FELLSMERE — The run-down and neglected tennis court across the street from Fellsmere Elementary will soon get a new life thanks to the U.S. Tennis Association. New surface, new paint, new net – and a renewed emphasis on recruiting new players from among the young and Hispanics.
More than 80 percent of Fellsmere’s population is Hispanic, which is “off the charts,” according to Janet Sprague of USTA Florida.
It’s the main reason why Sprague recommended Fellsmere’s to be one of a handful of courts in the region to be targeted for improvements. The region Sprague represents includes Indian River, St. Lucie, Martin and Palm Beach counties.
“We serve all regardless of finances,” Sprague said, noting that some communities have the financial resources to support tennis on their own while other communities struggle.
Lake Worth, in Palm Beach, and Indiantown, in Martin, are two other towns the USTA Florida has identified as having a need for renewed tennis programs.
“Every community is different,” Sprague said.
Sprague is familiar with Fellsmere, having worked with the Girls Scouts in Indian River County and volunteered with a friend at the Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission in Fellsmere years ago.
Five or six years ago, Sprague said she recalls walking the tennis court at the corner of N. Cypress Street and Colorado Avenue.
“It’s an old, decrepit court,” Sprague said at the time – it hasn’t improved over the years.
The USTA national office has approved more than $5,000 to renovate and refurbish the crumbling court.
Along with a new surface, the court will be painted in ways that allows both adults and children to play with differently-sized playing surfaces.
Adults will be able to play normally, using the current north-south orientation of the court. Two youth courts will be painted with an east-west orientation over the adult court’s lines.
Portable nets will be available to make the youth courts usable.
“It was a real blessing,” Fellsmere City Manager Jason Nunemaker said of Sprague approaching him and the city about taking on the tennis court project. “For our part, it was a no-brainer.”
The tennis court has been in existence for decades, according to Nunemaker, but the city lacks a traditional parks and recreation department to maintain it.
Instead, the Public Works Department handles maintenance of all the city parks. With tight budgets, the city looks for partnerships and donations to keep recreation going.
To that end, the Fellsmere Frog Leg Festival Inc. committee has been hosting an annual event to raise funds for the city’s recreation.
The 2014 festival will support improvements to the Little League ballfield and the nearby basketball courts.
The city is also working on a master plan for the Marian Fell Library campus just to the north of the tennis court. Nunemaker said he hopes to tie in the tennis court and the neighboring handball court into the Marian Fell Library plan.
“There’s nice symmetry there,” he said.
As for the tennis court itself, Nunemaker said it does get used – just not in the manner it was intended.
It and the handball court are sometimes used by those practicing their soccer skills.
“If they’re getting something out of it, it’s all good,” Nunemaker said.
Sprague said the original plan was to have work on the tennis court done by Oct. 1.
However, there was a bit of a delay in securing funding from the national USTA. She now expects the court to be done later in the month and be ready for the public’s use in November.
A grand re-opening ceremony is expected to follow later.
Fast-Dry Courts will perform the work, which should only take three or four days, depending on weather, according to Sprague. The company has done several other projects for the USTA Florida.
Sprague plans on doing more than just rehabilitating the court, though.
She’ll work with the community to establish a 10-and-Under youth program with a USTA-paid instructor running the once-a-week program to identify a volunteer mentee to keep the program going once the paid time is up.
Sprague said it is crucial to find volunteers willing to learn how to manage such programs.
“We want this to be a community effort,” she said.
Sprague plans on going to Our Lady of Guadalupe and the Boys and Girls Club, located nearby at the Old Fellsmere School in search of volunteers.
She hopes to tap into the church to bring out more Hispanic tennis players.
“We have certainly fallen down with that population,” she said of the USTA effort to reach all segments of the community.
Sprague said she’s not concerned that Fellsmere’s residents will let the tennis court go to seed again, and let the programs go with it.
“Once you get the tennis bug …,” she said, it doesn’t let go. The plan is to hook this current generation of children, establishing a tennis tradition. “Once they see it, they’ll never want it to be the way it was before. It’s their court.”
While funds for the court rehabilitation and the temporary program coordinator have been secured, Sprague said USTA Florida would appreciate other sponsorships or donations to help fund tennis equipment and additional programs.
Anyone interested in learning more about USTA Florida’s project, getting involved or donating, is encouraged to call or text Janet Sprague at 561-385-7399 or email [email protected].
They can also visit USTA Florida’s website: www.florida.usta.com.
