Rockford to start free USTA group tennis lessons, drills at Rockford University
Rockford’s tennis community is fractured into several smaller sub-groups.
One man will set up a group of 4.0-level and above players for the best recreational players in town. Another is at mostly the 3.5 level, the most popular level for USTA league play. There are a couple of different 3.0 groups, plus women’s groups and mixed doubles groups.
Bret Schrama wants to bring all these groups together, starting 4:30 p.m. Sunday, July 16, on Rockford University courts. Both to welcome more would-be tennis players and also, if there is interest, to form United States Tennis Association teams that can compete against other towns and try to win state, regional and national titles.
But the main goal is simply to get more people playing the sport and helping people improve their games and make more tennis friends so they have people to play with.
“In Rockford, it sounds like there are a lot of people who are looking for competitive play, but not on a steady basis,” said Schrama, a tennis service representative for USTA Midwest for all districts in Illinois except the Chicago area. “We could do that very easily.
“There are a lot more players in every town that we don’t know about.”
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Schrama learned that in his first group in Peoria. He started with three players at the 3.0 and 3.5 levels attending his free clinics when COVID restrictions were lifted in 2020. By the end of the summer, he had 60 regulars in that group. And another 60 in an advanced 4.0 and above group.
“I pushed people to bring more the next time they came and to spread the word and bring me names of people that were interested,” Schrama said. “That’s what they did. Every time they came, they brought someone more.”
The same thing has been happening in Decatur. After six weeks, Decatur now has 60 players in Schrama’s group. He will now start in Rockford on July 16, from 4:30 to 6 p.m. at Rockford University. It will be a free gathering with instruction, drills and doubles play and many players in the local tennis community acting as volunteers.
It should be a weekly event for the rest of the summer. There is also talk of adding a second night. Players can fill out a form on their tennis skills in advance to help Schrama know how to best serve them.
“Every day is going to be the same idea: Get players out there and make sure that it is fun,” Schrama said. “It will depend on who is there, not only our leaders but the players, to determine what we exactly do each week, but we can play up-and-down doubles where you change partners every seven or eight minutes and have a lot of drills and games that everyone can play, from the lowest to the best players.
“All I ask is keep it moving fast and have fun. What more can people ask?"
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Danny Beeman, the head professional at Boylan Tennis Center, has been working with Schrama and thinks his efforts are a great way to welcome new players to the game.
“It’s great to have a regular open community meeting where everybody is invited at all levels,” Beeman said. “Especially people of less experience or who haven’t played regularly lately. It should be very helpful.”
Here are some other ways to meet more tennis players and expand your tennis friend group in the Rockford area:
Lessons with Larry
Larry Campton, president of the Beloit Tennis Association, offers free group lessons at 6 p.m. five nights a week during the summer. And he brings his lessons on the road. Mondays he is at Guilford Center Park at 5762 Guilford Road in Rockford. Tuesdays he is at Hononegah High School. Wednesdays he is at Wooten Park in Beloit, Wisconsin. Thursdays are behind the football field in Winnebago. On Fridays, he is at Read Park in Freeport.
“I don’t like to teach tennis. I love to teach tennis,” said Campton, who has been giving free lessons for 40 years and is also available for private lessons at $25 an hour.
Tennis open house in Sycamore
The Kishwaukee Tennis Association invites anyone to play at Sycamore High School from 5 p.m. until dark on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the summer. No one has to call ahead. Or know anyone before they come. People just pair up and play and switch after every set. If there is an odd number, the people sitting out rotate in as soon as one court finishes its set.
“We want to be as welcoming as possible,” said Samantha Hathaway, the group’s treasurer. “We don’t want to create any barriers for people being on the court. We have people willing to hit with brand-new players. If you have never played before, we will hit balls with you and help you get better at it.”
Tournaments
Rochelle, Sycamore and Janesville have started low-priced local tournaments in recent years, while Freeport has held a city tournament for over 107 consecutive years. All four tourneys are low-key and fast-moving with a lot of matches, either round-robin or double-elimination. Freeport's tourney is for anyone who works or lives in Stephenson County and is held at Read Park with singles matches on July 22 and doubles on July 23.
Rochelle holds singles on July 29 and doubles on July 30, with divisions from 6th grade to 60 and over. The cost is $25 plus a can of balls for each event you enter. To play, email kristyeckardt@hotmail.com or lcartwright@rthsd212.org. In its first three years, it has grown from 20 players to 73 players from 25 cities playing 150 matches last year.
Janesville's adult doubles tourney is on July 29 at Palmer Park. The cost is $25. Enter here.
Sycamore held two tournaments last year, one in the summer and another in the winter.
Contact: mtrowbridge@rrstar.com, @matttrowbridge or 815-987-1383. Matt Trowbridge has covered sports for the Rockford Register Star for over 30 years, after previous stints in North Dakota, Delaware, Vermont and Iowa City.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Growing tennis in Rockford: How to meet more players, get free lessons
