New Visions & 15 Love Launch First Tennis Program for
People With Developmental Disabilities
By Audrey Etkin, Physical Therapist, New Visions
On March 14, 2011, New Visions, an organization that has worked on behalf of people
with intellectual and other developmental disabilities for 60 years, launched the first-ever
New Visions Tennis Program at Sportime in Schenectady, New York. This new and
exciting opportunity is offered to any New Visions program participant.
The New Visions Tennis Program was organized by Audrey Etkin, a New Visions
Physical Therapist, in conjunction with 15 LOVE, a co-offered program of the Capital
Region Youth Tennis Foundation and Sportime. The collaboration of these three
organizations provides New Visions’ participants the unique opportunity to experience
the benefits of tennis for the first time ever.
The mission of this program is to provide year-round tennis instruction and training for
people of any age with intellectual and other developmental disabilities, giving them
continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, improve body movement skills,
increase self-esteem, experience joy and participate in the sharing of skills and friendship.
Participation in sports brings significant benefits to people with developmental
disabilities of all ages and abilities. Tennis is a popular sport played at all levels of skill
and by all ages of players. For individuals with developmental delay, tennis provides the
same benefits it affords to people without disabilities. Tennis offers many benefits
compared to other sports, including the fact that it is a non-contact sport, a life-long yearround sport, anyone can play regardless of gender, age, fitness, or ability, and tennis
builds balance, hand-eye coordination, agility, fitness, body awareness, spatial awareness,
concentration and focus within a framework of fun and social interaction. Learning to
keep score teaches abstract math skills and builds short-term memory. Tennis strategy
teaches split-second decision-making and strategic thinking. It emphasizes values such
as fair play, sportsmanship and respect for fellow competitors. Tennis is not only fun to
play, but can be a lifetime sport activity that is fun to practice and fun to learn.
The 60-minute tennis lessons are designed to build basic skills. The New Visions group
consists of 12-14 players. The lessons are taught by an experienced pro with assistance
from the New Visions clinical staff of physical, occupational and speech-language
therapists. Our participants include individuals with the following diagnoses; Autism,
Downs Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, Aspberger’s Syndrome, mental retardation, profound
hearing loss, schizophrenia, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD),
Congenital Rubella Syndrome and Anxiety Disorder.
Playing tennis provides the following benefits to the New Visions program participants:
· Physical: Improves total fitness, balance and coordination, agility, cardiovascular
fitness, range of motion strength and endurance
· Helps to develop eye-hand coordination
· Enhances body awareness and movement skills
· Mental: Tennis teaches concentration on particular tasks. Knowledge of skills, rules
and strategy all apply. Individuals learn to acquire increased self-esteem,
self-confidence, and pride.
·Social: Tennis facilitates opportunities to make new friends and acquaintances,
teamwork, interaction with peers and people, offers opportunities to travel and learn
about other places and interests and increases community awareness and acceptance.
In addition to the tennis program, New Visions, a New York State leader in service
provision for people with developmental disabilities since 1951, currently offers
educational, habilitative, rehabilitative, vocational, recreational and residential programs
and services to over 600 people and their families in the Capital Region. New Visions
strives to promote the principles of responsible choice, personal satisfaction, inclusion
and meaningful individualized opportunities through personal empowerment. New
Visions has joined the United States Tennis Association (USTA) as an organizational
member and hopes to benefit from grants offered from the USTA to grow the program in
the future.
Audrey Etkin, Physical Therapist, is a graduate of Russell Sage College with a Bachelor
of Science degree in Physical Therapy. Audrey has 29 years of experience treating
patients in many different settings including owning her own outpatient physical therapy
office in Delmar, New York, consulting at assisted living facilities throughout the Capital
Region and consulting for New Visions for 15 years. Audrey’s love for tennis developed
when she played in high school. Her husband Steve is a tennis teaching professional who
owns his own tennis academy in Clifton Park, New York and who has been a captain for
USTA Junior Team Tennis for 15 years. Audrey’s older daughter played Division I
tennis for the University at Albany and her younger daughter is currently on the varsity
tennis team at Shenendehowa High School.
The New Visions tennis pro is Domingo Montes, Program Director of 15 LOVE. The
program, founded in 1990 with the help of tennis legend and humanitarian Arthur Ashe,
provides free tennis and basic life skills to more than 1,000 inner city children throughout
the year at 19 sites across the Capital Region. 15 LOVE, a program of the Capital Region
Youth Tennis Foundation uses tennis as a medium to reach its greater goals; it teaches
self-respect, honor and discipline, promotes multicultural relationships, exemplifies the
benefits of healthy living, good health and fitness, education and instills good
sportsmanship. The 15 LOVE program was named one of the "Top Community Tennis
Associations" in the United States by Tennis Week magazine. 15 LOVE teaches “what it
takes to succeed in life, while helping them learn what it takes to succeed on the tennis
court."
Sportime is an organization in New York that offers sports, fitness and fun to the local
community. Operating 13 clubs across Long Island, in New York City, in Westchester
County and in the Capital Region, Sportime strives to provide their members with a
welcoming and comfortable environment. We thank Philippe Ceas, Director of Tennis,
for believing in our program and arranging our weekly court time.
Audrey Etkin, Physical Therapist at New Visions, can be reached at (518) 935-4530, or
via email at amept@nycap.rr.com For more information regarding New Visions or our
programs and services, please contact Margie Sheehan, Director of Communications,
Public Relations and Development, at (518) 935-4334 or via email at
msheehan@newvisionsofalbany.org