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Current News |
Confucius Says KNT Chinese Banquet Big Success
 Actually, the May 11 KNT Chinese Banquet was a modest but well-received success. The Seven Stars Restaurant provided an outstanding Chinese dinner and Richard Cheong, KNT Board President, gave out door prizes. Don Johnson gave a recap of scheduled summer tennis clinics and some of the successes of KNT over the years. Liz Johnston was recognized for her service to KNT including development of the "Eating for Etiquette" program that partnered KNT with the Western Culinary Institute, helping with tournaments, and managing the annual garage sale for years. Thank you Liz. In the picture to the right, Daniel Coleman-Bell shows off his door prize, a brand new Head tennis racquet, with KNT Board member John Bryant. Thanks to everyone who helped make the event a memorable occasion. Duke wins Tennis Scholarship For the third time in four years a female player from Kids N’ Tennis will be playing tennis on the Collegiate level this fall. Keara Duke, former Number #1 Singles and Doubles player for Central Catholic High School and long-time KN’Ter has received and accepted a full scholarship to play Division Tennis for Southern University. Keara joins Jana Jusupovic, (University of Portland, 1997) and Lisa Bessman (University of Portland, 1999) as former participants in our Junior Development and Excellence Program to receive tennis athletic scholarships. Keara has been with KN’T since 1994 and with Koren Paik is the last original members of our Excellence Program. Koren is planning on attending the University of Oregon this fall and hasn’t decided on her future in tennis. The Local Excellence Program was started in 1994 at the St. Johns Racquet Center with three grants from the United States Tennis Association’s – National Junior Players Development Program and its Multi-Cultural Participation Committee Program. Mr. Lewis Brewer and Mr. Rodney Harmon were responsible for these grants and have continued their advocacy of financial support for our organization. All of the fitness equipment for our Junior Development Program was purchased with one of these grants. Harmon and Brewer have also provided our coaching staff opportunities to participate in USTA National Coaching Seminars. Their endorsement of the Pacific Northwest Section’s MPC Junior Player Development workshop has enabled Junior “A” and Champ players the opportunity to receive special training heretofore unavailable to them because of age or ranking restrictions. The Southern University Jaguars play in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, which is comprised of teams from other traditional African American Colleges. Blacks schools such as Grambling, Prairie View, and Jackson State are just a few of the teams in this conference which football remains the kingpin. However, Assistant Coach Jeff Coyners, who recruited Duke, says that for women, tennis is a very serious sport. He is hoping that Keara and three other freshmen girls will form the nucleus for future championship teams. This year’s team is the defending conference champions and is aiming to defend their crown with the addition of the new arrivals. Good Luck, Keara. Arthur Ashe Essay Contest Winners Each year kids from the seventeen USTA sections are encouraged to compose an essay on tennis great and humanitarian, Arthur Ashe. From this list ten children will be chosen from the Sectional winners, one boy, one girl and one parent/guardian from each age group. Each of the 10 winners will win a trip to the 2001 Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day at the US Open, August 24-26, in New York City. Now in its sixth year, Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day presented by Aetna has become the grandest showcase linking tennis and entertainment. The day-long family event at the USTA National Tennis Center offers interactive activities and games for children of all ages and a stadium show featuring the biggest names in tennis, entertainment and music. The Stadium show includes tennis matches, skills competitions and exhibitions involving some of the games top stars. Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, John McEnroe, Lindsay Davenport, Jennifer Capriati and Martina Hingis are just some of the stars that have appeared in the past. All Sectional winners will receive a plaque from USA Tennis NJTL. I am happy to announce that one of the Pacific Northwest Sectional winners is our own Jennifer Houle. Jennifer and her sister Emily both entered this annual contest and won prizes for their compositions. Jennifer was a Sectional and National Winner and will be traveling to New York while Emily was a State Winner. Congratulations to both of you! Your winning essays serves as an example that Kids N’ Tennis, is more than about playing tennis, it is also promotes educational awareness. Below are copies of the girl’s essays. We hope that from these you will learn more about Arthur Ashe and his commitment to tennis and society. Arthur Ashe: A True Champion Jennifer Houle 14 yrs. old Arthur Ashe is a sports legend. Not only was he a champion on the court, he also was one of the most gentleman-like players in tennis history. Hard work and determination led him to be the man he was and his accomplishments will be remembered forever. Born in 1943, Arthur