Chatham Teens Team-up To Teach Tennis To Special Students

CHATHAM, NJ - For Chatham teenager Elizabeth "Libby" White, the idea to combine her love of tennis with her desire to work with those with special needs came easily. After working with Special Olympic athletes over the summer, the Chatham High School student knew what she wanted to do next.

"I worked with a group of people for several weeks working on tennis skills and drills, and wanted to bring a similar idea to Chatham," White said.

White said partnering with ECLC (Education, Careers & Lifelong Community) for Children and Adults with Special Needs was a no-brainer.

"The ECLC students were always part of the idea based on the club Teens Connecting with Teens, a club where Chatham students and ECLC students come together and get involved in different activities," White said. "I was involved in working with ECLC students in other activities, but tennis wasn't offered. Through talking with the advisor of the Chatham Club, we sent an email to the principal at ECLC along with a flyer created in order to get the word out about the event."

According to White there are a lot of games and activities played in each session.

"We begin by running around the courts and warming up. Before even touching the racquets, we practice throwing balls over the net, working on eye-hand coordination," White said. "The Chatham students are there to aid in supporting the ECLC students and making sure that everyone is engaged and having fun. After the initial warm ups, all the students hit back and forth, trying to maintain a rally, while the Chatham students try to aid in improving the ECLC students skills. At the end, everyone comes together to play games."

White said nearly 20 students in total are participating in the event.

"The Chatham kids all have previous tennis experience, making it easy for them to aid the ECLC students and work on specifically what each student needs," White said. "The ECLC students cover a wide range of levels, but for the most part, they are all beginners."

White said she hopes that the program brings both Chatham and ECLC students together and create long lasting bonds.

"Also, the goal is to give all the ECLC students a chance to participate in a sport they may have never played before," White said.

White said that so far everyone involved has been enjoying the program.

"The kids have really been enjoying the event and having a lot of fun. They have been very engaged and eager to keep learning all the aspects of tennis," White said.

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