The Greater Pittston YMCA held a free tennis clinic at the Pittston Area Middle School courts on Aug. 3. Tennis instructor Tiffany Callaio, far left, with the aide of Pittston Area junior tennis player Kate Koss, far right, demonstrate the proper backhand technique to 5- to 7-year-olds during a free tennis clinic sponsored by the Greater Pittston YMCA and the United States Tennis Association.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Five-year-old Ivy Cotter has her eye on the ball as she attempts to hit a forehand during the free YMCA tennis clinic.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Volunteer tennis instructor Kate Koss, left, instructs 5-year-old Cali Sincavage on how to hold a racket for a forehand stroke.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Tennis instructor Tiffany Callaio watches campers work on their forehand shots.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
The free tennis clinic co-sponsored by the Greater Pittston YMCA and the United States Tennis Association under their Net Generation program was held at the Pittston Area Middle School tennis courts. Left to right: Tiffany Callaio, tennis instructor, Janelle Drach, YMCA executive director, Caleb Drach, tennis participant, Kate Koss, tennis instructor volunteer.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
PITTSTON – The Greater Pittston YMCA recently held a free tennis clinic in conjunction with the United States Tennis Association (USTA) for children from 5 years old to 12 years old at Pittston Area Middle School tennis courts. A total of 21 children preregistered for the clinic.
“I had some previous tennis experience with the USTA Net Generation program and reached out to the Angela, the rep here in Pennsylvania and immediately registered Tiffany (Callaio) and myself to be instructors,” Janelle Drach, Greater Pittston YMCA executive director, said. “Angela provided us all the equipment for free and gave us program documents to facilitate different age groups for tennis lessons.”
According to Drach, the USTA provided 20 junior tennis rackets, different level tennis balls, tape to line off courts, a clipboard, Net Generations flags and scoring books.
The children were broken down to two groups with the 5-year-olds to 7-year-olds playing from 5:30 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. and the 8-year-olds to 12-year-olds from 6:30 p.m. to 7:15 p.m.
Former Division II college player and high school tennis coach, tennis instructor Tiffany Callaio conducted both sessions with the aid of volunteer Pittston Area junior tennis player, Kate Koss. Instructors introduced the game by focusing on small tennis drills allowing for fun.
“The tennis program has been very well received,” said Drach. “We started last fall, and we had our first session indoors and that was really fun. We halted the program when COVID hit and when we felt more comfortable with coming outdoors; we restarted the program. We had a good group of families come back and participate and today we’re offering a free clinic day to introduce the sport and hopefully come fall we can offer lessons again.”
Callaio and Koss taught the children on the proper grip to use for both forehand and backhand eventually having them drill using both strokes.
“I thought the turnout was fantastic and we had over 20 kids between the two groups, and it’s always good to see more kids being able to come out and enjoy playing tennis,” Callaio said. “This is encouraging, and hopefully we can get more children involved this coming fall.”
According to Callaio, the students had fun, and she received phone calls from parents telling her how much their children had fun learning the game of tennis.
Martine Schoenwetter, of Harding, brought along her three daughters, including a set of twins, to the clinic.
“I saw the notice on Facebook about the free clinic,” Schoenwetter said. “We play tennis in our driveway at home but they’ve never played. It’s a great sport and it’s good exercise.”
Tennis has been noted as a very low risk COVID activity with the proper safety precautions. All children were socially distanced and had the option to wear a mask during drills.
If you are interested in tennis lessons for your child this fall, contact Janelle Drach at jdrach@greaterpittstonymca.org or by visiting the Greater Pittston YMCA Facebook event page for future tennis events.
