September 2017 - Parks & Recreation - 78

TENNIS

" Success breeds success, " Taliaferro
notes, " but you can lose your way. Find
what you do well. "
Richard Spurling, together with his
wife, pediatric neurologist Shafali Spurling Jeste, founded the national program,
ACEing Autism, for children with autism spectrum disorders. Spurling, who
is also the USTA's Adaptive Tennis
Committee chairman, says it's often a
matter of finding the right niche.
" We saw that parents were really obsessed with the therapy their children were
getting. What they weren't thinking of
was any kind of recreational play-based
program - that was really our aha moment. We said, 'What about using tennis
for recreation?' Nobody else was offering
it. " ACEing Autism is now offered in more
than 20 states and continues to proliferate.
The Resources
To start a program, resources are needed,
and it's helpful when all those resources
can be found in one place. The USTA's
Adaptive Tennis Committee recommends
contacting a tennis representative, also
known as a section contact, who can
provide information on a wide range of
topics, including financing and education materials. Information can be found
by going to www.usta.com and typing
" adaptive " into the search box. According to Katrina Adams, chairman, CEO
and president of the USTA, the sport is
versatile enough to be applicable to multiple segments of the population.
" The beauty of tennis is that it can be
played by individuals of all ages, genders,
races and abilities. We need to ensure that
everyone has the opportunity to take part
in and enjoy this amazing game. These
programs accomplish just that, helping
to make the sport accessible to countless
players throughout the country. "
Lay the Groundwork
The success of any program, Taliaferro
says, depends on the details. She cautions those creating their own programs
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to make sure all paperwork is in place.
It's not exciting, but it's essential.
" You can't have a group that is based
just on one person's special interest, " says
Taliaferro. " You must formally create the
organization because if that person isn't
around, the program will fall apart. Set
up bylaws, policies and procedures, best
practices and your mission statement. A
program can be sustainable if it is held at a
public park with assistance from park staff,
since the park and rec department can carry the program forward. "
In addition, says Spurling, it is essential to develop a training program for volunteers and to be able to constantly bring
in new helpers. " We rely on our volunteers, but no matter what, there is always
going to be a lot of volunteer turnover.
Students will volunteer for a year or two
and then move on - either their classes will make them too busy or they will
graduate and get a job. People's interests
will change or they'll move out of the
area. You need to keep enough people to
keep your program going. "
Finding the Participants
Across the country and across the spectrum of disabilities, all organizers have
experienced at least initial frustration in
not being able to reach the individuals
for whom their program was targeted.
Gibson finds participants for Buddy Up
Tennis through Special Olympics, Down
Syndrome organizations and more. Taliaferro finds that parents of individuals
with special needs will share resources
and information, meaning they can become excellent advocates. She also recommends contacting the local community tennis association, or CTA, whose
contact information can be obtained
through USTA. Spurling finds word-ofmouth among parents of children with
autism to be an excellent means.
Leveraging Funding
The USTA's resources include information on grants available to adaptive

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For information on any of the
programs mentioned in this article:
The United States Tennis Association
has an Adaptive Tennis Committee. To
access information, go to www.usta.com
and search " Adaptive Tennis. " A list of programs by state is available.
Grants are also awarded by USTA:
contact Ǉasmine.osborn@usta.com.
Abilities Tennis Association of North
Carolina (Participants with developmental disabilities): ŚƩƉ͗ͬͬǁǁǁ͘ĂƚĂŶĐ͘ŽƌŐͬ͘
ACEing Autism: ŚƩƉ͗ͬͬĂĐĞŝŶŐĂƵƟƐŵ͘ŽƌŐͬ͘
Net Generation (Register your tennis program today!): ŚƩƉ͗ͬͬŶĞƚŐĞŶĞƌĂƟŽŶ͘ĐŽŵͬ͘
USTA Free Webinar, September 21 at
2 p.m. - CEU Credits (How to Start &
Sustain Adaptive Tennis Programs in Your
Community): ƵƐƚĂ͘ĐŽŵͬǁĞďŝŶĂƌƐ͘
Buddy Up Tennis (Participants with Down
Syndrome): http://buddyuptennis.com/.

tennis programs. Organizers also recommend taking stock of who in the community identifies with an organization's
mission and wants to help further it. It's
also the way to get volunteer staff and
the way to leverage the publicity a park
program can provide.
" I'm a true believer in partnerships, "
says Gibson. " We're really lucky to
have the support of the community. It
takes a village to do what we do, what
we all do. "
Mary Helen Sprecher is the Managing Editor of
Sports Destinations Management (ŵŚƐƉƌĞĐŚĞƌΛ
verizon.net).

For more information about the USTA's
adaptive tennis program, contact :asmine
Osborn, USTA diversity and inclusion
manager, at Zasmine.osborn@usta.com.
Also, the USTA will be hosting a Free webinar, titled " How to Start & Sustain Adaptive
Tennis Programs in Your Community, " September 21 at 2 p.m. To register, go to usta.
com/webinars (CEU credits are available).

September 2017 - Parks & Recreation

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