On March 30, Biola’s men’s and women’s tennis teams hosted Kids Tennis Day 2012, the largest event of its kind on a college campus. For the third consecutive year, tennis coach Dee Henry and the athletes organized this event she describes as a big success.

“In addition to the 87 kids who attended, we were honored to have the presence of Southern California Tennis Association’s own Norman Tam with us for the event,” Henry said.

The Biola students took time to teach and encourage the kids. They came from all backgrounds and had various skill sets in regards to tennis.

"I was with the youngest group of kids 3-6 year olds,” said freshman Lauren Vogel. “Most of the kids were young, but there were some high school students who were even tennis recruits."

Vogel enjoyed the day volunteering for Kids Day and seeing all the kids work together.

“A cool thing for me was that Professor Oakes' kids were there,” Vogel said. “He really gets his family involved on campus and they had a great time."

The United States Tennis Association (UTSA) and the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) encourage and support this event at many public and private colleges.

“We’re grateful to the USTA and ITA for inspiring us to give back to our community,” Henry said.

Various other schools, such as USC and Notre Dame, have also held Kids Tennis Day events, but Biola’s is the largest recorded yet, according to Henry.

Information about all Kids Days and other events held throughout the year can be found on both associations’ websites, as well as their Facebook fan page.

Upcoming events: Join Coach Henry and the tennis teams for Tennis Across America Tennis for the Whole Family on May 5, 9-11 a.m. at Biola University.

Written by Abbey Bennett, Media Relations Intern. For more information, contact Jenna Bartlo, Media Relations Coordinator, at 562.777.4061 or at jenna.l.bartlo@biola.edu.