New York Junior Tennis League President's Week Doubles Tournament Held At Roosevelt Island Racquet Club - RI Resident Coaches Young Tennis Players

The New York Junior Tennis League (NYJTL) held it's President's Week Doubles Tournament

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at the Roosevelt Island Racquet Club. According to NYJTL:

NYJTL’s mission is to develop the character of young people through tennis and education for a lifetime of success on and off the court. Through tennis, academic enrichment, healthy living, and character development programs, NYJTL teaches life skills to underserved youth in New York City.

The experience and culture of tennis, along with academic support services, have helped hundreds of thousands of young people improve their performance in school and raise their aspirations, inspiring success both on and off the court.

Here's the NYJTL report on the President's Week Doubles Tournament:

The snow that blanketed New York City last Tuesday morning couldn’t stop nearly 50 excited youngsters from trekking to the Roosevelt Island Racquet Club for the first day of NYJTL’s Presidents’ Week Doubles tournament.

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A total of 112 boys and girls, ages 9 to 18, from all across the city competed over the course of this three-day event, which was held during schools’ mid-winter break.

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Each morning began at 6:30am with registration periods that NYJTL Community Tennis Programs Manager, Scott Daly, called “organized chaos.” After registration kids hit the courts each playing between four and six games in a round robin format. At the end of several hours of fun competition, the pairs who accumulated the most points in their groups were awarded winners’ medals.

Image of Tennis Players And Coach Joyce Short From NYJTL

For Shawn Yon, his son’s enjoyment of the game is the most important thing.

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His son, also named Shawn, competed in the 9- and 10-year-old division. “My son loves the NYJTL program,” he said. “The coaches are great and they push him to get better. He’s fallen in love with tennis.”

Waking up early to play tennis is nothing new for these kids. They’re up before dawn every Saturday and Sunday morning to participate in NYJTL’s 20-week Winter Program at indoor venues throughout the city.

Presidents’ Week Doubles is one of 80 special events that the Community Tennis Programs will hold in 2015

Roosevelt Island resident Joyce Short is the NYJTL District Manager for Manhattan and Queens. She

 Image Of Joyce Short From NYJTL

was recently profiled for the NYJTL Coaches Corner. According to NYJTL Coaches Corner:

Few things thrill Joyce Short more than watching the kids she coaches at the Roosevelt Island Community Tennis Program learn and grow. But there’s added significance for her when she sees girls, in particular, excel.

Joyce grew up before the 1972 Title IX legislation created equal opportunities for girls to participate in sports. She played tennis and competed in citywide tournaments as a one- and three-meter springboard diver in her hometown of Columbia, South Carolina. She was the City Champion in the 16-and-under category. But her high school had no varsity teams for girls. As a University of Georgia co-ed, she was only allowed to use the diving board in the “men’s pool,” two hours per week.

Today, Joyce relishes the opportunity to be a role model for all young people, but especially girls. “I hope that the fact that I’m here coaching as a female athlete will speak volumes to them about their potential,” she says....

... In 1988, she was coaching a little league team and giving private tennis lessons when a youngster on Roosevelt Island asked her to start a youth program. She agreed, and the next day he came back with 35 of his friends, eager to learn the game.

Two years later, Skip Hartman opened the Roosevelt Island Racquet Club and enlisted her to create a NYJTL program. Every year since, Joyce has directed the club’s NYJTL winter program, and has run the other seasonal programs as often as her other job responsibilities have allowed....

Click here for the full article on NYJTL's Joyce Short.