QuickStart PRO . . . Coach Nicole's Excellent Adventure with Cumberland Elementary School Students
June 2013

QuickStart PRO is a pilot program that is taking professional tennis resources to rural counties in central Virginia. QuickStart is taught to summer school students during the school day. This is the second summer for Cumberland Elementary School. This year's session is in the capable hands of Nicole Parker, a "veteran" QuickStart PRO who taught in Buckingham County last summer. She is a member of the Longwood University's Women's Tennis Team and an Elementary Education major. Last year Nicole worked with QCV Board member Rich Michaels in nearby Buckingham County. This year, she's on her own!

Nicole will be documenting her experiences in Cumberland County this summer. Read and ENJOY!

For more photos, please visit Cumberland County Public Schools' Facebook Page. Click here.

Week One -- Day One

First Day of Summer School and I was so excited to meet the 104 students that I will be working with. 104, yes that is what I said, but to ease everybody's nerves, not all 104 students showed up today. Maybe that is because it was the first day of Summer School and they forgot or maybe they didn't show up because it was raining this morning and they just wanted to stay in their PJs and relax all day. 

This is my first year all alone (without Rich) so I was a little nervous but once the first group of students came in, it was a breeze and it felt like it was exactly what I was suppose to be doing. Students after students poured into the gym and as we were doing some balancing games, a few of the teachers jumped in and started challenging their students. It was awesome to see the teachers participate in the activities as well.

The day went by so fast and before I knew it, my last class was entering the gym ready to play some tennis. Before we started doing some balancing games and some tap-ups, we sat in a circle and I got to know the student's names and a fun fact about themselves. After everyone went, the students wanted to go around again saying their favorite sport or sports, so I agreed and some of the students were brilliant to say that there favorite sport was TENNIS! Those children have an awesome brain and made my day! 

I can't wait to see what tomorrow has in store with me as well as the rest of the week! :)

Week One -- Day Two

Can anyone say STINKY? I sure can. My students were working up a sweat today and they were loving every moment of it. Seeing my students smiling and having a good time just makes my day a lot easier and a lot more fun. 

Today, there were a few more students than yesterday and I am assuming there might be even more students tomorrow. The only problem with that is, I have the worst time remembering all of these student's names. Of course I can remember some of them, but others I draw a complete blank. I told the students that my homework was to try so hard to remember their names by the end of the week . . . we will see how that goes.

I had this awesome idea for when the students came in. There is a big blue line that goes around the whole gym, so I had the students stand on the line pretending it was a bridge and the wood was water and if they fell off, they would have to swim back to the bridge. I was the line leader and we first had to jog on the bridge (blue line) then skip then walk them hop then jog then skip again until we did two complete laps. The kids were laughing so hard and having a great time with this. If they fell off, it was so funny to see them pretending to swim back to the bridge. I only did this to get their heart rates up and trust me it worked because I sure was tired after doing this with four out of my five classes.

The main word of the day was "COMPETITION." We did two competitions today and competing against me and their teachers and their friends was something the students were so excited about doing. We had a competition with tap-ups and tap-downs and some students even beat me . . . I may have or may not have let them win, but seeing their faces when they beat me or their teachers was complete joy to my heart. One student did 82 tap-ups. You don't have to believe me, but its true because she challenged me when it happened and I made sure to do 82 tap-ups as well and then miss the next one so we would tie and then she would have to try to do more. Okay so with tap-downs, the student who did 82 tap-ups was not so victorious with tap-downs, but another student was able to set the record for the day with a record 75 tap-downs. I have no idea how these students are doing it. Maybe its because of my awesome teaching skills, not to brag or anything!

Seeing these students having FUN with what I was teaching them is my ultimate job because I want them to like playing tennis, so making up games and playing them is the best way to do that! For tomorrow, I asked my students to go home and think of some fun games to play for class. We will see what interesting games I get from them in the morning.

Can't wait to tell you what happens next! Talk to you soon and pray that the games that the students come up with are actually games we can play with a tennis racquet and a tennis ball! :)

Week One -- Day Three

Week one is almost over! I can't believe this week has already flown by. I told my students yesterday to go home and think of some fun games we could play, but they had to be games that dealt with tennis. I was so surprised to hear that so many of the students went home and actually thought about a game that we could play as a class. As I was walking around talking to the students this morning at breakfast, they were telling me all of their ideas!

