Director continues to improve summer tennis program

Meghan Pitarresi uses her newly learned skills during the summer's Tennis in the Village program held at South Long Park. Fellow tennis camper Sofia Dzialga waits her turn. For six weeks this past summer, South Long Park in the Village of Williamsville was home to the Tennis in the Village program for boys and girls ages 4 to 9 years.

The courts at the South Long Park were constructed and maintained by the Town of Amherst under a contract made with the Village of Williamsville in the 1970s.

During the years, the courts fell into disrepair and the town did not have the funds to keep up with the needed maintenance. This past year, the town administration ceded responsibility for the courts back to the village so that the village could pursue alternate funding to get the courts fixed, said Mike Blumenson, Tennis in the Village program director and Village of Williamsville Parks committee member.

After years of neglect, the courts were in need of resurfacing, posts, nets and new fencing. But also lacking was the absence of any programming on the courts.

Blumenson said, "With no lessons and the shabby conditions, it was clear why nobody was using them."

This past summer, the Village of Williamsville Parks Committee set out to remedy the situation.

Although all of the repair work could not be done in 2006, Blumenson said the committee looked to have the nets replaced and was determined to put tennis programming back in the park. Through grant funding and a minimal fee, the village was able to offer a six-week program for children ages 4-6 and 7-9 years, which ran from early July to mid-August.

"Instruction was excellent with lessons given by area tennis pro Dave Kocak," Blumenson said.

The 4-6 year olds were on court for 45 minutes and the 7-9 year olds were on court for an hour.

Plans to acquire additional funding and expand the program for summer 2007 have been put into motion.

Blumenson said, "Another happy byproduct of this program has been the noticed uptick in the general use of the courts."

Anyone interested in helping with the program should e-mail tennisinthevillage@gmail.com.

"Although we already see increased usage of these courts, we still need to raise money to repave and refinish the surface and fix the fencing," Blumenson said. Any help is appreciated."

He added that children or adults interested in playing tennis at the South Long Playground next summer should write for more information.