FOR THE SPORTS
BY JEANA DURST
One of the most inspirational tennis players
ever, Arthur Ashe, once remarked, “Our idea is to
use tennis as a way to gain and hold the attention
of young people in the inner cities and other
poor environments so that we can teach them
reclaimed.”
This is the guiding principle that drives the
programs of LETT, which stands for Learning
development program of the Birmingham Area
almost 400 kids. We caught up with program
than 20-year-old Birmingham mission.
the Birmingham City Schools as well as Better
tennis skills to children after school, sometimes
nets in their gymnasiums. A typical after-school
their own educational path. One coach, Cameron
Horton, has returned to the program after having
attended himself as a child. “One thing that
sets us apart from other tennis clinics is that we
Dowdle says. She says that they want kids to learn
hard for them,” Dowdle says.
tennis skills too. (LETT is also a community tennis
association of the USTA, the United States Tennis
Association, and a chapter of the NJTL, National
Junior Tennis and Learning, network.) All programs
32 Bham Family April 2020
follow USTA net generation lesson plans.
Another key feature of LETT is that their
programs are open to all interested participants
worked with students with developmental
delays, autism spectrum disorders, learning
of Education has visited LETT’s programs
and noted it as one of the only known sports
programs in the state that places students with
of segregating them.
Partner schools in Birmingham include Epic,
from any area can participate in LETT’s Saturday
youth tennis clinics. LETT also hosts a weeklong
summer camp and is planning a Skills Challenge
on May 5 at the Highland Park Tennis Center
(where many of their programs take place). At
this event, LETT students compete for top rank
in certain skill areas. The day also includes lunch
and an educational speaker.
Recently, LETT partnered Spring Valley School,
dysgraphia, dyscalculia, ADHD, and other learning
one of the players on that team had every played
is of their swift progress. She shares that seeing the
the program gives kids a sense of purpose. “We
I am a tennis player.’ There’s a difference,” Dowdle
says.
Children in the LETT
program are paired
up with mentors in
their after-school
programs.
Love of
Tennis