
Callie Shroff has been playing tennis since elementary school. She earned her first varsity letter during her freshman year at Summit High School. During the summer after ninth grade, she went on a tennis-oriented service trip to an island in the Caribbean that was devastated by a hurricane and then impacted by COVID.
“The country was suffering and many of the schools and play areas were badly damaged,” Callie, who is currently a junior, told New Jersey Family. “As part of our service trip, we visited all of the local elementary schools and taught the kids the basics of tennis. Together with a local non-profit tennis academy, we also hosted free clinics after school for anyone who wanted to learn more.”
Callie said that for many of the kids, it was the first time they ever held a racquet. “It was very rewarding to see how much the kids enjoyed their time with us, and how their confidence grew during the sessions as they learned new skills and opened their eyes to new possibilities for life,” she says.
Callie said that during the service mission, she realized how sports are a great way to connect a diverse group of people, how exercise is an important part of overall physical and mental well-being and one’s confidence, and how important “in real life” connections are, especially after the isolation of the pandemic.
“When I returned from the service trip, I immediately started working to create a program to benefit my economically diverse hometown of Summit. We have a lot of underserved families and Summit Serves brings them together with the objectives of building confidence, community and connections,” she says.
Summit Serves offers free, teen-led tennis clinics for underserved elementary-aged kids. The clinics are held weekly at the Summit Rec Center during GRACE’s free grocery distribution. Callie has recruited 12 other teen coaches from across the Summit and Millburn varsity tennis teams to help with the clinics. Over 65 elementary school-aged kids have participated in one or more of the clinics.
“Participating in Summit Serves benefits both the kids who participate and our volunteer teen coaches by growing confidence, community and connection,” Callie says. “We’re giving the kids a fun, judgment-free way to try a new sport while making some new ‘in real life’ connections with older kids that boost their confidence and remind them they are part of a community.
“For the volunteer teen coaches, I believe they’ve created strong connections with some of the kids and have gained a better appreciation for the many families in our community who are struggling economically,” says Callie, who will serve as varsity captain of Summit High’s tennis team this upcoming fall season when she’s a senior. “It also helps the teen coaches build confidence as we realize we can positively impact others through the sport we love.”
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