More Than Just a Game: Teaching Tennis & Learning Names

After a long winter and a spring full of preparation, it feels good to be back.

Counselors have arrived, staff training is underway, and the energy of summer is building by the hour. Though the boys haven’t arrived yet, the courts, fields, and cabins are already starting to feel like home again.

Over the next few days, we’ll be sharing moments from behind the scenes—snapshots of training week as our counselors get ready for the best summer yet.

We’re kicking things off up on the tennis courts…

Camp is nearly empty, but up on the tennis courts, voices echo through the trees.

“What’s your name?”
“Alex!”
“Diego!”
“Kent!”

Then comes the familiar thwack of a tennis ball hitting the court.

Training week is in full swing, and the tennis staff is getting a hands-on lesson from longtime tennis pro Dave Havasock. His mission? Teach counselors not just how to lead the tennis skill—but how to build real relationships while doing it.

That starts with one of the toughest parts of the job: learning names.

I love tennis and want to keep the flow going, says Kent, a counselor from Louisiana.
But it’s really challenging to learn so many names at once.

Kent normally uses nicknames to get by.
“Today I was encouraged to use each boy’s real name from the start. I’m going to do my best.”

Dave knows what’s at stake.

If you sit in a circle trying to learn names all morning, you’ve wasted a day of camp, he says.
I want boys moving, having fun, improving, and learning something.

He tosses volleys while asking names. He calls out names while hitting balls. It’s fast-paced, relational, and intentional.

Because in the end, this isn’t about perfecting a backhand. It’s about connecting.
It’s about making tennis fun.
It’s about counselors using their sport as a vehicle for trust, sportsmanship, and summer memories.

This might be the only week all year some boys play tennis, Dave says.
Make it good.