Players
Brandon On
As
a young child, Brandon On played tennis recreationally. He never thought about playing tennis
competitively until he and his father saw a young YTA tennis player hitting
extremely well for his age. The
rest, they say, is history. At the age of 11, On became serious about tennis. With the guidance of YTA coaches such as Carl Mendoza, On honed his tennis skills and quickly rose through the ranks. His goals for his senior year in high school are to continue to get straight A’s and finally win the All-City Tennis Championship that has eluded him for the past three years.
On said he will continue to work hard and looks forward to the challenges ahead. Brandon’s long range goal is to attend a California university and continue to play tennis competitively at the collegiate level.
Laura Sanders, YTA’s Most Promising Player
At just 8 years old, Laura Sanders is already making her mark in the tennis world. Her strong baseline play recently earned her an exclusive spot in the USTA’s Regional Training Center, led by tennis greats Jose Higeras and Tom Gullikson. She is undefeated in novice team tennis play for mixed doubles and singles.
Laura “is one of YTA’s most promising players,” said Carlton Jones, Youth Tennis Advantage’s (YTA) Laney College Site Director.
Laura’s talent for tennis is not something new; it’s in her blood. She grew up with the sport all her life, holding her first racquet when she was 2. Her father plays, and her older sister Layla, a former YTA Laney College player, is now a high-ranked junior being recruited by top universities across the nation.
On the court, Laura is tough and focused. Jones describes her as being “athletic” and “agile,” and notes that Laura “has all the court smarts to reach the highest level.”
Laura has a powerful forehand to match her fearful grunt like her favorite tennis pro Serena Williams. Every week Laura trains hard, hitting hundreds of tennis balls in order to get her technique and footwork down to the tee.
Off the court, Laura stands proud as the tallest over her second grade classmates. But other than that, she is just like any other kid. She enjoys playing four-square with friends, reading books from the series “Flat Stanley”, and drawing. She just entered her artwork in the 2010 National USTA Arthur Ashe Essay and Art Contest.
Laura definitely has a bright future ahead of her. She is a prime example of a potential YTA high-performance player. And although she has not yet entered her first tournament, one thing is for certain, she is determined to win her first trophy.
Krista Henderson
Since stepping foot on the Mosswood Park tennis courts two years ago, Krista Henderson has grown into a talented girl with many goals and dreams. One of which is to become a famous tennis player just like her heroes, the Williams sisters.
Born and raised in Oakland, Krista joined Youth Tennis Advantage (YTA) to spend more time with a friend that was already in the program. On her first day out, she learned how to hold a tennis racquet, get into a ready stance, and swing at tennis balls. Krista never gave up and after much practice she improved her game, so much so that now she can rally back and forth with just about anyone.
One of her memorable moments with YTA was when she attended the 2009 Esurance Tennis Classic Kids Day. “I met so many interesting and famous players but the most fun part was when we were able to play and interact with them! It was so much fun! I can’t wait for our next trip” Krista says.
In addition to her new found tennis skills and love of the sport, Krista is a top student. She does well in her studies always making sure she completes her homework during the academic portion of the YTA program. Krista realizes the importance of an education and continues to works hard to get good attendance and grades.
Nick Lautoa: Awesome Student Volunteer
When high school senior Nick Lautoa first came to the YTA’s Bear Trax program some months ago, he merely wanted to find an outlet for his impressive tennis expertise, which he did, but he also ended up finding an ideal mentor in Coach White, and in himself.
Through his association with Bear Trax, Lautoa discovered that he could become an ideal youth mentor for boys and girls participating in the program, boys and girls much younger than his 17 years. In fact, after participating in various junior tennis tournaments in his youth, Lautoa realized he could lend some helpful advice for children just getting their start with the game of tennis.
“It has been very rewarding helping kids learn this game and build confidence, “Lautoa said. I’ve been watching Coach White over the years, starting back when he was coaching over in Hunter’s Point, and I have admired his style and ability to inspire young kids ever since. Now, I’m in a position to do the same through the Bear Trax program at UC Berkeley.”
What Lautoa has also found through his volunteer hours at UC Berkeley where the Bear Trax program operates from, is the same dedicated mentoring he provides to the young bestowed to him through the UC Berkeley students volunteers who provide a key piece of the YTA’s life skills component.
“The UC Berkeley students have been awesome,” Lautoa said. “When I first began studying for the SAT, my scores were ok, but not impressive, but after learning some important study habits focused on memory, and other skills, the results of my SAT were boosted by 500 points!”
Looking ahead Lautoa anxiously awaits a response from one of the colleges he has applied to, with Stanford University being at the top of his list. Given the results of his SAT, his mature approach to life, and his desire to study International Relations, he’s more than well on the right path to achieve his goals.
