When 33-year-old Kamau Murray first told his parents he wanted to buy out and take over the Chicago tennis center, where he took up the sport that eventually earned him a full-ride college scholarship, they thought he had lost his mind.
But his parents helped him along the way regardless, and now he has turned his gamble into a successful program, XS Tennis. Its facility in the city's Kenwood neighborhood on the South Side has gradually outgrown its humble five-court space since Murray took over in 2008.
That's because the facility hosts hundreds of Chicago Public School students learning the sport, in addition to collegiate teams and Murray's star pupil, 18-year-old Taylor Townsend. The fast-rising star captured the nation's eye when she made an impressive Grand Slam debut at the French Open and defeated a player ranked 20th in the world. Townsend was then ranked 205th in the world and has risen to 108th in the less than four months since.
XS Tennis is now recognized as the Midwest's largest minority-owned tennis club.
With that success, Murray is hoping to expand to offer youth on the South Side of Chicago more access to the sport he loves through a new $9.8 million, 112,000-square-foot, 27-court tennis village. (An extra push for the move comes from his lease ending and the facility's current building going on the market.)
"I'm trying to salvage opportunities on the South Side. It was not intended to become this big, but now it's just too good to stop," Murray recently told HuffPost. "If I let it close, there would not be a single place south of Roosevelt [Road] to play tennis in Chicago. I don't think that's fair. That's how it is in the rest of the country, but not how it will be in my city."
The new tennis village will be located on the former site of the Robert Taylor Homes in the Washington Park neighborhood. It is already on its way to becoming reality, despite facing some initial skepticism about investing in that area.
The land has been purchased, the zoning has been finalized and tennis legend Billie Jean King has lent her support to the effort. Murray is now working to raise the last $1 million needed before they can break ground on the facility.
(Story continues below.)
Billie Jean King (center) with Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Kamau Murray at the May 2014 announcement of the new tennis village. (XS Tennis/Facebook)
All of that flies in the face of critics who, like Murray's parents before, questioned the coach's plan to build a giant tennis center focused on minority players where one of the nation's most notorious public housing failures once stood. Some have suggested he focus instead on moving his facility to a wealthy part of the Chicago area, a tony suburb such as Winnetka or Burr Ridge. But Murray is determined to stay put.
"People think I'm crazy putting tennis courts [there]," Murray explained. "We'd make a lot more money in the suburbs, but the access will be here. Our focus needs to be on creating opportunities for all types of kids."
Others have pointed out that as many as a dozen other tennis programs have tried what Murray is aiming for and, largely due to financial issues, have come up short.
Of course, Townsend's success has also been helpful in silencing critics. She splits her training between Chicago, where she began playing and first met Murray at the age of 6, and Washington, D.C., where she trains with former Wimbledon runner-up Zina Garrison.
Taylor Townsend, who spends part of the year training at XS Tennis and was born and raised in Chicago, faced off with Serena Williams at the U.S. Open last month. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Ranked No. 1 in the world in the junior division in 2012, Townsend burst onto the Grand Slam scene this year, reaching the third round in the French Open. She earned wild-card berths to participate in both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open -- where she lost to Serena Williams, the tournament's eventual winner, in the first round last month.
Another statistic also quiets the critics: A total of 22 XS Tennis players have earned full-ride college scholarships, and the organization's free in-school tennis program serves 2,000 CPS students annually.
Murray compared the effects of his pupils' success to that of the Jackie Robinson West youth baseball team, which earlier this year won the U.S. championship at the Little League Baseball World Series. Given his program's growth, he hopes other minority tennis clubs across the country will duplicate the model he's created and spread the sport to black neighborhoods.
"Taylor is a living, breathing example of what is possible if you have access," he said. "And she should not be the last kid to make it out of the city of Chicago [in tennis]."
Besides easing the worries of potential investors, Townsend's rise has had a major impact on other young players training at the center.
