Tennis club gives free
lessons to local adults
SPECIAL TO
THE CHRONICLE
A series of free adult
beginner tennis lessons,
"Beginners' Bash," is being
offered by Winston-Salem
Tennis Inc. (WSTI) as part
of its efforts to widen the
base of people enjoying the
game in the city and sur
rounding area.
The free program
allows any individual over
the age of 18 to participate
in the free tennis instruc
tion. Participants complet
ing at least one session also
are qualified to have their
first round of local recre
ational league play covered
by WSTI. "Winston-Salem
Tennis is so very excited to
offer this program in part
nership with NC Tennis. It
means a lot to us to be able
to introduce people in our
community to tennis and to
provide professional
instruction at no cost," says
Robin Ervin, president of
WSTI. "We are thankful to
everyone at NC Tennis for
giving us this opportunity
for our community." The
next session of the
Beginners Bash begins
Saturday, Sept. 10.
Sessions are held every
Saturday for six weeks
from 9:30-11 a.m. Register
at tennisliss@triadxr.com.
Ervin says there are no
specific requirements or
qualifications to participate
in the program which is
being held at Hanes Park
tennis center and taught by
local teaching pro John
Worsley. Worsley took up
the sport of tennis at a
young age, but began to
take it seriously during his
second year at Winston
Salem State University. He
says he became engrossed
in the sport after meeting
long-time Wake Forest ten
nis coach Jim Leighten. He
i A
credits the legendary David
Lash for his love of com
munity tennis. "1 didn't
play my Hrst year because I
wanted to be a regular stu- .
dent. But like all young
people that play sports, I
wanted to be a pro athlete,"
he says, letting out a quick
chuckle. "I had Joe Willie
Namath on my wall and I
thought I could be Arthur
Ashe but was really no
where close. But I just
loved tennis."
"The only requirement
is that you want to give ten
nis a try. If you need a
racket, we have one for
you. If you are a little nerv
ous about coming alone,
bring a friend," said Ervin.
"We just want to remove all
the barriers anyone inter
ested may have to partici
pating in a sport that you
can play at any level for a
lifetime." Brenda
Livingston, a member of
Local teaching pro John Worsley, right, trains a Tennis for Life participant.
the first group of partici
pants, confesses to being a
bit skeptical at first, but
says any reservations she
had quickly evaporated as
soon as the program start
ed. "1 was a little nervous at
first because I had no real
previous experience and I
didn't know if I would be
the only one like that," she
says. "But as soon as 1 got
there I found that everyone
was just like me and want
ing to learn tennis and the
people involved in the pro
gram were so willing to
teach me and help me. It
has been an awesome expe
rience. 1 have gained skills
and it has helped me keep
physically active and I
have improved my tennis.
I am seriously looking for
ward to the next sessions."
"We are so excited about
the opportunities to partner
in community tennis. John
just gets it. He understand!
what it means to be able tc
introduce people to tennis,'
says Ervin.
"He has been so active
with Winston-Saleir
Tennis' Young Folks Tennis
for decades. We appreciate
and congratulate him or
what he is doing and we
certainly look forward tc
having him as a partner.'
Robin Barksdale Ervir
contributed to this report.
Forsyth Blind Bowlers win big in national contest
Photo provided
Mike McBee of
Forsyth Blind
Bowlers at national
awards in Tampa,
Fla.
SPECIAL TO
THE CHRONICLE
The Forsyth Blind
Bowlers (FBB) won sever
al awards in the American
Blind Bowling Association
National Tournament in
Tampa, Fla. FBB bowls on
Saturdays at Creekside
Lanes in Winston-Salem at
10 a.m. The bowling sea
son starts Sept. 10.
There were over 260
individuals from across the
country that competed in
this year's national tourna
ment, which was held May
26-29. Bowlers in this
tournament are placed in
three categories based on
their vision: Total, Partial,
or Sighted. The group had
winners in every event.
Team event winners:
2nd place Strike Force:
Tanya Wilson, Mike
McBee, Scott Searcy, and
Patrick Milwauke
4th place Kings &
Queens: Tani Wilson,
Roderick Wilson, Valarie
Westmoreland and Jerry
Mintz
Masters Team Event
Sighted Category:
2nd place: Renee
Brown, Mary Townsend,
Jerry Mintz, Brent Penn
Double event win
ners:
2nd place: Tanya
Wilson and Mike McBee
5th place: Valarie
Westmoreland and' Scott
Searcy
Individual event win
ners:
Total category:
6th place Shaun Cabell
Partial category
3rd place Valarie
Westmoreland
8th place Tanya Wilson
All events Total cate
gory:
7th place Shaun Cabell
and Sandy Gaddy
All events Partial cate
gory:
3rd place Mike McBee
Gold Medal winner
All Events Scratch: Mike
McBee
Many of the bowlers
received a grant from
Challenged Athletes
Foundation to help cover
the expense for attending
National Competitions.
For more information, visit
www.challengedathletes.or
g
The Most Valuable Players of the 6- to 10-year-old
Summer League were Isaiah Rogers, left, and Yazir
Wilson.
Submitted photos
The 2016 Hants Hosiery 6- to 10-year-old Summer League Champions Wolfpack pose for photo.
Hanes Hosiery 6-10-year-old Summer League
BY ADON1JAH MCPHERSON
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
Multi-talented point guard Isaiah Rogers set the tone
with his leadership and play. Sharp-Shooting teammates
Yazir Wilson and Ian Coleman led the scoring as the top
ranked Wolfpack defeated the Tarheels 21-14 to win the
Hanes Hosiery 6- to 10-year-old Summer League
Championship Game. Rogers, who was last year's Most
Valuable Player, took home the trophy yet again and
shared his MVP honors with Yazir Wilson.
Coleman, Wilson and Rogers were on the Hanes
Hosiery All-Tournament team. Joining them were
Tarheels' MVPs Cameron Kelly and Immanuel Sugat.
Kelly, Sugat and Jaquez Dennis led the Tarheels in scor
ing.
Hanes Hosiery director. Coach Art Blevins, was again
very pleased with this summers' turnout, which featured
10 teams and 121 players. Registration for the Hanes
Hosiery Winter League will begin in November and prac
tice starts after Thanksgiving.
For more details call Art Blevins at 336-727-2428.
Local football player named 17th in the nation
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
Local athlete KJ. Henry has
recently been named 17th in the
nation by ESPN top 20 list of high
school football overall positions
for the class of 2018. Henry, 6'6
225-pound, junior at West Forsyth
High School starts his school year
with many highlights. Not only has
ESPN listed him, but Rival.com
has listed him at #2 in the nation
for his position,Defensive End
and #1 in this position in the state
of NC. With no decision in sight,
right now Henry has well over 25
D1 college football scholarship
offers from schools like Ohio
State, Clemson, Alabama, UNC,
Michigan, Notre Dame and
Wisconsin just to name a few.
Even though Henry played most of
the summer on NBA Chris Paul's
basketball team, he did make time
to attend invitational football
camps like the NFL Prep Academy
in Canton, OH and Rivals.com
underclassmen camp in Atlanta,
GA. Henry is high in his academ
ics, a Crosby Scholar, volunteers
many hours in his community and
is a member at Union Baptist
Church.
Henry