One tradition we were proud to continue was a trip to Orlando, FL for the American Tennis Association National Championships, July 25 – July 31.
The event is an extremely historic and special experience, and we’re excited to share a little more on the experience from Coach Omosesan (Sesan) Adebamgbe:
The American Tennis Association (ATA) is the oldest organized black-run sporting event in the United States. Tennis was a predominantly white sport that excluded minorities. With that, a dozen black-owned tennis clubs across the country met and organized in 1916 to create a national event for black players to come together and showcase their skills. Having been founded in 1916, ATA held its first national tournament in 1917 with a dozen black-owned clubs across the country. The event has run ever since, having many notable names pass through, such as Althea Gibson, Katrina Adams, Coco Gauff, and Arthur Ashe, just to name a few.
Having played in this event myself as a junior, I was extremely excited to join the players and parents as a coach supporting them at such a historical event. We had five players go down and represent LEGACY, Kamora Helton, Leah Thomas, Samir Mouzon, Royce Goodman, and Yaquin (Manny) Coit-Johnson. We had a very strong showing, both Royce and Leah won their draws, Manny lost in the finals, and Royce & Samir won the boys’ 14 doubles final. Even though Kamora lost in the first round, she had a strong showing against her opponents. Overall, this was a successful trip where the Legacy kids showed out and represented themselves and the center with class.
Leah won girls 14s, Royce won boys 14 B flight, Royce and Samir won 14s doubles draw. Manny made it to boys 14s final D flight.
Net Generation Kids on Court Experience – US Open
We are excited to announce that LEGACY has been selected to participate in the Net Generation Kids On Court experience at the US Open on Tuesday, August 30th, 2022!
We are sending kids ages 7-10 years old to the best tournament in the world! Our LEGACY group will have a 10 minute on-court Red Ball demonstration in front of the US Open fans before one of the major matches that Tuesday. After the demonstration, the kids will receive a free ticket to the US Open for the day.
