FORTVILLE — Reel them in with the fun.
The idea is to get the kids in the door, get them participating, and make it a fun experience for everyone. Then, maybe if all goes well, they’ll decide to stick with tennis and hopefully keep coming back, year after year.
That’s the plan at Mt. Vernon’s annual tennis camp, which was hosted by Marauders tennis coach Gabe Muterspaugh during the first two weeks of June.
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryIt’s a camp the coach has been running for more than 15 years, with kids from kindergarten through high school participating.
Like years past, this year’s version of the annual camp had a hefty focus on fun.
“It’s been great. We’ve had one class get rained out out of two weeks in June in Indiana. It’s been unbelievable,” Muterspaugh said. “No casualties, no broken bones, very few tears, lots of kids winning candy, prizes … lots of smiles all around. That’s what camp is all about.”
While the goal is to build a foundation while teaching fundamentals of tennis, the camp is filled with fun games and activities to help serve as learning tools.
There were several costumes worn during the camp, including Muterspaugh in a full “Incredibles” suit and one camper in a T-rex costume. That’s the kind of atmosphere the camp is all about.
This year’s camp saw 127 campers take part in the two weeks, ranging in experience, skill and age.
For the beginner division, Muterspaugh said that they focus on getting the kids a taste of success and building on that. They use soft, foam balls, and work on hitting the ball over the net — a net which is taller than some of the participants — along with teaching strength with the racket.
“Everything that we do out here is all about having fun,” Muterspaugh said. “If they learn one, two, three things about tennis and remember those the next year, awesome. If not, we start over and build again. It’s all about them saying, ‘Tennis camp is awesome. That was fun. We want to go back.’ That’s what it’s all about.”
For the fourth- through sixth-graders, because they already have a foundation built up with tennis fundamentals, Muterspaugh runs a tournament near the end of the camp.
It gives campers a taste of competition, as they are allowed to choose whether they want to participate in singles or doubles matches — and they can change and get a taste of both — while competing against their peers.
It’s meant to be fun and competitive, but there is a very important lesson to be learned from the matches.
Something Muterspaugh values above all else as a high school coach is sportsmanship. He makes sure that lesson is taught in his camp.
“That has always been a focal point here at Mt. Vernon,” Muterspaugh said. “We treat other teams with respect. There’s a way to win, there’s a way to lose. You battle as hard as you can but you shake hands when you’re done and say, ‘Good match.’
“Out here right now it’s about competition, but it’s not about the wins and losses. It’s about learning to play the right way.”
Back for more
Some of the campers were attending the Mt. Vernon tennis camp for the first time. Some of them keep coming back, year after year.
Newcomer Eli Lemmon, 9, happened to try tennis with some friends over spring break this year. He enjoyed the game and wanted to learn more, so he asked his mom if he could try playing more and attend the camp.
“It’s been great,” Eli said. “This is really my first time I’ve ever done tennis and I didn’t know what to expect, but it’s been a lot of fun.”
Another first-time camper, Manny Downs, 11, got his first taste of tennis with his family.
One day, the family went to the park and played tennis together. Much like Eli, Manny said he liked the experience so much he asked his dad if he could try it more and maybe go to tennis camps.
He said he enjoyed the competitiveness of playing in the tournament, both singles and doubles matches, along with all the fun activities the camp had. And it was an experience he got to share with friends, old and new.
“I made a friend on court two; his name is Brandon,” Manny said. “A few of my friends I already knew are coming here, too.”
He liked the camp so much, he’s planning on coming back. He also said he’s hoping that a middle school tennis team is created — he really wants to keep playing competitive tennis and doesn’t want to wait until high school.
It wasn’t all newcomers at the camp, though. Both Eli and Manny said they want to return to the tennis camp in the future. Tori Parham, 11, can understand that feeling.
She’s been coming to the camp since she was in first grade.
“It’s fun because we play games, but also it teaches you how to do tennis better,” Tori said. “They teach you the basic hits and everything and help you improve and work harder. It’s really fun. I keep coming back every year.”
She said she one day hopes to be like the teenagers who help Muterspaugh run the camp. She, too, plans on returning next year.
“I love tennis and I love to improve,” Tori said. “Every year I get better.”
Molding the future
With more than 100 campers involved, Muterspaugh can’t direct the camp on his own. He leans on current and former Mt. Vernon tennis players to help him.
This year he had countless people assisting, including just-graduated senior Olivia Spicer, who Muterspaugh said was his second in command and invaluable to the camp.
But it’s not just about helping him run a camp. There are countless benefits to those who help him keep things running smoothly.
They get several hours a day with tennis, from playing it and helping teach it, sure, but it’s more than that.
“The good thing I see, more important than tennis for them, is the interaction with the little kids,” Muterspaugh said. “We’re trying to mold them into being good citizens, so this is a great step. I let them take their courts and be responsible for their players. It transcends to being leaders on the tennis team.”
One of Muterspaugh’s players, Alexis Lane, who played doubles this year for his sectional-winning girls team and will be a junior in the fall, decided to take part in the camp this year.
She didn’t attend the Mt. Vernon camp when she was growing up so she said she was a little bit nervous going into it. She said it’s been a great experience that she’s loved being a part of.
A large part of the camp is teaching players to be responsible for their own games, calling their own shots in and out. She enjoyed the teaching aspect, along with the joy the campers get from the game.
“Just watching when they win, when they win their tournament match and get super excited about it, and they are learning about how to call the balls out and they know all the rules now, I think that’s the best part,” Lane said. “They are getting prepared for the future.”
Reece Powell, who also will be a junior this fall, also took part in the camp for the first time. He was the Marauder boys No. 3 singles player last season and is in the mix for the No. 1 spot this fall.
He, too, is glad to have taken part in the camp.
“It was worth it. It’s been really fun,” Powell said. “It’s been nice getting to help little kids and see how they improve throughout the week.”
He sees the personal benefit to helping out with the tennis camp beyond his own game.
“It gives me experience dealing with kids and helping my tennis game, and it’s a good time,” Powell said. “It helps me get to know more people in the community.”
Building foundations
The last piece to the tennis camp puzzle for Muterspaugh is one more focused on the future of area tennis programs.
He had current high school players from Mt. Vernon, Pendleton Heights and Greenfield-Central all attend the camp this year, working on their games during the high school portion of the day.
That helps his team, sure. It helps Hancock County and other area players, too, which he said is a benefit to all to have them grow stronger and develop their games more.
With some of the repeat campers, he can start to see talent and skills stand out. That has helped the Marauders teams over the years. For example, this year, No. 1 singles player Alaina Nelson, No. 2 singles player Lydia Ruegsegger and No. 2 doubles player Maeve Laughlin all attended the camp at the same time when they were younger.
Muterspaugh said back then that they would be stars for his program. He was right.
He reeled them in with fun. He got them to stick around, as has been the case for so many campers thus far.
“We’ve had numerous kids through the years, probably hundreds, that have been in our camp and then played in high school,” Muterspaugh said. “For them to stick with tennis makes us a stronger program.”