Love and Love Tennis Foundation introduces east valley youths to tennis with free clinics

Two-time International Tennis Hall of Famer Rosie Casals won 112 professional doubles tournaments during her lengthy career, the second most in history behind Martina Navratilova. Casals still recalls what sparked her interest in tennis at a young age.

"My dad started playing recreational tennis at Golden Gate Park, and one day I bugged him enough to take me," said Casals, a Palm Desert resident. "I started hitting balls and soon enough he started to coach me, then I never looked back."

Now 73, Casals went on to win nine Grand Slam women's doubles titles during her lengthy career and had 12 runner-up Grand Slam finishes. But Casals knows it wasn't easy.

"Coming from the wrong side of the tracks, I was so much better than anybody else, and I beat them even though I didn't have the clothes, the rackets," Casals said. "I didn't have what they had."

Based off her own upbringing, Casals and her Love and Love Tennis Foundation wants to help spread tennis throughout lower income communities by providing easy and affordable access to the sport, access that she did not have when she was a young girl.

The LLTF is introducing east valley youths to tennis by partnering with Indio and Coachella Valley high schools this summer. The high schools are hosting free tennis clinics for children ages 7-17 throughout July.

These clinics are taught by Casals and the high school coaches. They begin at 8 a.m. and go for 75 minutes. Fila sponsors the clinics that are held at Indio High School on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and at Coachella Valley High on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

"We want to get more kids playing tennis," Casals said. "We want to get the east valley involved."

Casals and the LLTF aim to make tennis more accessible for lower income families as they understand that for many the sport can be expensive.

"The foundation gives a grant to the schools for uniforms, transportation, expenses, whatever they need," Casals said. These grants help to alleviate some of the financial pressure tennis puts on these families.

"Out in the valley, not many kids are able to play tennis," Casals said. "Unfortunately, it's still expensive."

Indio High School head tennis coach Mike Nolasco sees these clinics as a great opportunity for kids around the east valley.

"Some of these people come from low income families, some can't afford lessons, so it's great to be here and teach," Nolasco said. "When Rosie reached out to me, I was like I can't miss this opportunity."

Nolasco's athletes think the same way.

"It's a great way to attract people to tennis, especially out here in Indio where it's not as common," said Jacob Verdell, a senior tennis player at Indio High.

The clinics consist of hands-on coaching, and the goal is to introduce students to the basics of tennis. While learning the fundamentals can be tough at first, many of the students start getting the hang of it by the end of the clinic.

"Tennis is a lot of fun, especially in the summer time when the kids don't have to worry about school," said Abby Bravo, the godmother of one of the youths at the clinic. "It's healthy, stimulating, and even inspiring to become a tennis player, even if it's just for fun."

Casals and LLTF do not plan on stopping here either.

"It's great that we can provide free instructions, I'd like to do that a lot more. We're working on creating programs with the high school tennis teams in different locations," Casals said. "Last year we had Desert Hot Springs, Palm Springs, Cathedral City, they're in areas where it's needed."

For more information about the Love and Love Tennis Foundation, visit their website at lovelovetennisfoundation.com or call (760) 772-9411.

Youths still interested in participating in clinics at Indio and Coachella Valley can still sign up. For information about Indio, contact Miguel Nolasco at miguelnolasco@desertsands.us or call (760) 529-1686. For information about Coachella Valley, contact Tho Duong at duong@cvusd.us or (760) 399-5183 and Larry Salas at isalas_1951@hotmail.com or (760) 398-6302.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: LLTF offers free tennis clinics for the East Valley