by Coach A.J. Baumwell
Learning the fundamentals.
photos by Tony Hughes
tonyrhughes.com
When I moved into Lakewood in 2018 it was a goal of mine to get my children interested in one of my childhood passions, tennis. I was fortunate enough to play on a state winning high school team back in Pittsburgh, PA where I was raised. During my undergrad at Penn State, I combined my passion for working with kids and teaching to become PTR (Professional Tennis Registry) certified to teach/coach tennis. I was excited about the number of tennis courts Lakewood had to offer but unfortunately it seemed that one would need to travel outside of Lakewood to find beginner classes.
With the initial goal of starting some grassroots beginner classes I developed a great partnership with the Lakewood Recreation Department. However, since starting my 1-hour classes a few years back with the Rec, I saw the need/demand for a more intensive youth program to really help kids learn the fundamentals of the game. This past month I launched my first ever Lakewood Youth Tennis camp the week of June 23rd (which just happened to be the hottest week of the year). From 9a – 12p Monday through Friday, I was joined by a few helpers (including two Lakewood High tennis athletes) to focus on proper grips, footwork, forehands/backhands, volleys/overheads, serves and an understanding of how tennis is scored. The camp even featured a demonstration of two college level tennis players from Case Western who visited to show off their amazing hitting capabilities. A big thank you to Lakewood’s own Geiger’s for pitching in t-shirts for everyone.
Coach A.J. is strongly considering putting together a spring/fall middle school tennis program to hopefully act as a feeder into the highschool. Help him reach this goal. Feel free to direct any questions to [email protected].Â