Kay McDaniel with participants at the 2019 Kay McDaniel Tennis Clinics
Lee University will host its 29th annual Kay McDaniel Summer Tennis Clinic at Lee’s tennis courts June 1-5. Participants will have the rare opportunity to learn from former world-ranked professional tennis player and clinic director, Ms. McDaniel, along with 45 staff instructors.
Starting April 1, parents can register their children for the 2020 tennis clinics. The first 500 entrants are accepted. However, over 350 spots have already been filled. The remaining spots will fill quickly as participants from all over the state come to learn from Ms. McDaniel. Last year 30 cities were represented at the clinic.
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. This free clinic welcomes children ages 6-13, and all skill levels are accepted. Beginners are encouraged to attend.
“It is such a joy to see so many kids flood Lee’s tennis courts for a fun-filled week,” said Ms. McDaniel. “Even though ‘love’ means ‘nothing’ in tennis terms, it means everything in my clinics. 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.”
During the clinics, Ms. McDaniel will share her inspiring stories of how she overcame difficult obstacles in sports and in life.
From age 11, she dreamed of becoming a professional tennis player. Her first tennis racquet was a Green Stamp racket, which Ms. McDaniel collected 5,000 stamps to obtain. Her mother sewed all her tennis clothes until age 15 when her achievements earned her tennis’ top sponsorships (Fila, Tail and Nike) that lasted throughout her career.
Ms. McDaniel was ranked #1 in the nation as an amateur. She 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 top 20 world ranking in doubles.
For 26 years, Ms. McDaniel has been a professor at Lee in the health, exercise science and secondary education department. For the last three years, she has advised Lee students to find their career paths and coaches students on how to successfully overcome obstacles.
Prizes such as tennis grips, string dampeners, sweatbands, water bottles, posters, magazines, T-shirts and other items will be given away during the week of clinics. On the last day, an awards event will take place where four special prizes are allotted for the boys’ and girls’ sessions. Parents are encouraged to attend all week.
For more information about the clinic or to register, visit http://kaymcdanieltennisclinics.com/.
Kay McDaniel presenting one of her skirts from her pro days as an award to the “most promising” girl at the 2019 tennis clinics