This summer Lee
will host its 24th annual Kay McDaniel Summer Tennis Clinic, held June 1-5 at
Lee’s tennis courts.
Kay McDaniel Tennis Clinic
2014 This summer Lee will host its 24th annual Kay
McDaniel Summer Tennis Clinic, held June 1-5 at Lee’s tennis courts.
Participants will have the opportunity to learn from former world-ranked
professional tennis player, McDaniel, the director, and her capable staff of
instructors.
Beginning April 1, parents can register their children for
the Kay McDaniel Tennis Clinics. About 350 kids have already registered for
this year’s clinics, and the 50 remaining spots will fill quickly, according
to McDaniel.
"I have over 40 instructors already committed to
this year’s clinics. Our main goal is to serve not only tennis but the love
of God to every participant in these clinics” said McDaniel. “Not only do
these kids learn to play a sport that can last a lifetime but they learn that
God’s love lasts even longer than a lifetime. The kids have so much fun that
they never want the clinics to end.”
Because of such positive
feedback, McDaniel says she has extended the clinic times this year by 30
minutes. The girl’s session is from 8-10 a.m. and the boy’s session is from
10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. The clinics are free. The ages for participants are
6-13 and all skill levels are accepted, especially beginners.
Once children who have participated in the clinics reach age 14, they can
still be involved as a “junior instructor.” This year, over 50 juniors are
vying for 30 junior instructor spots.
“It delights me to see
that so many kids want to give back to the game by giving their time and
talents to younger kids, and they do a phenomenal job,” said McDaniel.
McDaniel shares inspiring stories of how she overcame difficult
obstacles in sports and in life. From age 11 she dreamed of becoming a
professional tennis player. Her first tennis racquet was a Green Stamp racket
which McDaniel collected over 10,000 stamps to obtain.
Her mother
sewed all her tennis clothes until age 15 when top sponsors, such as Fila,
Adidas, Tail, and Nike sponsored her tennis career. She went on to realize
her dream by competing at tennis’ Grand Slams for six years against
legendary players such as Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova, Chris
Evert, and Steffi Graf. She rose to the top 35 in the world in singles and
held a #20 world ranking in doubles.
McDaniel, an assistant
professor at Lee in the health and exercise science and secondary education
department, hopes to inspire greatness in all her participants. Her tennis
clinic receives rave reviews from parents and kids alike. Last year over 25
cities were represented among participants.
“We’ve never
experienced such a unique sports camp before, and we’ve participated in many
of them,” said one participant’s parent. “We moved here from Nashville and
heard that we must get our child into Kay’s clinics. They learned so much
about God and tennis. Not only my children but our entire family was
powerfully impacted. We will be back every year!”
Prizes such as
tennis grips, sweatbands, tennis visors, water bottles, T-shirts and other
items are given during the week. On the last day, an awards event will take
place.
For more information or to register, visit
http://kaymcdanieltennisclinics.com/.
PHOTOS: 2014 Awards Ceremony