The students loved the bridge warm-up (the blue line is the bridge and everything else is water) that I decided to do it again today to get their heart-rates up and to get their bodies warm since it is a bit chilly in the gym. Instead of having me telling the students to run or jump or skip, I had the first person in line be the leader. The sound of students laughing and having a good time is like music to my ears.

It was time for a relay race. Wait just a minute, I know that the kids just ran three laps around the gym, so this relay race is not one where you have to run. This relay race is called the "Koosh Ball Relay Race" and it deals with balancing the ball and passing the ball to the next person in line, but wait there is a catch, you can't use your hands! Kids love relay races and they sure did love this one. I did have a few kids get upset because they did not win, but the teachers decided to deal with that!

Self-Rallies were the main concentration for the day. The students did so well with the tap-ups and tap-downs that I knew they were ready to do this. Was I right? Well, for some of the students I was right, but others still needed a little help with it, but the more practice they get the better they will be. We then turned to self-rallies with partners and this was crazy. Balls were flying everywhere but the students were enjoying it so much that I let them have their fun.

I ate lunch with Ms. Adam's class today and the topic at the table was "Transformers." I learned so much about the figurines and all the action moves that they do. When lunch was over I never got so many hugs in two minutes before. The kids kept telling me that they were so excited to see me tomorrow and that a lot of them wanted to come back after lunch to play tennis.

Not only am I having a wonderful time, but it seems like the students are as well!

Week One -- Day Four

Wow, can you believe how fast this first week went by? I only have one week left with these students. Okay that is making me a little upset. They have learned so much, but not only are they learning they are improving each and every day. I had a few students come up to me throughout the week and say "Nicole, guess what I did last night?" and I would always try to guess. For instance I would say, "Play video games or go swimming," but they would always respond as, "I practiced what you taught me last night at home so I could show my mom and dad!" Now, how would that not make your day or even your week. Hearing that some of the students are really enjoying tennis this much to go home and practice and show their parents and siblings is amazing and brings joy to my heart!

On Day Two we did some challenges and everyday since then, the students want to do challenges. This weekend I am really going to have to try and come up with some good games that they can challenge their friends with since they are all asking me everyday if we are going to be challenging one another. They all get upset for a second but then when I tell them we are going to hit against the wall, their faces light up with smiles!

So hitting against the wall it is! Today I taught the students how to hit forehands, I know it's a big step but they are ready for it, and backhands. Now, not all the classes got to do backhands because the time flew by, but that is what Monday is for! Once I demonstrated to the students how a forehand was hit properly it was now their turn to show me what they got! I was amazed at how well all of these students did. The teachers were coming up to me saying, "Nicole can you believe this, they are doing a great job!" Hearing how excited even the teachers were to see their students succeed was awesome!

I let the students hit against the wall for a few minutes and then I pulled a few students at a time to come over with me and at this time I was going to be tossing the ball at them and they were going to have to hit it off of one bounce. It was so cute because the students would step up to the line and say, "Nicole, I got my flashlight ready!" "Flashlight" is just the bottom of the racquet, but I told them to make sure they were pointing it at the direction they wanted it hit it :) It is very difficult to hit a ball that is coming at you but these students are naturals!

Watch out USTA, Cumberland County has some new and upcoming tennis players! I can't wait to see how next week goes with the nets up on Monday!

Week Two -- Day One

It is already week two for Summer School Tennis. Can you believe it? It is going by way to quickly. The nets are up and let me tell you the students knew before they even walked into the gym. How they knew I have no idea, but they were so excited to start hitting over a net because they were telling me that tennis is not tennis unless you hit the ball over a net. So, they might be right, but they had to learn the basics before I could put the nets up and they did an awesome job of learning the basics of tennis. 

I was amazed at how well each class did with hitting forehands over the net, but I was especially thrilled with how Ms. Diaz's class did. Jeffrey was on one side of the net and I was on the other and he and I had an eight ball rally. He was so excited, but I think Ms. Diaz and I were even more excited. Not only did Jeffrey and I get into some good rallies, but Swalha kept on beating me. A student is not suppose to beat the teacher, but she did. Look out everyone, Ms. Diaz has some amazing tennis players in her class.

The students had partners today and were to to drop the ball and hit the ball to their partners in correct forehand form. Their partners were to catch the ball with their hands, and then pick up their racquets and do the same thing. I told each class that if they were doing well with their forehands that we would play a game called "Jail." I know the name does not sound to good, but kids love and let me tell you my students have already asked me if we could play it again tomorrow!

