Tennis anyone?

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Sarah Atkinson executes her forehand in a tryout session in March. | Andrew Garner - Star-News

In a little under a week, the Andalusia Tennis Association will kick off its summer tennis camp at the Lurleen B. Wallace Community College tennis courts.

The tennis camp will run from June 7-29, and July 7-22.

The price per child is $35 for the whole camp, and discounts for multiple children and scholarships are available.

The camp will be instructed by Andalusia High School graduate and Birmingham native Katrina Trotter, and assistant director Ginny Adams.

Trotter said the reason why she took the camp director position was because it presents a “great opportunity” when it comes to teaching kids tennis techniques.

“I thought it was a great opportunity to expand my abilities and pick up a tennis director position,” Trotter said in a telephone interview last Monday.

Trotter said she was contacted about the position approximately a month-and-a-half ago.

Originally, Trotter, who has parents that still live in Andalusia, was going to send her daughter, 2-and-a-half-year-old Azland, down for ballet camp.

“Since I was in Birmingham, I didn’t realize that there was so much involvement in Andalusia,” Trotter said. “I made contact, and they put me up with Ginny.”

Adams, who has been working for the past year on the camp itself, said she is looking foward to it.

“Right now, people are on fire for it,” Adams said. “The parents are on fire for it and the kids are on fire for it.

“I’m just looking forward to seeing what kind of turn out we have and how we reach the children this summer.”

Boys and girls ages 6-12, and 11-18 are encouraged to sign up this week before the June 4 deadline.

The 6-to-10-year-old age groups will meet on Mondays and Wednesdays.

The 6U quick start group will meet from 9 a.m. until 10 a.m.; the 8U group will meet from 10 a.m. until 11 a.m.; and the 10U group will meet from 11 a.m. until noon.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the pre-junior and junior tennis teams will meet.

Eleven-to-12-year-olds meet from 9 a.m. until 10:30 a.m., and the 11-to-18-year-olds meet from 10:30 a.m. until noon.

Adams said she normally has somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 kids participating in the camp.

And the main draw for holding a camp here in Andalusia?

“I just thought why send your kids some where else when we have the resources to do that here,” Adams said. “I’ve been working real hard this whole school year so my kids can have a chance to play in Andalusia. So, I’m really excited about it.”

Adams’ daughter, Mary Elizabeth “Sissy” and son, Will will be participating in the camp.

Both the QuickStart and Junior Tennis Team programs are run under the United States Tennis Association, the governing body of U.S. tennis.