About Adaptive Tennis
Tennis can be adapted so that everyone can participate in the sport. People of any age, environment, social, intellectual or physical ability are invited to enjoy the game.
USTA South Carolina and USTA Southern can lead you in the process to start a new program or to grow your current program. Several curricula for teaching adaptive tennis can be found under RESOURCES below.
In addition, USTA South Carolina and USTA Southern have designated contact people staff to help you. They can effectively answer questions on a wide range of topics, including financing, procuring educational materials and equipment and adaptive tennis programs within the state and the section. Those staff members are:
- Pamela Banks, USTA South Carolina banks@sctennis.com
- Cee Jai Jones, USTA Southern jones@sta.usta.com
Register Your Program
Connecting players with programs to meet their needs is a top priority, and registering your program with the USTA will enable those with similar needs in your area to find you. It is easy to do and free of charge. To register, programs must have at least three athletes and be actively ongoing. Register here.
Benefits of being a USTA-registered program include:
- Listing, with link to your website or email, on the USTA National Adaptive Tennis webpage.
- Being a member of a larger tennis community.
- Opportunity to network with other programs.
- Opportunity to apply for national grants when available
- Access to Adaptive Tennis curricula.
- Receipt of quarterly Adapt It! newsletter highlighting upcoming events, interesting programs, educational materials and funding resources.
- Opportunity to have a story about your program featured in the newsletter.
- Opportunity to share stories for the newsletter about other adaptive programs.
- Access to other USTA newsletters.
- Opportunity to register with USTA Net Generation if your program serves youth (18 and under).
- Opportunity for consideration of the USTA National Adaptive Tennis Award.
USTA Adaptive and Wheelchair Junior Curriculum
- Intro to Adaptive Tennis Manual – click here
- Green Wheelchair Curriculum – click here
- Orange Wheelchair Curriculum – click here
- Red Wheelchair Curriculum – click here
Resources for Junior players
- VIDEO: Youth Beginner Ball Feeding Progressions
- VIDEO: Youth Partner Progressions Are a Great Way to Learn
- VIDEO: Introducing Age 5-6+ Children to Tennis (Parents! Watch This!)
- VIDEO: A Few More Drills with Racquet Skills
- VIDEO: Basic Ball Feeding Technique
- VIDEO: Introducing Rallying (3 videos)
- VIDEO: Swing Technique & Multiple Shot Drilling (4 videos)
- Video Tip: Kids, Footwork, Rhythm
- Video Tip: Introducing (a little) Technique to Youngsters & Special Needs Players
Special Olympics Tennis in the Classroom Series
The above resources are provided courtesy of Public Tennis Inc., a CTA and NJTL in Beaufort County. (wayne@publictennis.org and www.publictennis.org)
USTA Registered Programs in South Carolina
- Adaptive Tennis – Greenville
- Advantage Tennis Foundation – Columbia
- Area 14, Anderson County Special Olympics – Anderson
- Aunt Nettie’s Fault (Special Olympics Group) – Columbia
- City of Charleston Therapeutic Recreation Unified Tennis – Charleston
- Public Tennis Inc. Special Needs & Special Olympics Tennis – Beaufort, Bluffton, Hilton Head
- Rockin’ Rackets Tennis – Mount Pleasant/Charleston
- Saluda Slammers – Columbia
- SPUD (Special Populations Unified Doubles) – Belton
Special Olympics - Contacts
- Aiken, SC area: Carl Rapp, carlrapp45@yahoo.com
- Anderson area: http://so-sc.org/locals/area-14/
- Beaufort/Bluffton, HHI area: http://publictennis.org/special-needs-tennis
- Columbia area: Shauna Williams, shauna@rcrc.state.sc.us
- Mt Pleasant/Charleston area: Kevin MacFarland, kemacf1@gmail.com
- Renee Lowrey: reneeb25@comcast.net
- Greenville area: Skeeter Powell skeeter.powell@gmail.com
Wheelchair Tennis - Contacts
- Columbia area: Nan Smith, scauburn79@gmail.com
- Greenville area: Darelyn Holliday, Darelyn1@bellsouth.net
- Rock Hill area: Kim Ozmon, kim.ozmon@cityofrockhill.com
Other Points of Contact
- Kelly Garrick, Special Olympics South Carolina, Senior Director of Sports and Competition, KGarrick@so-sc.org
