Tennis court renovations complete; Parents’ Group meeting recap

The completion of the tennis court was the main emphasis at the most recent Parents’ Group meeting, which was held on Tuesday, October 4th. The replacement process began the first week of August and was completed and ready for use on September 29, 2016 after some delays due to the rain.

Already, the tennis court is being put to good use by the students from the Lower School and After School tennis club which normally meets after school on Tuesdays.

“It’s been great for the kids because they can run around on the court without having to worry about getting injured due to the cracks that were in the old court,” said Coach Dean, who has been running the after school club for the past 10 years. “It’s also been great for us as instructors because we can have the students work on certain aspects of their game without worry.”

In addition, several cadets who compete on the Upper School tennis team in the spring have used the court for individual practice.

Nikita Zinovyev ‘19, who is a seven-day boarder from Russia, has competed in several junior tournaments on the United States Tennis Association since arriving here in the U.S. to attend Farragut three years ago. On the weekends, the third-year Farragut varsity team member has had a coach come to campus to instruct him.

A couple weekends ago Nikita played on the new surface for the first time and he thoroughly enjoyed it.“It was awesome,” said Nikita, who made it to the region tournament for Farragut last season. “I could practice doing several different kinds of shots and spin control without having to stress out about the cracks and bumps of the court. I could run side to side and to the net and back without having to worry about spraining my ankle. The surface is great. The ball bounces off of it nicely and it just makes it very enjoyable to play on it now.”

“It was awesome,” said Nikita, who made it to the region tournament for Farragut last season. “I could practice doing several different kinds of shots and spin control without having to stress out about the cracks and bumps of the court. I could run side to side and to the net and back without having to worry about spraining my ankle. The surface is great. The ball bounces off of it nicely and it just makes it very enjoyable to play on it now.”

Coach Key said having the new courts allows him to conduct many of his physical education classes near the Lower School without having to take the students across campus to the gym.

“It’s especially valuable because I can monitor where everyone is while they are exercising,” said Key, who has been at Farragut since 2002. “In addition, they are able to do the different exercises on the court without being scared they might trip and fall due to the cracks and bumps that were in the old courts.”

The other main point of emphasis at the Parents Group focused on the upcoming Scholastic Book Fair, which will run from October 10th through October 14th. There is also a special family evening event on Thursday, October 13th from 5:30-7:30pm which will include refreshments and reading on the Student Center deck.

The book fair has a pirate theme this year and the parents group has secured donations from The Pirate Ship at John’s Pass. In addition, Miss Beverly made a pirate ship for display.

On Thursday, Parents’ Group president Denise Colangelo and Media Center specialist Susan Morris made their rounds around the Lower School in pirate garb to promote the book fair.

Other points of emphasis at the meeting included:

• Discussing volunteer opportunities and procuring donations for events like the golf tournament on October 21st at the Pasadena Yacht & Country Club and Annual Parents’ Group Auction on March 4th, 2017 at The Club on Treasure Island.
• Developing a strategy to create more Upper School events.
• Creating surveys to see what students and teachers need and want.

For more information about the parents group and how you can get involved, please visit the parents group Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/863635447075318/.