Following a 10-week break during the coronavirus outbreak that hit the United States in March, the BCC Tennis Academy returned to the courts May 25th with an all-time high 28 participants active in its weekly programming offerings.
BCCTA students ranging from 6-to-16 years old are on the courts an average of 3.5 days a week this summer and will be courtside for a cumulative 400 individual training sessions during the month of June – with sessions ranging from intermediate and tournament prep to high performance drills and private and semi-private instruction. Starting in late June, BCCTA will field three teams in Oklahoma City’s USTA Junior Team Tennis Summer Season, including a first-ever 18-and-under squad to go along with the academy’s 12’s and 14-and-under teams. Nine BCCTA students have participated in USTA Oklahoma tournaments during the first three weeks of the circuit’s June re- opening.
Founded in 2011 as an after-church activity, BCCTA added an annual summer camp to its portfolio shortly thereafter and by 2014 blossomed into a year-round academy. The faith-based Oklahoma City program is fully funded via private donations and takes great pride in its diverse roster of students and strong retention rate BCCTA has enjoyed since incorporating year-round programming six years ago:
- 54% of students who train on a weekly basis throughout the calendar year are minorities.
- 59% are on “Free and/or Reduced Meal Programs” at their respective schools.
- The average tenure of a BCCTA student is 3.1 years with an overall retention rate of 85%.
BCCTA opened three outdoor hard courts on the Britton Christian Church campus this past fall and also trains indoors in the church’s gymnasium, which has been transformed into a USTA sanctioned 60-foot court. More than 90 percent of the academy’s annual budget is spent directly on its student-athletes, with less than 10 percent earmarked for administrative costs.