OKLAHOMA CITY (Sept. 16, 2012) – Oklahoma Christian’s women’s and men’s tennis teams hope to follow up in the coming months on a community service program sponsored by coach Kris Miller.
Miller, who’s also a professor of biology at OC, served as a faculty sponsor for Eagle Fest, a student-led charity fundraiser held this past April. That program helped raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s Oklahoma City-based Sooner Chapter.
OC tennis players were deeply involved with that project, and during the 2012-13 academic year, they want to continue with what has become a program tradition of performing community service, said Maxim Salitra, a new student assistant coach who was on the men’s tennis team the past few years and served during the 2011-12 academic year as the OC Student Government Association’s treasurer.
OC’s men’s team won the 2012 NAIA title and the women’s team reached the NAIA semifinals. That sort of success gives the teams a high profile that should be used in a positive fashion, Salitra said.
“I think that with being national champions, there is more responsibility and we have to serve as role models for the community,” Salitra said. “We are not a big school, but we are a team that accomplished a lot and received a lot. We were fortunate to play college tennis, get scholarships, travel and get our academic degrees. Some kids are not as fortunate, and it is our responsibility to provide them with the right guidance and educate them on how to be successful, whether as an athlete or just as a college student.”
OC’s teams have spent time during the past two NAIA national tournaments conducting tennis clinics at schools in Mobile, Ala., where those tournaments were played.
“During the national tournament in 2012, the day before playing our semifinal match, we went to a Catholic elementary school and provided PE lessons in tennis, both in the gym and outside,” Salitra said. “We did it for three hours to four different classes, with an average of 20 kids per class.
“Before each class we sat them down and talked about what being an athlete means. We talked and explained them about responsibly, sportsmanship, respect and leadership. Afterward, we opened it for a discussion with the kids so they could say what they think these things mean. We wanted to teach them these important values which can benefit anyone in life, whether you’re an athlete or not. After, we took each class and gave them tennis lessons in groups. They had a blast!”
The teams conducted similar clinics, working with Mobile-area school kids, during the 2011 national tournament.
Salitra said although details haven’t been finalized for tennis team service projects for this school year, team members “plan to be involved in mentoring programs at some of the Oklahoma City Public Schools and do other charity work for organizations that need our assistance the most.”
