ELLY LEARY

A Game Grows in Brooklyn

Kim is a tennis instructor who says that “nothing makes me feel more satisfied than seeing the smile on a person’s face when they realize they are learning the game of tennis”. She smiles often while teaching students at Kings County Tennis League (KCTL), a non-profit organization that provides free year-round tennis and life skills instruction to children who live in and around six public housing developments in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn. KCTL has programs for students of all levels, including GoGirlsGo!, a girls-only program that was developed in partnership with the Women’s Sports Foundation.  

Kim’s mother was an early education teacher who nurtured a love for teaching within her. According to Kim, she also spent way too many weekends watching Kim play mediocre junior tennis in the Florida heat during the 1990s. “Throughout my life, I have received a lot of support from my parents and tennis elders to become a good tennis player and even better tennis instructor. I teach because I love growing this sport and I have a duty to pay forward all of the blessings I have received on and off the court throughout my 46 years.” 

After discovering KCTL when she moved to Brooklyn from Miami, FL in 2015 and was looking for a tennis community, she became a volunteer. She was later hired as a part-time staff when KCTL discovered she was a certified teaching professional and had spare time to teach on the weekends.  Kim says: “I was drawn to KCTL’s mission. Not only does it try to connect tennis to kids who live in public housing but also provides other support services for them. Students do not have to leave their communities to receive quality tennis instruction and youth development coaching. That matters to me as a Black woman who learned to play mostly on public courts and played tennis for public universities. I gravitate to public parks in general because witnessing people of all ages, body types, and abilities exercise and play organized sports together reveals our common humanity. I love teaching tennis because I want to help people build community through recreation. Tennis is a sport that can be played at all ages, which means we can continuously make connections with other people at all stages of our life by playing or teaching this sport.”

As a coach, Kim enjoyed watching students leave their buildings with their families to play tennis.  Sometimes students would go back into their buildings to retrieve their friends. Other students arrived running from their building to the courts to see who could get there first.  Their excitement to learn tennis was infectious, and the growth of the program can be attributed to the energy that flowed from the students to the rest of the community during the sessions.  Many parents and guardians passing by the vibrant tennis lessons come and ask how to get involved.  Once in the program, parents get involved by helping to pick up balls, organizing field trips, coordinating family days, jamborees, and Davis Cup, the end-of-summer tournament. For Kim, one of the biggest highlights was participating in an on-court demonstration on Arthur Ashe Stadium at the 2019 US Open with KCTL players and others from programs across New York and New Jersey. Being on the court at Arthur Ashe Stadium inside the Billie Jean King Tennis Center was a powerful moment. The court was smaller than it looks on television and very loud!  KCTL students have also participated in numerous US Open Kid’s Days, and GoGirlsGo! students even got to meet privately with Venus Williams at the US Open. KCTL is entering its 12th year with about 300 families currently involved in the organization’s programs. The program’s success lies in its relationship with the housing developments’ residents and staff. The organization partners with the New York City Housing Association-Corporation (NYCHA) to get authorization to store equipment and use the housing developments’ park spaces as tennis courts.  Students’ parents and guardians serve on the Kings County Tennis League Parents Association, a committee that focuses on increasing student enrollment, retaining students, and maintaining a parent support system. KCTL partnered with the USTA to construct a new junior-sized tennis court at Sumner Houses and to raise funds to renovate the existing court at Marcy. Families have developed an institution that not only teaches athletics but community organizing and mutual aid. During the pandemic, the organization’s staff, parents, and volunteers formed a buddy system to check on students and families. They organized food banks and virtual group tennis sessions so that students had food, friendships, and physical activity to nourish their bodies and spirits during uncertain times. To Kim, “this is what creating champions are all about.”

Kim is a former NCAA Division 1 tennis player and part-time teaching pro. She is Deputy Director of Communications at the National Employment Law Project and is earning her Master of Divinity online at Chicago Theological Seminary.  Since starting graduate school part-time and working full-time, Kim is no longer able to teach tennis, but she remains passionate about this organization’s mission and accomplishments. She lives with her wife and dog in Brooklyn, NY.  You can learn more about Kings County Tennis League here.