Junior Wheelchair Tennis Camp in Mission Viejo huge success

During the week of July 17-22 Orange County’s Felipe Tennis Center was the venue for the 2011 USTA-ITF Junior Wheelchair Tennis Camp hosted by the USTA and the City of Mission Viejo, and supported by the Johan Cruyff Foundation. Sixteen campers from the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Argentina were treated to tennis drills, tournament match play, a day at Universal Studios, and dinner at Hard Rock Café. An excellent organizing with skilled staff, professional coaches, and a fun filled itinerary created an unforgettable event for “anyone from ages 12 to 18 with a permanent disabling condition who uses a wheelchair for sport.” Surprise guest Brad Parks created additional excitement, as did the presence of a Tennis Channel film crew, Mission Viejo TV, and the Orange County Register newspaper.

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The International Tennis Federation (ITF) Wheelchair Tennis web site states,

• Wheelchair Tennis was founded in 1976 when Brad Parks first hit a tennis ball from a wheelchair and realized the potential of this new sport.
• Still one of the fastest growing wheelchair sports in the world, wheelchair tennis integrates very easily with the able-bodied game since it can be played on any regular tennis court, with no modifications to the size of the court or the size of rackets or balls.
• Wheelchair tennis follows the same rules as able-bodied tennis as endorsed by the ITF, with the only exception being that the wheelchair tennis player is allowed two bounces of the ball.
   

The United States Tennis Association (USTA) assumed responsibility for wheelchair tennis in America from the National Foundation for Wheelchair Tennis in 1998. USTA staff was hosting the ITF Junior Wheelchair Tennis Camp in Mission Viejo for the 5thstraight year.
 

The Johan Cruyff Foundation supports sport projects for children worldwide. Special attention is being paid to children with a disability. Johan Cruyff, famous Dutch soccer star from the 70ies who is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, states, “As a player I always believed in the power of working together, in bringing good people and groups in contact with each other in order for them to work as a team.”
 

BRAD PARKS VISITING THE CAMP

It was a hot day Thursday, July 21, when Brad Parks rolled onto the courts of the Felipe Tennis Center in Mission Viejo, accompanied by his daughter Sarah. Any appearance by wheelchair tennis founder and legendary icon Brad Parks creates excitement, as thousands of tennis fans experienced a few weeks ago at UCLA. International Tennis Hall of Famer Parks (class of 2010), Pam Shriver, and Tracy Austin received their commemorative Hall of Fame rings on the Farmers Classic finals day.

Brad Parks, 54, resident of San Clemente, had been on the Mission Viejo tennis courts a lot, even back in the eighties. He said, “I am really excited to see the sport in such great hands. I would have loved the same opportunities when I was a kid.” Parks looked back at the development of this event in Mission Viejo and remembered the US Open at the Racquet Club of Irvine, which he called the biggest US wheelchair event for many years. “We started this group as a warm-up to the US open in 1985. It was a fun thing with BBQ. Then we became more serious and started the International Wheelchair Tennis Federation in 1989. Eventually the ITF took over and took it to a whole different international level. Today here this is just an incredible event.”

The Olympic Gold Medal winner (Barcelona) reminisced on his induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame last year. “The Hall of Fame was a dream for me. Visiting the Hall of Fame in Newport, RI, is so great from a tennis player standpoint. The museum, the history, left an incredible impression on me. It brought back so many years of memories. It is fun to relive and remember.”

Parks works in Real Estate and his wife is a Physical Therapist. He is looking forward to going to the Paralympics next year September in London. His appearance at the Junior Wheelchair Camp meant a lot to the campers as well as the organizers and teachers.

ORGANIZING STAFF

One of those organizers is Jeremiah Yolkut. His day job is Coordinator of Competitive Play Programs at the USTA’s White Plains (NY) head offices. In that position he oversees the operations of sanctions and schedules for all Wheelchair Tennis in the United States. He is also a team member at all US Wheelchair teams and travels with them to events like the World Team Cup, the Paralympics, and the Parapan American Games.

