Tennis foundation helps net scholarships for valley students

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For kids in the Marty Hennessy Junior Tennis Foundation, it is their turn to serve.

The foundation offers local kids an opportunity to learn tennis. In return, they have to become upstanding young people. Members are expected to volunteer with the foundation, perform community service, be stellar students and act as mentors for younger kids.

"Our goal is to not only create good tennis players, but we try to get them to be the best person they can be," said Ryan Wolfington, the foundation’s co-founder. Marty Hennessy Jr., also a co-founder, is a former Las Vegas tennis pro. He mentored tennis legend Andre Agassi when Agassi was a boy.

Anyone interested in learning more about the foundation can attend free instructional and informational sessions scheduled from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Sundays at the tennis courts at Lorenzi Park, 3333 W. Washington Ave.

The idea for the foundation came about 10 years ago when Wolfington sponsored a single student.

"He had the talent but not the money to go to tournaments to get into college," Wolfington said.

The foundation uses tennis as a way to get kids into college. About 40 kids have received scholarships since the foundation opened in 2006, Wolfington said.

Kids "graduate" to higher levels of the program based on their skill and commitment. They must maintain a 3.5 grade point average to travel with the team to tournaments. Students in the highest level have to have all A’s. Most of the kids in the top level take classes through an online public charter school. Kids receive tennis instruction between one and five days per week.

It used to be difficult to keep kids from bad neighborhoods out of trouble during the foundation’s infancy, Wolfington said.

"Nowadays we don’t have (problems)," he said. "Our children are like saints. It’s because we’ve been successful in creating a culture of getting a scholarship to college and doing the right thing. You keep them busy and keep them tired, they can’t get into that much trouble."

Siblings Kristofer and Kimberly Yee have been in the foundation for about five years. Kristofer, 18, has been accepted to Vanderbilt University and was offered a scholarship to cover at least 80 percent of tuition.

"There’s more than just tennis," Kristofer Yee said. "Everyone has a job they have to do. We put on events for fundraisers. I don’t think you’ll meet anybody lazy here."

Kimberly Yee, 15, is ranked No. 1 in the country in her age division. Rankings are determined by tournament success. The foundation covers tournament and travel fees for its top players.

Another student, 16-year-old William Elmore, has moved up nearly 1,000 spots in the national rankings in a little more than one year.

Elmore moved to Las Vegas from Philadelphia in January 2011. His 9-year-old brother, Rua, is also in the program.

"I’m looking to use tennis along with my academics to get me into college," Elmore said. "To go further would be great, but (college is) my goal.

"Tennis is not our end all be all. A lot of juniors don’t really realize that tennis isn’t going to last forever, no matter what we think. Some day we’re going to put our rackets down and we’re going to have to assimilate into society, and the foundation really helps with that, making sure we’re well-rounded."

For more information about the foundation, visit lasvegastennis.com.

Contact View education reporter Jeff Mosier at jmosier@viewnews.com or 224-5524.