A $4,768 USTA Florida Section Foundation grant helped the Fetch Community Tennis Pathway serve 52 new players across two Miami parks, with a plan for what happens after the first lesson.
Plenty of programs can get someone onto a court once. The Fetch Community Tennis Pathway was built around a harder question: what happens the week after.
Go Fetch Foundation ran the program from June through early October at two Coconut Grove locations, Armbrister Park on Tuesdays and Thursdays and the Kirk Munroe Tennis Center on Mondays and Wednesdays. A $4,768 Program Support Grant from the USTA Florida Section Foundation helped fund it. Fifty-two participants came through at a cost of $25 each, all of them new to tennis.
Starting from Zero
The sessions were built for people with no background in the sport. Participants worked on movement, coordination, racquet control, rallying and basic point play, using age-appropriate equipment and drills designed so that nobody spent their first hour feeling lost.
This summer’s six-week youth program drew 25 kids, 18 of whom had never played tennis before. The tone seems to have mattered as much as the instruction.
“Loved this class. Well organized. I haven’t played in 20 years so I’m very rusty but everyone from the instructor to the members were very graceful with me and supportive,” said Diana, who attended the Grove clinic. “Definitely recommend and will absolutely return.”
Another participant at the Armbrister Park clinic put it more simply: “Try it out, it is so so worth it! Great community!”
The Pathway Part
The program’s name is a statement of intent. Go Fetch tracked not just how many people showed up, but how many kept playing, and seven participants moved into ongoing Fetch programming after their introductory sessions.
The organization is candid that it wants that number higher. Its own evaluation flagged the need for stronger follow-up with families about continued participation, and future cycles will include earlier outreach and clearer communication about scheduling and weather procedures. Rain interruptions were the program’s main operational challenge.
That willingness to measure the hard number rather than the flattering one is what makes a pathway different from a clinic.
“This grant has helped us do exactly what we set out to do, get more people on the court and make tennis feel accessible to the community,” said Garrick Adams, founder of Go Fetch Foundation. “It’s given us the ability to introduce new players to the game while creating opportunities for them to keep playing and growing with us.”
Why the Foundation Funds This
Program Support Grants are the USTA Florida Section Foundation’s primary tool for getting tennis into communities that want it and need help paying for it. The funding covers on-court instruction, equipment, coach training and general program support, with priority given to youth tennis, adaptive tennis for players of all ages and abilities, and programs serving under-resourced communities.
Go Fetch plans to continue the classes beyond the grant period, funded through participant fees, sponsorships and fundraising, and to build partnerships with schools, youth organizations, parks and local businesses.
Since 2005, the Foundation has delivered more than $2.5 million in community impact, supporting programs at more than 120 organizations across Florida.
That funding comes from individual and corporate donors, the Foundation’s recurring donor program, the US Open Experience fundraiser, and Florida’s “Play Tennis!” specialty license plate.
Applications for Program Support Grants open in two cycles each year. Learn more at ustafloridafoundation.com/apply-for-grants, or support programs like the Fetch Community Tennis Pathway at ustafloridafoundation.com.
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