As manager of Team USA, Yolkut took his players to Pretoria, South Africa, in April. Together with Quad Coach Jason Harnett and the USTA’s National Manager of Wheelchair Tennis and Head Coach, Dan James, the team (David Wagner, Nick Taylor, Bryan Barten) won first place and successfully defended their 2010 title. Asked about memorable events in South Africa this year, Yolkut remembered that it was a great event despite the “…somewhat challenging court conditions in Pretoria.” He also remembered that the team was kind of handicapped when “…half of them got real sick, they caught a stomach bug. Some female team members had to fly home early.”

Dan James, the USTA’s National Manager of Wheelchair Tennis and also the Head Coach, started playing tennis at age 5. He became a tennis coach in 1992 and started volunteering in Wheelchair Tennis for the next 7 years. In 1999 he was appointed National Head Coach for Wheelchair Tennis, which turned into a full-time position in 2003, reporting to the USTA’s Director of Competitive Tennis, David Schobel.  Dan was also part of the teaching staff showing the group how to volley and move on the court with his adult, experienced wheelchair tennis players as examples on the other side of the net. “We are very excited to hold this wheelchair tennis camp for all those young athletes who want to improve their games,” said James.

TEACHING STAFF

One of the most engaging and knowledgeable proponents of Wheelchair Tennis for the last 15 years is Jason Harnett. Teaching tennis at the Marguerite Tennis Center courts in Mission Viejo, he might as well call the Felipe Tennis Center his home since he was instrumental in getting the USTA-ITF Junior Wheelchair Camp here.

It was another city coach, Butch Young, who inspired Harnett to run Wheelchair Tennis clinics. Young knew Brad Parks and they were hanging out and developing programs for more than 10 years.

Harnett remembers that one of his first Quad players, Steve Everett, asked him to travel with him to places like Atlanta and even Japan. “In 1998 the USTA becam involved and they hired me to coach Quad players,” said Harnett.

Harnett adds, “If you asked any of the people involved in this camp, they would tell you that this is their favorite week of the year.”

Tom van Doren is the Head Coach of the Mexican Wheelchair Team. He traveled to the camp with his student Carlos Muro (16), who started playing Wheelchair Tennis only a year ago and is already one of the best junior players in Mexico. He’ll play Men’s Open division at the same Guadalajara facility where the Parapan American Games will be held in November.

Van Doren, a 27 year tennis teaching professional originally from Holland, was working for the Mexican Wheelchair Tennis Federation from 2003 until 2005 and started working for them again 3 months ago. He is based in Mexico City and plans to organize Junior Wheelchair Tennis Camps in Cancun next year. “This USTA-ITF camp is the best camp in the world,” was his enthusiastic statement. “Everything is arranged, benefitting the kids rather than the sponsors. It’s like one big family here and this sport really is like therapy for the kids.”

Karin Korb is a 44 year old wheelchair tennis player and teacher based in Atlanta. Originally from Hamburg, Germany, Korb plays USTA league tennis at the 4.0 / 4.5 level, as well as ALTA Wheelchair League, and ALTA’s Run n’ Roll tennis (formerly One-up / One-down tennis).

Karin Korb is a self-declared Whole Life Optimist, teaching wellness, basketball, fitness, and public speaking. The subject she is most passionate about is female empowerment and wellness.

• Korb teaches females to “embrace who you are, not just a female in a man’s world.” And she’s asking questions, like “Who do you want to be? How do you see yourself?” Korb’s assessment and advice helps females in areas like public speaking and learning that they are their best assets. “Sports creates an active voice for them.”
   
• Korb’s famous Divability Camps are empowerment camps for girls with disabilities. The 20 or so kids in each camp experience Korb and her motto “Where lip gloss meets sport” trying to help them create a brand for themselves that’s more than just their personality. Korb, a big studier of people, realized that young girls with disabilities are struggling with body and weight issues. She also saw a lack of ease when these girls were confronted with challenging social situations. Besides promoting personal hygiene, Korb teaches her campers “Have the inside match the outside,” and says with pride “I want my girls to shine!”

