By Sherry Benz
Celebration time! The 2025 Jump Start program ended after 10 weeks on Tuesday, June 3, with court play and a party. Jump Start was started in 2012 by Sherry Benz during her term as Tennis Club President. She wanted to provide opportunity to Villagers who vaguely remembered their tennis experience from long ago. We call them “rusties”! Well, over the years some of those rusties have become notable players on our courts. Jump Start coaching began in 2012 with Lon & Betty Olsen. Our current super-duper coaches are Gail & Mike Tuft, Peggy Seidel, and Roy Pennington with help from Barry Stein. Their contributions are invaluable and so appreciated. We couldn’t do it without them!
It is incredibly rewarding to see the improvement in skill that transpires over the weeks as well as the positive relationships that form. Two of our participants, Montse Vroman and Susan Cho participated in the Scholarship Tournament, and we expect to see them along with others at future events. As experienced tennis players, we can encourage and include these new players – they are our future!