
There are four site leaders, two literacy instructors, and seventeen tennis instructors. Its mission is to help students maximize their potential on and off the court. The younger children build enjoyment of the game while developing and refining tennis skills. The older participants have an opportunity for skill development that includes drills, games and activities that teach the basics of tennis and competitive play.
The program is funded mainly by contributions from Hanover Insurance, Rand Whitney, Cornerstone Bank, Alden Trust, Greater Worcester Community Foundation and DCU for Kids. It starts at 9:00 a.m. and goes to 12:00 p.m. with the afternoon session starting at 1:00 p.m. and going to 4:00 … both sessions have students ages 6-16 involved in the program. The four sites for the program are at Newton Square, Clark University, Gaskill Field with Rec Worcester and Oread Castle Park with Rec Worcester.
Tenacity was founded by Ned Eames who grew up in Worcester and graduated from Doherty High School. He was an avid tennis player who was captain of the San Diego State University men’s tennis team in the 1980’s before playing professional tennis. The program had its start in Boston and then expanded to Worcester years later.
The literacy aspect of the program has many parts and a variety of lessons. One may see the younger children playing Scattegories and writing as many words as possible that start with the same letter and are part of a category (tenacity, tennis, community). The older children could be creating a mini-community and creating their own ideal community. They would look at the businesses, neighborhoods, and talk about what makes a community better. Drawing maps and other parts of the town are all part of their experience. In addition, all the student have a reading time set aside and books have been donated by various organizations such as Worcester: the City that Reads. Many parents have been pleased with the reading part of the program for it has assisted the kids in completing their summer reading assignments.
When asked about future plans. Mrs. Breen stated, “We hope to continue to increase the number of participants and sites and encourage more students to be part of Tenacity. In addition, I’d like to work with sponsors to provide reusable water bottles to Tenacity participants to decrease our footprint.”
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