On March 20, 2011, I had the great opportunity to visit The Longfellow Club in Wayland, MA for the event ACEing Autism. It was such an incredible experience to teach children tennis.
When I first arrived, I helped the children to warm up with guiding the running and jumping exercises on the court. We then proceeded to develop our hand-eye coordination skills with rolling the ball and balancing the ball on the racket. One of the games "Walk the Dog" consisted of rolling the ball with the racket until the ball hit the net. I then showed the children how to perform volleys at the net and groundstrokes at the service line. Additionally, we played Red light/Green light.
When a few of the children needed a break, I went with them to stand at the sideline. The parents watched through the viewing window and also assisted me in encouraging their child to rejoin the group.
It was so much fun to teach these children tennis and see the joy that they experienced with learning new skills. Thank you to the staff of The Longfellow Club for welcoming me and allowing me to play with these very special kids. I also want to thank The Boston Volunteer Meetup Organization for putting together this wonderful event for me.