Ashe grew in Richmond, Virginia. He loved to play tennis and his focused willpower helped him to become an excellent tennis player. Defying the fact that tennis was generally an all-white sport, Arthur played in many tournaments as the only black person. Arthur learned at a young age that to succeed he must be a leader for African Americans. If he were to become an icon of Negroes, he would have to be the perfect gentleman, on and off the court. Perhaps this attitude was what helped Arthur become a champion. His quiet competitiveness led to his success in professional tennis. He became the first black person to ever win the U.S. Men’s national singles championship. Arthur also played on the winning Davis Cup team in 1968 and in 1975, Arthur won the Wimbledon singles championship. But it is not only Arthur’s tennis accomplishments that made him a hero. He constantly worked for equality and integration. He was trustworthy and articulate. But above all, he loved people. He wanted to help the human race. Sadly, Arthur faced many trials. When he was six, his mother died. In 1979, he had a heart attack and as a result underwent several procedures. But his hardest tribulation was learning that he had contracted AIDS from a contaminated blood transfusion. Arthur always kept a positive outlook, however, and continued to work for all of humanity. He was a great man and will live on forever as one of the world’s gifted athletes and humanitarians. Arthur Ashe: Sports Legend Emily Houle 16 yrs. old Arthur Ashe was not only a superb athlete and legendary tennis star; he was also an inspiring humanitarian for the entire world. Throughout his life, he faced many obstacles, ranging from losing his mother at an early age to struggling with intense segregation. Yet through each difficulty he encountered he proved himself to be confident and dignified, even in the hardest battles. Arthur learned early that if he wanted to succeed in an often unjust world, he had to be more than just better than the rest; he had to be perfect. And in his quiet determined way, Arthur was the perfect sportsman, on and off the court, and won the world’s respect. In 1968, Arthur was the first African American to capture the U.S. Men’s National Singles Championship. During the same year, he played on the winning U.S. David Cup Team. In 1975, he was the first black man in history to win the Wimbledon Singles Championship. Through these achievements, Arthur proved to the world that it was possible for a black man to become a revered champion. With characteristic courage, he had broken through hostile stereotypes. At 36 years of age, Arthur suffered a serious heart attack. Then, in 1988, he contracted AIDS from a blood transfusion. Undaunted, Arthur threw himself even more into work for the people he loved-beginning programs for inner-city children to give them a chance for a better future. Arthur Ashe’s concern for humankind brought him the respect and love of people worldwide. On February 6, 1993, when Arthur died, people everywhere mourned his loss. The talented yet humble African American tennis hero was one of the great humanitarians of the century. Thinking of others before himself, he had used his great gift of tennis to leave the world a better place. More Good News: Keara, Jennifer, and Emily weren’t the only KN’Ters who received recognition this past year. DeVarious Slay-Clay won a trip to the USTA/NJTL National Junior Tennis Camp in Florida. This week long event is held annually during the summer and provides numerous Junior Tennis Players an opportunity to experience a National Junior Tennis League Tennis Camp for a one-week period. DeVarious spent time at the camp and participating in special events and activities for junior players. He was one of three recipients for this award. Multi-Cultural Tennis Workshops Kids N’ Tennis, Inc. and the USTA/PNW Section sponsored to highly successful tennis workshops this past year. These workshops were held in February and December 2001. The first workshop took place at the St. Johns Racquet Center in Portland, OR. The December workshop was held at the Seattle Tennis Center. Sixteen Junior Champion and Junior A players participated in two eight hour sessions hosted by USPTA and PTR Instructors. Both sessions included opportunities for match play and private instruction. These special events are part of the PNW’s year-round tennis activities aimed to attract and retain players of color and from different cultures. This past summer the USTA/PNW Section also sponsored three MPC Tennis Jamborees in Portland, Seattle, and Bellevue, WA. All of these events were sponsored in hopes of discovering new talent from historically untraditional areas and communities. The three Jamborees attracted over one hundred children of color. Volunteers Needed! As you visit this Web-Site please consider how you can help us as a Volunteer. KN’T is in need of quite a few volunteers for this summer and next fall. You can help by: volunteering at one of our summer tennis camp sites; assisting our site Tournament Directors; volunteering to help with our AfterSchool Tennis Program; learning how to become a tennis instructor; serving as an Educational Tutor. For more information call 503.880.0582 or 823.3629. Kids N' Tennis prides itself in offering a variety of programs such as:
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