Seniors: Welcome Back to Tennis (Lee County, FL)
Goal: Bring tennis to more seniors in the communityLeader/Advocate Organization: Lee County Community Tennis Association
Introduction: Sixteenth-Century Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon spent the latter part of his life in present-day Florida searching for the fabled Fountain of Youth. The magical spring, according to legend, could restore the youth of anyone who drank from its waters. Poor Ponce never did find the Fountain, but he was right to look for eternal youth in the Sunshine State. Just ask the hundreds of seniors currently enjoying the rejuvenating powers of recreational tennis in Lee County, Florida.
These senior-friendly tennis programs (for adults ages 50 and older) are the brainchild of the Lee County Community Tennis Association (LCCTA), an industrious grassroots organization devoted to bringing tennis and its innumerable benefits to local residents. LCCTA is able to offer high-quality tennis programming to so many people thanks to a unique partnership with the Lee County Parks and Recreation Department. In the simplest of terms, Lee County Parks and Recreation oversees and maintains the county’s 40-plus public tennis courts, while the LCCTA runs all of the tennis programming (from group clinics to league play.) This joint venture has proven wildly successful and done much to nurture grassroots tennis in the region—especially among seniors.
The senior-friendly event that started it all was a Welcome Back to Tennis party held at Rutenberg Park (Fort Myers) on January 13, 2007. Open to active adults 50 and older, the three-hour event was staged as a party complete with delicious food and drinks as well as door prizes. Amid this festive atmosphere, 103 partygoers who paid just $5 for the entire day were treated to 90 minutes of on-court tennis activities conducted by USTA National Trainer Susan Allshouse and six additional volunteers. Some of the participants were returning to tennis after a long hiatus; others were swinging a racquet for the first time. Regardless of their skill level, everyone in attendance shared one common experience: They had an absolute ball!
"It was such a great event; I could easily talk about it for hours," says USTA Florida Community Coordinator Susie Bessire, who helped organize the on-court instruction for the event. "These Welcome Back to Tennis parties are about so much more than tennis; they’re about giving seniors a chance to meet and connect with other people their own age who live in the community. It also helps them build a social network that will keep them active and happy. Everyone wins!"
True, but as the tennis advocates of Lee County will tell you, it’s absolutely essential to keep the momentum moving by having age-appropriate follow-up programs in place for seniors to join and enjoy. Otherwise, any excitement created through the Welcome Back to Tennis party quickly disappears.
"We didn’t want our senior programming to begin and end with a single Welcome Back to Tennis party," recalls LCCTA Vice President Harriet Bohannon. "That’s why when we were planning the party, we were also coming up with unique programming that would appeal to seniors—whether they were new to the sport or returning after a long break. The overall object was to give people a place to go after the party."
And that’s just what they did. People attending the event were given three options for continuing with tennis:
- First-time players were encouraged to sign up for a series of four stroke clinics that would teach them how to strike the ball ($50 fee).
- Experienced players who’d been away from the game for a while were directed to a series of four clinics that focused on doubles strategy ($50 fee).
- Experienced players ready for match play were urged to sign up for a mixed doubles league. The 9-week league is open to players 50 and older with an NTRP rating of 3.0 or higher.
- The Calusa Harbour Senior Living Facility donated and served breakfast and lunch to everyone in attendance. Both outstanding meals (valued at approximately $2,000) were presented on white linen tablecloths and upscale dinnerware.
- The USTA and USTA Florida supplied training materials (the official Welcome Back to Tennis staging manual), funds (including a $500 grant), and staff support from community coordinator Susie Bessire. The USTA also arranged for USTA National Trainer Susan Allshouse to deliver on-court training and activities.
- Wilson Racquets donated 12 racquets for raffles and also sent several additional racquets and balls to be used during the event.
- Flying Pig Catering donated dinner for the Welcome Back to Tennis training session, which took place the evening before the big event and was attended by more than 30 volunteers.
- Local PBS affiliate WGCU provided DVDs of locally produced programs to go in the 150 gift baskets given out to Welcome Back to Tennis participants and volunteers.
