Community Tennis Association of the Year: Southern Crescent T.A.
Sharon Greiner, president of the Southern Crescent Tennis Association in Georgia, loves surrounding herself with passionate people. “We are fortunate to have a really good board of directors and league coordinators who are all committed to growth and open to new ideas that USTA is working hard to implement,” Greiner says. Commitment, dedication and growth are a few of the attributes that led us to pick Southern Crescent as RSI’s CTA of the Year.
For instance, to increase senior play SCTA introduced the QuickStart Tennis play format — with foam balls, lower nets and shorter racquets — to novice seniors. “During an introductory session,” Greiner says, “two ladies came to ‘just watch.’ But they never sat down. And an 81-year-old woman picked up a racquet for the first time after a 30 years.” The program was such a success, classes were moved to a church gym to accommodate the growing number of participants.
Another program SCTA embraces is the Adopt-a-Unit initiative implemented by the USTA Advocacy Committee, which connects CTAs, districts and sections with the armed forces to bring tennis to military personnel and their families. The association had a ‘packing party’ at a restaurant in Peachtree City, says Greiner. “We sent comfort items like candy and razors, while USTA national sent tennis equipment.”
“During the past 18 months,” Greiner says, “we’ve gone from running league programs to expanding our footprint in tennis in the surrounding counties.” The SCTA serves Fayette, Coweta, Henry, Clayton and Spalding counties.
“They’ve worked very hard on expanding outside the Peachtree City area,” says Dave Bain, director of leagues for USTA Georgia. “And their participation numbers reflect this.”
Tips for success
- Encourage leaders to do more. If they aren’t aware of your desired goals, they can’t carry them out.
- Appoint passionate people to chair projects and committees. It only takes one dedicated, passionate person to accomplish huge tasks.
- Persuade all CTA members to encourage their friends and family to get involved in projects.
See all articles by Robin Bateman
About the Author
Robin Bateman 
is the site coordinator for the Tattnall Tennis Center in Macon, Ga., where she coordinates tennis program and leagues, is a tournament director, serves as a team captain, and assists junior teams competing at district, regional, and section events.
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