Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2010

Tennis teaches on court, in dorm

Lauren French.

Remember that name.

She's barely 13 years old, has been playing tennis just two years, and is already blazing a trail.

She's in the eighth grade at North Raleigh Christian Academy, where she has made her varsity tennis team, and she recently returned from the biggest tennis adventure in her life as a participant in the National Junior Tennis Learning network's Southern Region Leadership Camp in Jackson, Miss.

As it happens in many families, Lauren followed her brother into tennis, and as she practiced volleying with him, she realized she could not only hit, but was able to track the balls that bounced into her court.

Unlike other sports and activities she had tried but didn't like, tennis stuck.

"I started playing soccer when I was little, but I got bored with it," she said. "Then I tried cheer and dancing, but I felt I was too athletic for those activities."

Tennis hooked her, and she started taking lessons at the Millbrook Tennis Park, where her coaches helped her build strength and accuracy. She also is a member of the Seven Oaks Pool and Racquet Club in North Raleigh, and plays as much as possible.

"Tennis is Lauren's gift," said her mother, Ann. "She's so much fun to watch. The way she moves is like she's dancing."

Lauren's talent aside, her mother allows she has no grandiose expectations for her daughter.

"I just hope she will get the chance to play in college," Ann said.

Lauren got a big taste of college life when she and 20 other junior players moved into a dormitory at Jackson State University on July 29 for four days of leadership development and tennis lessons. Although her dad drove her on the 13-hour journey to campus and stayed in a hotel nearby, her experience was the first time she had spent that much time away from her family alone.

"I had been to overnight camps before without my family, but alone in a dorm? That far away from home? No," she said.

She was glad her dad stayed in town, but was proud that she never needed to call him.

The U.S. Tennis Association's NJTL network is a nationwide group of community tennis organizations that work to help develop character in young people through tennis and education.

The NJTL camps are available to kids 12-14 who demonstrate talent, good sportsmanship and self-esteem.

Lauren's coach, Dale Luke, nominated her.

"Lauren's a real nice person. She's very serious about tennis and just as serious about her school work," Luke said. "She's also attentive and executes instructions better than anyone else."

Lauren didn't know why she was nominated or how she was chosen, but that doesn't matter to her.

"It was fun. I met a lot of girls, and I liked all of them," she said. "I took everyone's contact information and plan to keep in touch."

Lauren's experience at camp also helped her grow in ways she never expected.

The NJTL leadership camps are set in a multicultural environment, another way campers can experience campus life.

"Part of the NJTL camp's mission is to give kids a real college tennis experience," said Yasmine Osborne, diversity, grants and NJTL manager for the USTA Southern Section. "They stay in dorms, eat dorm food and play on the college courts. They find out what it's like to be a collegiate athlete."

The USTA Southern Section includes nine states. Most of the campers with Lauren were from Mississippi. She had never been to the Deep South, and thrived in that environment.

For the first time in her life, Lauren was in the racial and cultural minority.

"Most of the kids at the camp were African American, and I was the only white girl," she said. "I felt strange at first, and now I know what it feels like to be a minority."

She enjoyed learning about her new friends and the places they live. She particularly enjoyed her roommate, Cyan Jones, from Greenville, Miss.

"My roommate came very prepared," Lauren said. "She brought food, drinks, entertainment, everything - and she offered a lot to me."

Lauren's days at camp were spent taking classes in communication, nutrition and tennis.

"I was always secure in my own world, and that's not what the world is really like," she said. "I am glad for the experience."

The game of life

Lauren's independent spirit should come as no surprise to anyone who knows her. It shows in her love of tennis.

For Lauren, serving up a game of tennis is like serving up a little piece of life.

"Really, I like tennis because of the way the game is played, with no reliance on others," she said. "Being in control is what the game is like. Your opponent gives you the ball and it's up to you to decide what to do with it."

Just like real life.