Chance Clinic Results In All-Star Charity

Note: Thanks to Alankar for this article

CHANCE CLINIC RESULTS IN ALL-STAR CHARITY by Bruce Lowitt (from: St. Petersburg Times, December 12, 2003)

Jim Courier will host an exhibition of top talent, including world No.1 Andy Roddick, at the St. Pete Times Forum.

TAMPA - Jim Courier admitted he was stunned.

The former No.1 men's tennis pro and four-time Grand Slam champion, preparing for the Volvo Classic in March at the St. Pete Times Forum, was asked if he would mind conducting an afternoon clinic at the St. Petersburg Tennis Center.

Courier has done a lot of them, often at upscale venues. One more wouldn't be a problem. "I went there not thinking too much about it," he said. "I thought it would be fun to get out with the kids."

He didn't expect the center to be in Bartlett Park, one of the community's poor neighborhoods. "A little piece of gold," he called it.

Rick Crockett, who asked Courier to conduct the clinic, directs the First Serve Program there, an outreach after-school project, one of 13 across the state, for disadvantaged youngsters.

"I walked away kind of shaken," said Courier, a Tampa Bay-area native. "You could see the impact the program was having on the kids, the joy on their faces. It was an opportunity for them to do something productive with their lives after school. I knew something inside me needed to connect with this program. I knew I was going to put something like this together."

"This" is the Mercedes-Benz Classic - featuring world No.1 Andy Roddick, Davis Cup team member James Blake and sixth-ranked Jennifer Capriati, both of Saddlebrook, and nine-time Grand Slam singles champion Monica Seles of Sarasota - March 23 at the Times Forum. None will make a penny for appearing, Courier said.

Courier, who has a shoulder injury that will prevent him from playing, will host the three-match event and conduct an afternoon clinic at the tennis center. Several youngsters will put on an exhibition at the Times Forum before the men's and women's singles and mixed doubles matches.

Crockett began First Serve at the Bartlett Park facility. "In October 2001 I stepped on the court with six kids," he said. "Now there are 190, and 85 percent of them qualify for the federal free lunch program. ... I used to worry about how to get this thing going. Now the problem is we don't have enough room for all these children."

The community donates tennis clothing and equipment. The program combines tennis and education. A classroom has 20 computers donated by Shorecrest Prep. Children have to finish their homework before going on the court.

The only thing most first timers know about tennis, Crockett said, "is Venus and Serena (Williams).. Over time we allow them to earn their way into a racket, into a pair of (tennis) shoes. If they look like they're going to stick around, if we see the fire starting to burn, we make sure they have the proper clothing."

If they're competitive and show improvement, "I'll put a racket in their hands. A used racket, to a child like that, is a very big deal," Crockett said. "It goes a long way in helping their self-esteem and everything they're doing out there. We started with kids who had no idea what tournament tennis was like; now we have an elite group of 50-60 kids competing in tournaments around the bay area."

The ultimate goal is a college scholarship. "I'd be astounded if they don't get a lot of them because tennis is not a sport being overplayed in America," Courier said. "And a scholarship is life-changing for families, not only the child.

"Would I be surprised if we saw a couple of these kids turn out to play tennis for a living? Not at all. Would I be surprised if they were teaching pros somewhere down the line? Not at all."

Asked if the youngsters at that first clinic nine months ago had any idea who he was or what he accomplished on the court before retiring in 2000 after 12 years on the pro tour, Courier replied: "They knew only what (Crockett) had told them and they weren't that impressed. ... They were really impressed that I did know Venus and Serena."