2016 Kay McDaniel Tennis Clinic Award Ceremony
Lee University will host its annual Kay McDaniel Summer Tennis Clinic, held at Lee’s tennis courts from June 5-9. Participants will have the rare opportunity to learn from former world-ranked professional tennis player, camp director, and Lee professor, Ms. McDaniel, along with 40 staff instructors.
Starting April 1, parents can register their children for the 2017 Tennis Clinic. With over 300 spots filled, less than 100 remain. According to Ms. McDaniel, the remaining spots will fill quickly.
The girls’ session will take place from 8-10 a.m. and the boys’ session will follow from 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. The free clinic welcomes children ages 6-13 and all skill levels are accepted, especially beginners.
“Each year I have devoted instructors who help me put on a spectacular event for these kids," said Ms. McDaniel. "Our main goal is to serve not only tennis but the love of God to every child. Not only do these kids learn to play a sport that can last a lifetime, but they learn that God’s eternal love lasts longer than a lifetime. The kids have so much fun that they never want the clinics to end.”
Many kids, after they turn 14 years of age, choose to still be involved in Ms. McDaniel’s clinics by being a junior instructor. Last year 50 juniors vied for the 30 coveted junior instructor positions. Ms. McDaniel said, “It delights me that so many kids had wonderful experiences at my clinics that they eagerly desire to give back to the game by offering their time and talents to the younger kids. They do a phenomenal job. I have the honor of getting to know some kids for 10-15 years.”
During the camp, Ms. McDaniel shares her inspiring story of how she overcame difficult obstacles in sports and in life. From age 11 she dreamed of becoming a professional tennis player. Even though no one in her family was athletic and Louisiana was not known for producing tennis stars, she envisioned a path to achieve greatness.
Her first tennis racquet was a Green Stamp racket which Ms. McDaniel collected over 10,000 stamps to obtain. Her mother sewed all her tennis clothes until age 15 when her achievements earned her tennis’ top sponsorships (Fila, Adidas, Tail, and Nike) that lasted throughout her career. Ms. McDaniel played #1 position for Louisiana State University and then went on to realize her ultimate dream of competing at tennis’ Grand Slams for six years against legendary players such as Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, and Steffi Graf. She rose to the top 35 in the world in singles and held a #20 world ranking in doubles.
Participants come from all over the state to learn. In 2016, over 25 cities were represented in the tennis clinics.
Prizes such as tennis grips, string dampeners, sweatbands, water bottles, posters, magazines, T-shirts and other items are given during the week. On the last day, an awards event takes place where four special prizes are allotted for the boys’ and girls’ sessions.
For more information about the clinic or to register, visit http://kaymcdanieltennisclinics.com/.