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Mills Community Tennis Program (MCTP)

Goal: Expand opportunities for inner-city elementary and middle school youth through tennis coaching, academic tutoring, computer skills training and mentoring

Program Size: First year (2002) – three students; 2006/07 – 125 students

College/University: Mills Community College in Oakland, Calif.

Student Enrollment: 1,410 (undergraduate and graduate)

Lead Advocate: Marc Weinstein, Mills College head tennis coach, and Mills Women’s Tennis

Budget: $50,000 (up from $2,000 in first year of program)

Funding Source: Work study, miscellaneous grants, fundraisers

Introduction: Mills College is situated in the middle of urban Oakland, a diverse and often underserved community. The college is gated off from the community, and no community outreach program was in place as of the early 2000s. Moreover, Mills College coach Marc Weinstein, who grew up playing in a Tennis & Education program, found out that the Oakland School district was cutting back on physical education programs and he wanted to give back.

History: The mission of the Mills Community Tennis Program (MCTP) was to provide a personalized tennis and academic tutoring program for a student population that reflects the ethnic diversity of Oakland, recruits parents as partners in their children’s physical and academic education, and promotes strong community ties. The program introduced tennis to students who have had very little or no exposure to the sport. To enact the program, Weinstein approached the vice principal at E. Morris Cox Middle School in Oakland. E. Morris Cox Middle School soon joined forces with MCTP, giving Weinstein a connection to the greater Oakland Unified School District and helping him recruit students to the program. For instructors, Weinstein turned to the members of his tennis team. Team members also served as academic tutors for the youngsters enrolled in the program, along with a number of additional Mills undergraduate students. To ensure that the initiative was comprehensive in scope and integral to the larger institution, Mills undergraduates received hourly wages for their work with MCTP through the work-study portion of their financial aid packages. They were also able to apply for academic credit for their work through independent study. The end goal of the program was to use tennis as a means to familiarize inner-city youth with a college environment, as well as to provide academic support to buoy the children’s learning through the public school system. The students in the program will have the opportunity to continue tennis and academic instruction throughout their educational career. Once they reach middle school, MCTP participants have the opportunity to participate in Mills College’s nationally acclaimed Upward Bound program.

The lessons took place from 3:30-6 p.m. every Monday and Thursday afternoon for 12-15 weeks in the fall and again in the summer. Advanced players were brought in for an extra day of tennis on either Friday or Saturday. Overall, the program has been a tremendous success, expanding from three students in its first year (2002) to 125 for 2006-07.

Funding:

  • Undergraduates receive hourly wages for their work with MCTP through the work-study portion of their financial aid packages, and can apply to receive academic credit for their work through independent study.
  • Grants from the Oakland Unified School District, Mills College, the USTA Tennis & Education Foundation, USTA Diversity, Olympic Club Fund.
  • Grant from UPS; Weinstein reciprocates by helping to raise money for UPS-United Way.
Forty percent of the students at Mills College were black women, and Mills College tennis coach Marc Weinstein thought they could provide a model for a community that is largely African-American by helping the kids envision themselves as attending college in the future. The program also helps establish the varsity tennis team as a valuable member of Mills College. Said Weinstein: “It’s a great way to show the kids that they, too, can go to college. They get the opportunity to come to a college and play on nice courts and benefit from being tutored by the college kids.”

Lesson: Make smart use of your resources. In this case, Mills’ greatest resource was its own students, so it turned to them to provide tutoring—both scholastic and tennis instruction. The use of Mills’ students provides a win-win for everyone involved. The elementary school kids from Oakland are introduced to a life-long sport and receive an academic boost, while the college’s undergrads receive valuable work study and possibly academic credit for their efforts.

Contact Information:
Marc Weinstein
Founding Director, Mills Community Tennis Program
Director of Tennis, Mills College
Telephone: 415-271-8009 • E-mail: mweinste@mills.edu