"Her success makes other minority kids believe in the process they're going through and believe that even if there's not a lot of success early on, they can see what's possible," he said. "They can say, 'Wow, I'm OK with the process. I'm OK with not waking up and being a champion.' It's about showing up every day and putting the work in."
from Chicago - The Huffington Post http://ift.tt/YZBSSd
via IFTTT
But his parents helped him along the way regardless, and now he has turned his gamble into a successful program, XS Tennis. Its facility in the city's Kenwood neighborhood on the South Side has gradually outgrown its humble five-court space since Murray took over in 2008.
That's because the facility hosts hundreds of Chicago Public School students learning the sport, in addition to collegiate teams and Murray's star pupil, 18-year-old Taylor Townsend. The fast-rising star captured the nation's eye when she made an impressive Grand Slam debut at the French Open and defeated a player ranked 20th in the world. Townsend was then ranked 205th in the world and has risen to 108th in the less than four months since.
XS Tennis is now recognized as the Midwest's largest minority-owned tennis club.
With that success, Murray is hoping to expand to offer youth on the South Side of Chicago more access to the sport he loves through a new $9.8 million, 112,000-square-foot, 27-court tennis village. (An extra push for the move comes from his lease ending and the facility's current building going on the market.)
"I'm trying to salvage opportunities on the South Side. It was not intended to become this big, but now it's just too good to stop," Murray recently told HuffPost. "If I let it close, there would not be a single place south of Roosevelt [Road] to play tennis in Chicago. I don't think that's fair. That's how it is in the rest of the country, but not how it will be in my city."
The new tennis village will be located on the former site of the Robert Taylor Homes in the Washington Park neighborhood. It is already on its way to becoming reality, despite facing some initial skepticism about investing in that area.
The land has been purchased, the zoning has been finalized and tennis legend Billie Jean King has lent her support to the effort. Murray is now working to raise the last $1 million needed before they can break ground on the facility.
(Story continues below.)
All of that flies in the face of critics who, like Murray's parents before, questioned the coach's plan to build a giant tennis center focused on minority players where one of the nation's most notorious public housing failures once stood. Some have suggested he focus instead on moving his facility to a wealthy part of the Chicago area, a tony suburb such as Winnetka or Burr Ridge. But Murray is determined to stay put.
"People think I'm crazy putting tennis courts [there]," Murray explained. "We'd make a lot more money in the suburbs, but the access will be here. Our focus needs to be on creating opportunities for all types of kids."
Others have pointed out that as many as a dozen other tennis programs have tried what Murray is aiming for and, largely due to financial issues, have come up short.
Of course, Townsend's success has also been helpful in silencing critics. She splits her training between Chicago, where she began playing and first met Murray at the age of 6, and Washington, D.C., where she trains with former Wimbledon runner-up Zina Garrison.
Ranked No. 1 in the world in the junior division in 2012, Townsend burst onto the Grand Slam scene this year, reaching the third round in the French Open. She earned wild-card berths to participate in both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open -- where she lost to Serena Williams, the tournament's eventual winner, in the first round last month.
Another statistic also quiets the critics: A total of 22 XS Tennis players have earned full-ride college scholarships, and the organization's free in-school tennis program serves 2,000 CPS students annually.
Murray compared the effects of his pupils' success to that of the Jackie Robinson West youth baseball team, which earlier this year won the U.S. championship at the Little League Baseball World Series. Given his program's growth, he hopes other minority tennis clubs across the country will duplicate the model he's created and spread the sport to black neighborhoods.
"Taylor is a living, breathing example of what is possible if you have access," he said. "And she should not be the last kid to make it out of the city of Chicago [in tennis]."
Besides easing the worries of potential investors, Townsend's rise has had a major impact on other young players training at the center.
"Her success makes other minority kids believe in the process they're going through and believe that even if there's not a lot of success early on, they can see what's possible," he said. "They can say, 'Wow, I'm OK with the process. I'm OK with not waking up and being a champion.' It's about showing up every day and putting the work in."
from Chicago - The Huffington Post http://ift.tt/YZBSSd
via IFTTT
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