Welcome to Tennis participants were told of these follow-up programs at a special lunch, which was served on white linen tablecloths by a friendly wait staff from a local retirement home known for its exceptional food. People were seated with others who lived in or near their area, and each of the 14 tables featured a "tennis host" who casually explained the senior-friendly programs and answered any questions.
"The idea was to have people discuss the continuing tennis programs over lunch, at their leisure," Bohannon says. "Sign up forms were available at each table, so people didn’t have to get up and wander over to a registration booth. It was essentially a low-pressure sales pitch, very casual and convenient."
The plan worked. By days end, more than 80 of the 107 seniors in attendance had signed up for at least one of the follow-up tennis programs. And since then, many of the seniors who were new to tennis just a few months ago, have graduated from the group clinics and moved on to organized match play.
Says Bohannon: "These players are proving what we’ve always known—tennis is truly a sport for a lifetime."
History: It all started in the summer of 2006, when the LCCTA Board of Directors made an important decision to bring tennis to more seniors in the community. Their action plan consisted of two primary phases: First, get seniors excited about tennis through a Welcome Back to Tennis party, and then provide them with opportunities to keep playing—whether it be through group skills clinics or league play.
In order to execute its two-phase action plan successfully, the LCCTA and its partners gave themselves plenty of time—six months, to be exact—to research different programming ideas, seek out sponsors to offset costs, and properly promote their Welcome Back to Tennis event. According to LCCTA Vice President Harriet Bohannon, it was time well spent.
"There are so many benefits to planning an event six months in advance," says Bohannon. "It gives you the chance to nurture projects over time and the patience to search for and find opportunities that you may have otherwise overlooked if you were running around frantically trying to do everything at the last minute."
One of those serendipitous opportunities came when Bohannon met with the director of a local retirement home, the Calusa Harbour Senior Living Facility. "I stopped by his office in the hopes of getting 24 ballpoint pens for our gift bags," Bohannon remembers. " Instead, he offered to cater both breakfast and lunch for our Welcome Back to Tennis event—free of charge."
As it turns out, this chance encounter was just the tip of the iceberg. Thanks to the tireless efforts of LCTAA staffers and volunteers, other local merchants soon realized the value of associating themselves with a senior-friendly event that promotes healthy living and camaraderie. The result: Six businesses and associations signed on as official sponsors of the Lee County Welcome Back to Tennis Event.
Sponsors and partners included:
Lee County Parks and Recreation set up an easy-to-use registration Web site and phone number for the Welcome Back to Tennis party. Staffers also helped get the courts ready for the big event and assisted in countless other ways.
"So many good, hard-working people contributed to the success of this event," Bohannon says proudly. "It shows how tennis can really bring people&emdashand communities&emdashtogether."
Lesson/Words of Wisdom:
From LCCTA Vice President Harriet Bohannon: "Don’t do it for free. The truth is, people don’t value what they don’t pay for, and may not be as committed to attending the event. For our Welcome Back to Tennis party, people had to pay just $5, but it was incentive enough for them to show up. We had 111 people register, and only four didn’t show. Having people pay a small fee works!"From USTA Florida Community Coordinator Susie Bessire: "Present your event as a party! Play up the fun and social aspect of tennis, so people know they’re going to have a good time—even if they have never picked up a racquet before. And go out and speak with business owners in your community. See if they’re willing to support the event in some way or another; you’ll be surprised by just how generous and marketing savvy these people are."
From Lee County Parks and Recreation Deputy Director Barbara Manzo: "l;Recognize that the majority of tennis played in this country is played in the public parks. Use these facilities to promote tennis and to bring high-quality programs to a large number of people looking for activities and camaraderie. There’s a reason why we say ’ it starts in the parks. ’"Contact Information:
Lee County Community Tennis Association
Attn: Harriett Bohannon, Vice President
907 Deep Lagoon Lane
Ft. Myers, FL 33919
E-mail: hbohannon@comcast.net