July 2008 -- Tennis Success Inc., like its founder, has proved that it can do more than survive under pressure; it can turn the score around.
Ronald Elizondo, founder and director of this nonprofit corporation, was once a promising young player in Corpus Christi, Texas. But off court he hung out with a bad crowd - gang members. One day when they wanted some quick cash, he suggested a familiar place - the H.E.B. Tennis Center - as a target.
At 17, Elizondo was sent to county jail for robbing a tennis center employee at gunpoint. Today he is grateful to those who stood by him. His grandmother, who had raised him, hired a lawyer and helped him avoid a prison sentence.
Also in his corner were some caring USPTA Professionals, including the late Dr. Shelby Torrance, of the Al Kruse Tennis Center, and her daughter, Susan Torrance, as well as Bob Mapes, Steve Denton and Ken de Koning, who visited the teenager while he was in jail for eight months.
Their guidance, he said, was a "huge motivation" for him. After he got out of jail he went back to high school, played on the tennis team, and even made it to the district finals. For the next few years after graduating, though, he stayed out of tennis, worked odd jobs, and lost hope - until he realized what he had to do.
"I wanted to give back to my community because I didn't want those kids going through what I went through at such a young age," the 33-year-old Elizondo said. "Also, I saw some kids competing in high school tennis and they couldn't hit the ball over the net" because they didn't have proper instruction nor the means to take private lessons.
So Elizondo started Tennis Success in 2000 with help from his wife, Teresa. The former junior player is back at the 21-court H.E.B. Tennis Center, this time offering free lessons to inner-city children ages 8 to 18.
He also conducts after-school tennis and education programs, using portable nets, in two Corpus Christi elementary schools.
Tennis Success began with 24 kids, his personal van for taking players to out-of-town tournaments, and $3,800 worth of donations from the tennis community. Elizondo wanted to raise $10,000, but said the shortfall inspired him to work even harder.
Elizondo's fellow teaching pros recognized him with the USPTA Star award in 2004. In 2005 he also received approximately $10,000 to participate in a Hispanic Outreach Pilot Study through USPTA and USTA.
Tennis Success now benefits from $120,000 a year in grants and proceeds brought in by the director and the participants themselves. The young players hold barbecues and other fundraisers in order to be able to travel to tournaments.
"We currently have 120 (participants) per week with the after-school program; 60 compete consistently," Elizondo said. "We have 40 advanced kids at the H.E.B. Tennis Center four days a week, 59 students playing competitively in high school, and 34 in middle school tennis. Eighty-five percent of the kids started from scratch, never having played in their lives."
Elizondo has presented USTA assemblies and introduced the game of tennis through P.E. classes at the local elementary schools, and several hundred of those kids have gone through the Tennis Success program since its inception.
This past school year, five students made it to district and advanced to the regional level of University Interscholastic League competition. "Eight years of hard work is paying off," the director said.
In addition, some of the players compete in USTA tournaments. Premier Tennis Academy trains several of the program's Super Champs and Champs players free of charge.
Elizondo believes academic achievement is every bit as important as success on court.
Tennis Success currently offers a tutoring program for elementary and middle school players, but Elizondo's goal is to hire a full-time educational director to help establish a successful after-school educational program for the high school students.
"I want every kid that comes to Tennis Success to graduate and go to college," he said. "We have four kids that graduated from Tennis Success that could have played Division II college or junior college tennis but didn't have the grades. So it is my biggest dream to make this happen for our organization and for our kids to become successful in life.
"I never thought this program would grow this big and be so much work, but I enjoy every moment of it, especially watching kids compete in tournaments or against each other," Elizondo said.
"The most rewarding thing is seeing the kids being part of a family and taking care of one another," he said. "The kids don't wait for the program; they call each other to play tennis or just hang out and go to the movies or bowling. I didn't have that growing up."
For more information on Tennis Success, contact Ronald Elizondo at 361-739-9241 or TennisSuccess@aol.com.
