The children in this area are frequently low-income, Spanish speakers and do not have the opportunity available to practice active, healthy lifestyles. With no parks or safe streets to play on, the kids stay indoors, watch television, develop unhealthy eating habits and only exercise when they are at school.
Dr. Meredith Kieschnick, MD, a doctor with Roseland’s children Health Center has said, “I personally am fighting for programs and places to help families find alternatives to this (lack of activity) – by the time kids hit 5th grade, up to 40% in my clinic population are already overweight or obese.”
“We were thinking alone the lines of soccer or basketball, but the tennis opportunity came out of the sky!” CJ exclaims.
While roaming the grounds at the Bank of the West Classic, a WTA tournament held at Stanford every summer, Magdalena Ridley, another of the Youth Center’s founders, happened to stop at the USTA booth. Through a conversation with former USTA Community Tennis Coordinator, Loretta Conway, Ridley learned of the many youth and community programs and grants offered by the USTA.
“It was such an incredible opportunity. Tennis offers so much and it is not a familiar sport to kids in areas such as this and especially in the Latino community,” CJ explains.
Long-time foster parents of children that attend school in the area, CJ and her partner are very familiar with the challenges facing the community. Having adopted two children from Roseland has inspired them to give back in an even greater way and help others to have a more positive future.
“CJ and the others at the Roseland Youth Center are using tennis as a vehicle to reach the kids, which is what USTA is all about. They started the program just last year and immediately fell in love with it. It’s been a big hit with the kids, especially the girls – which is important considering the high teenage pregnancy rate in the area,” says Cherryl Silva, USTA Community Tennis Coordinator, Alameda, Contra Costa, Napa and Solano Counties. “CJ genuinely wants to change something in that community. She is showing those kids that they can do something with their life.”
Roseland Youth Center’s first tennis program was held at the Sheppard Accelerated School, an elementary school in the area. During an eight week after school program, 25 children in grades 1-3 played tennis once a week using mini-nets, soft balls and smaller, easy to hold racquets. The cost was only $10 for each child, healthy snacks were provided and parents were able to buy their children a racquet for just $10. The program was a hit with the kids and the exposure of playing in the middle of the playground helped others to see the benefits that tennis has to offer.
The second program was offered last November-December, right before winter break, and a successful third was offered this past spring at Roseland Elementary school. Before each program, Rachel Blum, who coordinates tennis programs on school sites throughout Santa Rosa, put on an interactive assembly for the children in order to introduce them to tennis. By creating an inviting atmosphere the sport appears less competitive and the kids see it as a fun way to spend time with friends.
Last month, 30 1st through 8th graders attended a one-week tennis and literature camp at Cook Middle School. Chuck Redd, a high school tennis coach in Santa Rosa, led the two hours of tennis instruction. An hour of reading followed tennis, something CJ hopes to add to the after-school programs this coming year. The cost was just $40 per child and included a tennis racquet, lunch, sports bottle, t-shirts, instruction and books donated through a book-drive, organized by Maurine McKenzie from the Lincoln Valley Christian School.
“We’re small right now, but we have a lot of optimism and plan to expand,” says CJ, “Next we’ll move into the high schools and as soon as they are set up we would like to involve middle schools as well. Our objective is to have eight different after school programs and a day long Saturday camp with instruction, tournaments and a family celebration – it is important to get the entire family involved.”
To help accomplish just that, the Roseland Youth Center along with Manly Honda is holding a raffle, where ticket buyers have the chance of winning $15,000 in cash or one of two Honda vehicles.
“There’s a lot to face in that community – gang issues, teenage pregnancies, high drop-out rates – tennis is a sport for life; we’re hoping if the kids get hooked when they are young then they’ll stick with it. Our ultimate goal is to have junior team tennis going in Roseland,” says CJ.
She continues, “I am so thankful! This is an incredible opportunity that is going to open a lot of doors for kids and their families.”
For more information on the Roseland Youth Center, their programs and the raffle, go to www.roselandyouthcenter.org.
As appeared in Inside Tennis Magazine, August 2008, Northern California Edition
Written for the USTA
Opportunity and Inspiration
Santa Rosa's Roseland Youth Center Successfully Uses Tennis
to Reach Kids
Many avid tennis players are first introduced to the game through some sort of serendipitous encounter – a family member, a neighbor or maybe they see others playing at their local park. For kids at the Roseland Youth Center that fate came through a chance meeting on the campus of Stanford University, a world away from the low-income, under-served community in Santa Rosa within which they live.
“There are a lot of kids in that area and we wanted them to have a place to go – a place for opportunity – especially during the after-school hours, school breaks and summer vacation,” says CJ Jorissen, who along with several other concerned residents opened the Youth Center in the Southwest quadrant of Santa Rosa, a high-risk predominately Latino community.
