Upstate Tennis Serves Local Elementary School Kids
11/17/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The USC Upstate men's and women's tennis teams participated in a community service project today at Lone Oak Elementary School just down the road from the Upstate campus.
Members of the tennis teams spent the afternoon with the participants of Lone Oak's after school program. The Spartans set up six separate activity stations in the elementary school's gymnasium. Each station was manned by a pair of Upstate tennis players, leading the second, third, fourth and fifth graders through each activity.
"Sometimes our players can get stuck in a little bubble on campus being athletes, so it's great for them to break-out of that bubble and spend time with these children," said Upstate head tennis coach Oliver Trittenwein. "It's good for our athletes to see that they do have something they can give back."
After each grade-level had completed every station, the Spartans introduced themselves individually. With international athletes from both the men's and women's tennis teams, the children were intrigued with all of the different accents. According to Trittenwein, spending time talking to the children is also an excellent way for the international Spartans to work on their English speaking skills.
"It was great to have the Upstate tennis teams come and spend time with the kids," said Lone Oak P.E. teacher Kari Walker. "The kids love getting to spend time with college athletes and it's such a positive experience for them."
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