By Karen Ronney
Tennis, food and fun were present when the Morongo Basin Tennis Association kicked off its 2023 Social Challenge Team Series recently at the Palm Desert Country Club. It was a great experience for juniors that are just learning about competition.
This event is part of a series created by Head Coach Al Sanada, who leads adult and junior programming at Morongo Basin Tennis Association (MBTA).The organization offers free youth lessons twice per week for families or individuals, once they join MBTA for a fee of $40 per year. Additionally kids receive a free tennis racket after signing up. Scholarships are also offered, and fees can be waived. No child or family is turned away.
The Southern California Tennis Association Foundation is proud to be a community sponsor for the Morongo Basin Tennis Association.
“The Morongo Basin Tennis Association does a fantastic job of bringing tennis to the Yucca Valley and Twentynine Palms,” said Linda Milan, the Executive Director of the Southern California Tennis Association Foundation. “They help players of all ages and from all walks of life. We are happy to support their mission.”
Children ages 8 to 16 play on Wednesdays and Saturdays weather permitting and Coach Al’s commitment has helped about 30 juniors get ready for match play. Last week, about 10 juniors traveled to the Palm Desert Country Club where they played a combination of fun singles and doubles. It was a free event to all participants and their families.
Top finishers were Eve and Kyrie Powell, Kevin Stewart and Tomi Toyama, the latter who plays for Twentynine Palms High School. After the tennis matches were completed, all enjoyed a lunch of pizza and drinks provided by Coach Al while parents contributed fruit and desert.
“Tennis is great for your health and it’s social too,” said Coach Al Sanada. “We want everyone to get involved and enjoy the sport. We are grateful for the support from the SCTA Foundation for helping us make this happen.”
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About Southern California Tennis Association Foundation – Founded in 1986, the Southern California Tennis Association Foundation is a 501c3 nonprofit organization and is the charitable arm of USTA Southern California. The Foundation’s mission is to “Change lives and build communities through tennis.” Since 2020, the SCTA Foundation has had a community impact of giving over $1million in tennis grants and tennis scholarships to deserving youth, adults, tennis organizations, tennis facilities and tennis programs to make tennis an equal opportunity sport, accessible to all, regardless of age, ability, ethnicity, or economic background. Visit us on Social Media on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. To learn more about the SCTA Foundation go to: www.sctafoundation.org. To donate go to: sctafoundation.org/donate/.
