David Kimani is like many of the students he teaches in the Norwalk Grassroots Tennis program. He barely picked up a racquet until he was a teenager at a boarding school in his native Kenya. "The first one I had was 1,300 Kenya shillings, about $60,'' Kimani says. "A John McEnroe model. I loved that racquet."
Kimani has come a long way, literally and figuratively, since then. He is an instructor at Kings Highway Tennis club and the director at Norwalk Grassroots Tennis. The organization provides instruction, competitions and occasional trips to tournaments for free to children who are "economically disadvantaged," according to its website. Kimani, who grew up in Nakuru, about 200 miles from Nairobi, oversees the instruction for NGT.
One of his biggest challenges is convincing kids to play tennis. "Some of them think tennis is a sissy game," Kimani says. "If you're not playing baseball, football or basketball, you're not cool." The other hurdle is to impress upon children the opportunities that they have to play tennis. "Back home just to get a ball, it's hard,'' Kimani says. "We'd use a tennis ball until it completely fell apart. I tell them all the time there are kids out there who don't have what you have. Take advantage of it."
Kimani played collegiate tennis in Kenya and worked for that nation's tennis federation. He also coached the African Junior National Team. He came to the U.S. to get his Master's degree from Springfield College in sports management. He has worked with NGT since 2000. The year-round program, which started in 1995, is for children ages 7-and-up.
The students learn tennis, but Kimani and the NGT board added an educational element to the program a few years ago. "We had to change the focus so that it just wasn't tennis,'' Kimani said. "We told them we're going to combine tennis and education. We need to see their report card and how they're doing in school. If they're doing well in school, it reflects on the tennis court."
There have been many success stories. Jonathan Young, who started in NGT, is now the No. 2 player on the Brien McMahon team. Kimani has introduced Junior Team Tennis, and the youngsters embrace the team concept. It hasn't been easy for Kimani to reach every kid, but he enjoys seeing the rewards. "I love it,'' Kimani says. "It's challenging, but I love it. When I see a kid come off the court and he's smiling and happy, that keeps us going. It's a good feeling."
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