One Junior Pilots a Course Toward Maturity and Self Acceptance
At age 17, in a prescient act of defiance that would prove to illustrate her adventurous and curious nature, Michelle Lam set aside her tennis racket, more than likely for good, to explore life and a career at a higher altitude with the aspiration of learning aeronautics and aviation with the dream of piloting an airplane one day.“My parents I’m sure were very worried about the amount of the time and effort I devoted to tennis might have been wasted,” Michelle, who is now 18 told me about her foray into piloting some months ago. But after some soul searching about her waning junior tennis career, and her emerging passion for aviation she acquired when she took a 'College and Career' course at her high school, she stepped out on faith one brisk and crystal clear Saturday morning to visit the local Aviation Museum to take her first flight accompanied by seasoned pilots. Prior to take off, Michelle’s head was in a swirl of jitters, however, upon embarking the plane and taking off, her nerves gave way to calm, clarity, and an utter realization about life, her life, and its endless possibilities. Describing her first flying experience as “perfect,” Michelle said it was also transformative. The notion that her future would include a professional tennis career was never challenged, but the reality of her achieving this, and the passion she experienced flying in the Cessna that day, seemed to change the course of her future tennis goals.
“Being in the air is like no other feeling before. It was as if time just froze and everything was perfect,” she said. “When I was in the air, I was able to forget about all of the disappointments of not living up to my lifelong dream of becoming a tennis pro. I left all my worries on the ground. Upon returning to the ground I felt so free and relaxed. I haven't felt that way in years! I felt light, stress-free, happy, and peaceful. I didn't even want to get off the plane.”
Since that day, Michelle has carefully studied the variety of careers available in aviation. She has also come to a place of self awareness and acceptance about the number of dedicated hours and time she spent playing and competing in junior tennis, and that fact that it will likely not lead to the professional career she once sought. She also realizes that this realization is alright and that the number of years and the time spent focused on tennis had not been in vain. In fact, her startling maturity about a dream unrealized belies her years and foretells a very wise young woman who’ll more than likely make a name for herself in her chosen career as a pilot or anything else she might choose.
Others who have seen Michelle blossom over the years, see the same transition. YTA Academic and Life Skills Coordinator, Leona Lewis has seen the remarkable quality in Michelle’s coming of age, underscoring the fact that she’s off to a great start. For example, Lewis counseled Michelle on writing a thorough essay, one that would provide insight into her character and passion, one that would help anyone reading it gain insight about Michelle know clearly what makes her tick. Lewis also provided a much needed recommendation in order for Michelle to be considered for an Eva Leah Gunther scholarship to attend an Aviation and Aeronautical Conference in Atlanta, Georgia earlier this year. Thanks to Lewis’ life skill’s coaching, Michelle received the coveted scholarship to attend the conference of her dreams and is undoubtedly at the very beginning stages of attaining her career goals. Michelle has many years of study ahead of her, but will surely meet her goals with success. And who knows, perhaps from time-to-time, when taking breaks from her aeronautical adventures, she just might dabble in a friendly game of tennis, just for old time’s sake.
Jennifer Salomon: Althea Gibson Leadership 2007 award recipient
When Youth Tennis Advantage participant Jennifer Salomon opened the letter mailed from the United States Tennis Association (USTA) recently, her first reaction was one of fear.
“Well, I was scared because here was a letter mentioning that I was the winner of this award and there was a check there too,” said Jennifer who’d never been so honored for her tennis and leadership effort before. But Jennifer’s fright quickly melted into elation realizing that the Althea Gibson Leadership award was indeed hers.
The Althea Gibson Leadership award is an inaugural award created in honor of the 50th anniversary of Althea Gibson’s U.S. National Championship title, and was announced exactly 50 years to the day Althea Gibson won. Gibson, who died in September 2003, beat incredible odds to compete and win in tennis, a sport which was overwhelmingly unwelcoming to African Americans and other people of color at the time.
“Althea Gibson was an amazing person, just hearing her name is enough, she won so many awards and great tournaments and she made everything seem possible,” Jennifer commented.
She also said that her commitment to the YTA program and her involvement at the California Tennis Club have been important factors which led her to receiving the award. “I am 16 now, but I started playing tennis when I was 7 at Golden Gate Park where my family was into it and I watched them and then became active, Jennifer said. “I’ve been inspired by my sister Jancie who played #1 for UC Davis and she has been a great role model to work hard and think beyond looking pretty.” Jennifer’s immediate goals are to continue doing well academically and work towards getting accepted into a good college.
