Local Looks To Raise Racket in NK Recreation Tennis

Mike Michaud has recently taken on the responsibility of running the tennis program for the NK recreation department and he plans to emulate the approach taken by his peers in South Kingstown.

“I was inspired by the incredible program Sandy Sweet and others have put together in South Kingstown and thought, maybe we can do something similar here,” he said.

By similar, he means establishing a passionate tennis culture in town and providing quality instruction to the youngsters. Doing so creates a seamless feeder system for the high school program, as they have in South Kingstown.

Understand, however, that Michaud is no mere copycat. He brings loads of experience to the table as both a player and instructor. He began playing tennis at the wee age of five years old.

“I’ve had a racket in my hands for most of my life,” he said.

After a highly competitive high school tennis career, Michaud took his talents to the University of New Hampshire. At that point, his passion began to shift towards instruction and he spent every summer through college and graduate school teaching the sport to others.

For the past nine years, Michaud served as the head tennis professional at the Needham Pool and Racket Club in Needham, Mass. Over the years, he has also taught at clubs and resorts throughout New England and the Caribbean and is a certified United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA) instructor.

Michaud plans to use his lifetime of experience to bring tennis to the forefront in North Kingstown. But he wants to get a lay of the land first before he solidifies his approach.

“At this point,” he said, “I really don’t have a sense of who is playing tennis in North Kingstown and what people want when it comes to programming. The instructional sequence we’ve put together is a start. In my nine years at Needham, I was able to add some kind of new program each summer. But this took time and it took getting to know the community of people with whom I was working. You don't just build a program overnight.”

Although Michaud has his plan in place to broaden the appeal of tennis in North Kingstown, he knows he can’t do it all alone.

“I’m hoping that as the summer goes on,” he said, “I’ll meet some folks who are as interested in promoting tennis in North Kingstown as I am and we’ll go from there. My friend and colleague Jacques Faulise (coach of the NKHS program) will also be teaching tennis in North Kingstown this summer, mostly in the evenings. So between the two of us, I think we have a good start on creating opportunities for folks to learn and play tennis this summer.”

The NK recreation program that he’s put together for kids this summer is designed to draw both new and experienced players alike. The classes are tailored for the respective age groups and the cost is intended to be easy on the wallet.

“We have instruction for kids ages four to 14 and all classes are in the late afternoon,” he said. “Depending on age, classes run for 45 minutes for the younger ones to two hours for the older kids who can compete and play. The costs are very reasonable, usually around $8 an hour per day per child.”

Most of the classes are scheduled to meet twice a week, starting on the week of July 4^th. In the meantime, Michaud is very much looking forward to getting things started. In discussing the upcoming program, Michaud comes across as a man who truly loves his work.

“Tennis gives meaning to people’s lives. When you see someone who is either new to the game or not incredibly coordinated begin to successfully rally the ball back and forth over the net and you see the excitement on their face and the sense of accomplishment. I like to be a part of that sort of thing helping people, seeing them succeed and enjoy themselves.”

To register for the red tennis program this summer, visit http://www.northkingstown.org/summer-programs.

Mike Michaud is also a blogger on North Kingstown Patch. .