2011 Play in May Results:

Men’s A Division

Winners: R. Erskine & T. Heath

Finalists: J. Parsons & B. Mountford

Men’s B Division

Winners:  A. Cavanna & M. Mengwall

Finalists:  J. Dahl & J. Tibbetts

Women’s A Division

Winners:  M. Stichter & M. Brossy

Finalists:  M. Meinkoff & J. Tranahas

Women’s B Division

Winners:  A. Feeley & S. Brody

Finalists:  A. Dechellis & S. Walker

Women’s C Division

Winners:  J. Phillips & C. Dee

Finalists:  C. Curthoys & S. Fabian

By Tom Flanagan

NORWALK, Conn. – There was a time when kids in Norwalk’s toughest neighborhoods would slip behind buildings to avoid being seen, or walk briskly to their destination with the source of their embarrassment hidden under the cloak of a baggy sweatshirt.

Fast forward to present time and being seen in tennis clothes or working on your tennis game is the “in” thing in this city, thanks to the work of the Norwalk Grassroots Tennis program and the long list of individual success stories who were once teased for choosing tennis over sports like basketball and football.

Those kids are now role models, champions and difference-makers in their community, and recently led their McMahon High School team to a place very city public schools go – the Connecticut state tournament.

“It was a tough sell at first to get these kids to come and try the game,” said David Kimani, Director of Norwalk Grassroots and a fulltime professional at Kings Highway Tennis Club in Darien. “We would go door to door and try to get these kids out of their houses to try tennis. But, they didn’t view tennis as a game that was played by kids in the city. Nobody who came up before them – the older kids – had ever played, so the game wasn’t seen as cool.”

Eventually, a few kids gave the game a try. Then, a few more.

Some of the area’s better athletes began to play tennis. They began to get very good.

“We saw a lot of potential in some of these kids and they wanted to work at it,” Kimani said. “At first, they’d come out lay four hours a week. Then, when they started to get better, they’d start coming for six hours a week.”

While tennis players were emerging across the city, Norwalk Grassroots was also nurturing better students, thanks to its educational component that includes tutoring sessions and strict academic requirements for participants.

“The high schools require kids to have 1.7 grade-point-average to play on their teams,” Kimani said. “We demand more out of them. To be on one of our Jr. Team Tennis teams, you need to produce your report card and show us that you’ve worked to earn at least a 2.0.”

The efforts of Norwalk Grassroots – and more importantly, the efforts of the program’s students – paid off in historic fashion in June for McMahon High, when the team reached the state tournament for the first time since 1973.

Three of the team’s top four singles players – Jermaine Martin-Riley, Jonathyn Young and Dreshawn Lewis – all learned the game with Norwalk Grassroots, a Community Tennis Association that has received grant money from USTA New England, USTA Serves and the Youth Tennis Foundation.

“I started playing when I was 7 years old, when I would mess around on the tennis courts at the housing project where I lived,” said Martin-Riley. “From there, I got involved with Norwalk Grassroots and it truly changed my life. They encouraged me to get better at tennis, but the more important thing is that I was able to get tutoring in areas in which I struggled.”

It certainly doesn’t happen as much now that Martin-Riley is being courted by several college football programs to play linebacker when he graduates, but he did take his share of ribbing for playing tennis.

“Sometimes, you’d get made fun of, but it wasn’t really because of the sport itself,” he said. “Kids just didn’t understand why we spent so much time doing something, putting so much into it. I think they know now, based on the success we’ve had as players and as a high school team.”

Martin-Riley is a role model to others growing up in what he described as “pretty rough” neighborhoods.

“I think everyone of the kids who came up through Grassroots has inspired and encouraged other kids to play,” said Martin-Riley, whose two younger brothers are also involved in Norwalk Grassroots Tennis. “To me, seeing kids I grew up with out there making a difference and doing productive things in the community is great.”

The pride in Kimani’s voice is unmistakable when he speaks about the accomplishments of the kids in the Norwalk Grassroots tennis program.

“We are there with them every step of the way,” Kimani said. “They’re so proud to tell us, ‘I made the high school team,’ or ‘I won my first high school match.’ When we found out that the McMahon team had made the state tournament, it was an amazing feeling. It makes us want to give them more, so that they can succeed even more. When you hear the kids talk about their accomplishments n school and in tennis, it lets you k now that you’re doing the right thing.”