Karin Korb is a two time Paralympian (Athens and Sidney) who is traveling to camps like the one in Mission Viejo, and the one in September in Tampa Bay (FL), or October in Atlanta (GA). She also partners with Parks & Recs or other organizations for Wheelchair Tennis programs and events. And all this is mostly self-financed, except for a small grant of $1,000 Korb received from a Dallas, Texas business once.

Javier Zubir is a tennis coach from Argentina. He arrived at the USTA-ITF Camp with his student Lucas Scarazzini. Zubiri played professional tennis when he was young and coaches Wheelchair Tennis for 10 years now. At the CITAC Tennis Academy in Buenos Aires, which controls all Wheelchair Tennis activities in Argentina, he works with both disabled and able bodied tennis players. He comments, “I like this camp very much. It’s well organized and a lot of fun for the kids. Also, the US coaches are giving great directions.” Zubiri is proud to add that his home country Argentina currently has the Number 1, 2, and 3 Junior Wheelchair Tennis world ranked players, and he is coaching all three of them.

TWO CAMPERS

All of the 16 campers participating had stories and circumstances worth mentioning. Ryan Nelson and Latjor Dar are just two examples of outstanding kids who love Wheelchair Tennis and the way the sport helps them with their challenges.

Three years ago he was a shy rookie, but today Ryan Nelson is a Wheelchair Tennis expert and a people person. He is coming from one of the most successful local Wheelchair Tennis programs in the US: Salt Lake City, Utah. This program has lots of volunteers and also provided 3 kids for the USTA-ITF Junior Wheelchair Camp, thanks to their most active volunteer, Trisha Oba, Adaptive Recreation Coordinator for the Salt Lake City County Parks and Recreation department.

Ryan Nelson is the number 1 junior male player in the country who absolutely loves Wheelchair Tennis. “Wheelchair Tennis opened up opportunities for me. It taught me skills and independence.” He plays 3-4 times a week and not only wants to be a future Men’s Open player, but he also strives to be a Physical Therapist. His goal: helping people with disabilities and showing them opportunities to excel.

Latjor Dar is an immigrant kid from the Sudan in Africa.  The 14 year old was born with a health weakness doctors in his home country were not able to cure. Then, one day, a cow stepped on his foot. The wound became infected, and next thing he knew he found himself in a wheelchair. Dar emigrated to the United States on September 27, 2005 and started playing Wheelchair Tennis 2 years later. He commented, “I love Wheelchair tennis and want to get better at it.” When he’s a grown-up, Latjor wants to become an Engineer or a singer.

VISITING OFFICIALS

Steve Bell is the Community Services Manager for the City of Mission Viejo. “The city is built on sports and athletics,” were his words. “We are very happy to support this camp and provide a permanent venue for them. The things this camp does for kids are great – and I mean not only when it comes to tennis!”

Dave Lecknes is the Mayor of Mission Viejo. He professed that he likes “…to be around winners, and this group is winning.” He continued, “Imagine that, one of those kids is from Canada and got injured during mountain biking last August. Another girl who uses a wheelchair for 5 years now, calls it a temporary inconvenience. These are awesome guys. No one is complaining.”

Lecknes was followed by the team of Garth Wyckott (host) and Chris Cardenas (camera) of Mission Viejo TV. The team’s mission was to highlight the camp for the Mission Viejo community and make the information about the camp available on the city web site.

The event organizers said a huge Thank You to Lee Mitchell, the franchise owner for Papa Murphy Pizza in Orange County. Mitchell owns Papa Murphy stores in 5 locations and proudly stated that Papa Murphy’s 1,200 US locations received the highest ratings from Consumer Report and Zagat. His secret: making the pizza dough fresh every single day of the week and don’t get it shipped frozen like most of their competition. Mitchell’s sons are playing tennis under Jason Harnett’s guidance in Mission Viejo, and he agreed to feed all campers with a steady supply of pies. Many happy campers agreed that the pizzas were delicious!

The overall impression this camp left was one of friendship and cameradery, in addition to quality tennis instruction. The organizers demonstrated that running the invent like a fine tuned machinery increases the fun experience for everyone involved, not just the campers.

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