by Lisa Mushett

For many months, six-year-old Zach Baumgartner of Valley City, N.D., had been playing tennis on his Nintendo Wii. After mastering the Wii, Zach told his mom, Bekki, he wanted to try tennis “for real.” As fate would have it, Zach brought home a flyer from school promoting the USTA’s newest initiative called QuickStart Tennis and asked his mom if he could try it.

Bekki agreed, so Zach and 30 other kids in Valley City gathered in a local school gymnasium for the opening session of this new and innovative format introduced in February by the USTA. QuickStart Tennis provides a way to bring kids 10-and-under into the game by utilizing smaller equipment and court dimensions tailored to their age and size. An adjusted scoring system is also quicker for younger players to grasp.

Before arriving at his first lesson, Zach was nervous about having to use “real” tennis balls, but the QuickStart method starts with a bigger, foam ball that is easier for the kids to hit. It also looked exactly like the ball on Zach’s Nintendo Wii.

“I could actually get the ball over the net,” Zach chirped.

Bekki also recognized the success Zach was experiencing almost immediately.

“The foam balls were great for Zach’s success rate,” Bekki said with a smile on her face. “It was so good for his self-esteem and he cannot wait to play each week. He also wants to play this summer. I couldn’t have asked for more.”

The program in Valley City is just one of many QuickStart programs popping up around USTA Northern and is a perfect model of a “community in action.” Done in a local gym due to frigid spring temperatures - not to mention the 20 inches of snow covering the ground then - the Valley City program used racquets from two local elementary schools who received their equipment through the USTA Schools Programs and borrowed two mini nets from the Valley City Tennis Association.

The local Park and Rec program, after being trained by USTA Northern officials, ordered the foam and pressureless balls, as well as two mini nets of their own. They are also running and marketing the program. “This is a great example of how different groups can come together and make something happen,” USTA Northern Tennis Service Representative Hayley Horning Shibley said. “Through the efforts of the Park and Rec, the CTA and the local schools, Valley City was able to bring tennis and QuickStart to the area during the tough winter months and give everyone something to look forward to this summer.”