Tennis camp continues to draw kids

Pat and Shari Ryan have been running the Community Bible Church tennis camp for youngsters for 21 years. The kids keep coming back to this camp every year. Some of the kids return year after year, but a majority of those who attend the camp are fresh-faced kids going into second through sixth grade. "Every year I wonder if anyone is going to come but every year they do," Pat Ryan said. "It spreads by word of mouth and we also put a couple signs up. We love kids and there's also an interest in kids doing healthy things and tennis is something you can play as a kid all the way up into your 90s. We love to bring kids out and teach them tennis and tell them about Jesus." Ryan said one parent put all of her kids through the tennis camp and she recently told him that this camp was the first place she ever left her kids and drove away. The kids learn about the sport of tennis and all its fundamental strokes: the forehand, the backhand, the volley and the serve. They also learn tennis etiquette. Being put on by Community Bible Church, there is also a spiritual side to the camp. Every year Shari takes a kids' movie and puts a religious spin on it and teaches the kids about Jesus. This year the movie was Dr. Suess' The Lorax. "The movie is about the Once-ler, who through greed and selfishness, starts chopping down trees in a forest to make these silly garments and the Lorax is trying to stop him," Shari said. "He ends up cutting down every last tree, which has repercussions to his own life. The results of our poor choices and our sin are devastating as well. The Once-ler regrets destroying the forest and similarly we need to respond to the gift offered to us from God to deal with our sin and our selfishness and greed by planting the seed of Jesus in our lives and He can change us from within." Grace Petteys, 17, went to the camp as a youngster and is now helping as a counselor. "My sister did the camp and then I followed her and I got two extra years at the camp because I started as a first grader and went through seventh grade," Petteys said. "Then I started to volunteer in eighth grade and have done it ever since except for one year. "It's just really fun and I like the way Shari connects to the book through the stories. Playing tennis is fun and now it's rewarding to be able to help the kids."