Chandna EPATT 2

At EPATT, I served as a volunteer tennis coach. I coached small groups (usually 3-6 kids) of elementary and middle school students from disadvantaged communities, to help instill a sense of confidence, and sportsmanship and competitiveness. We usually took the kids through a warm-up where they did laps around the court and stretched. This warm-up sometimes involved running as well. We then ran the kids through drills and games, which we sometimes played with the kids.

It was really moving to get to work with these kids. I thought I would be able to connect with them easily being close in age to them, but I realized that their backgrounds are extremely different from mine. Some have siblings in gangs or have parents who do drugs, which is nothing like what I went through growing up in a rich neighborhood.

Another thing that I was happy to see was that a few of the volunteer coaches had gone through the EPATT program themselves and have become quite successful thanks to it. It was great to see that people were so impacted by the program that they felt it was well worth their time to give back and help another generation of EPATT students.

I’m glad I got the opportunity to teach these kids but also learn from them over the summer.