I am getting a little sad to know that this is the last week, but I am going to spend every last second with these students that I can and make it fun not only for them but for me

Week Two -- Day Two

Hello everyone.  It's Coach Rich.  I found my computer!  Wait - that sounds too much like the opening line of Buckingham County's Day Eleven blog from last year.  But maybe what's past is prologue.
 
Anyway, Nicole called last night and asked if I could fill in for her today.  I agreed.   Asked her what was on the agenda and she said backhands - the one-handed variety, my specialty.
 
Introduced myself to the kids in each class by saying, "Good Morning.  I'm Coach Nicole.  Or you can call me Miss Parker".  To which more than one kid said, "No you're not".  Just testing to see if Nicole has taught the kids to pay attention to the basic details.
 
Backhands went more smoothly this year than last, I thought.  Maybe it was because quite a few of the kids I taught last summer were back again.  In any event, the teachers in EACH class participated in helping out on-court, something I found most helpful..
 
How timely that one-handed backhands were the event du jour?  Why wasn't it just yesterday that Belgium's Steve Darcis beat Spain's Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon?  In three straight sets, Nadal's first loss EVER in the first round of a Grand Slam Tournament.  And Darcis has - a one-handed backhand.
 
According to Nicole, volleys and serves remain on the to-do list.  And there are only two days left of summer school.  But I have full faith that Nicole can get through these remaining skills.  And from all accounts I've heard, Nicole's been doing GREAT!



Week Two -- Day Three

I am back and am so glad to see all the students again. Don't feel extremely better but I am up and moving again! We only have one more day until Summer School Tennis is over but have two more things to accomplish...serves (which are the most important) and volleys (which are so easy that I know the kids will nail them). 

So I decided to focus on serves for the most part of the day. I first sat down with the kids and told them what we had to do and that I needed everyone to be on their best behavior because I needed to get both of these things done and once I told them that, they were so good and ready to listen. We first worked on the toss of the serve, which was a little challenging to some because they did not like using their opposite hand to toss a ball up in the air. I had the students hold their racquets in their hands but then put it behind their backs so they would not hit the ball. I did this to make sure that they were using their other hand to toss the ball. Kids are sneaky and I caught those kids who were holding the racquet in the wrong hand just to toss the ball with the hand that they were more comfortable with. I have to say there were a few students who were crying because they were so frustrated, but the more and more they practiced, the easier it became to them.

Next it was time to actually hit the serve over the net. I had to demonstrated the serve first and then the students were allowed to get a partner and serve it to them over the net. While they were practicing their serves, I pulled a few students at a time to work on volleys. "Miss Nicole, these volleys are so easy." That is what I heard from almost all of the students today. Yes, they are easy and that is why I did not spend a lot of time on them. Once I finished getting around to everyone with volleys it was time to go.

One more day :( I can't believe that the time has flown by so quickly. I have really enjoyed myself here at Cumberland County and don't want to leave, but in the Fall I will be doing my Partnership at Cumberland County Elementary School, so I am hoping that I will see some of these same students again!

Week Two -- Last Day

I have to admit that I had a few tears in my eyes today. It was bitter sweet and I can say that I have never had so many hugs in one day before. The students were so excited to come to tennis because we did challenges the whole time. The first challenge we did I separated them into two teams and I stacked three racquets and their challenge was to get 10 balls on the racquets without them falling. So many students were getting frustrated and I must say some cried, but then when they finally got it all the tears went away and all I saw were smiles. 

The next challenge was called "Clean the Court" and the teams stayed on opposite sides and I put 15 balls on each side and when I said "Go" the students had to throw the balls over the net to the other team and when I say "Stop" the team with the least amount of balls on their side of the court would be the WINNER. This went on for two minutes at a time. Let me just say I was exhausted for just watching them do this. Normally one team always won, but in one of my classes, the first time they did this, they tied. You know what that means, "Clean the Court" again.....they were so tired after the first round, but they got it together and worked hard.

Then their favorite game of all "Jail." Jail is a game that I played as a child and these students enjoyed it as well. The boys got a little rough and I had to sit some of them out, but for the most part they were all having fun. It is now time to go but before I got the chance to pack up all the equipment, all the classes came back and we sat in the bleachers for one last group picture! I can't wait to see these students again in the Fall when I do my Partnership at Cumberland County Elementary School!

See you soon!