BCC Tennis Academy

Love God. Make Friends. Play Tennis!

News

Welcome Our New Cheetahs!

Tuesday afternoon we had a welcome party for our newest additions to the Cheetahs JTT squad! The past two years the Cheetahs have accomplished so much in winning three JTT City Championships and then, this past summer, winning the USTA JTT State Championship at LaFortune Tennis Center. Several of the kids from the team have now advanced to Green Ball play and we are so proud of them.  At the same time, we are beyond excited to welcome our new teammmates!

Braver Reineke, Alma and Andrea Mendoza, Hayden Shriner, and Audrey Bohnstedt have been participating with the BCC Tennis Academy in one or more of our programs for some time now. Our coaches have recognized their hard work, commitment, and over-the-top great attitudes. As a result, our coaches extended the invitation to them to become a Cheetah. They and their families have made the commitment and now they’ve begun putting in the work. Congratulations to each of the kids and their families! We are so proud of you!

 

BCCTA Players Hit The Courts

Saturday, August 18 was a big day for the kids of the BCC Tennis Academy. We had 9 players competing in tournaments at Oak Tree Country Club and the OKC Tennis Center. Congratulations to Parker Dillon on winning his first Championship a 14s Challenger Tournament and to Jett Birsner for winning 4th in his first Challenger event.

We also had 7 players competing in Orange and Green Ball tournaments at Oak Tree Country Club in Edmond. Javier Vazquez, John Paul and Grey Dillon, Taytum Jones, Kadence Williams, and Macy and Kellen Hays all left it all out on the court. Kellen Hays took home 2nd place in his very first Green Ball tournament!

BCCTA Kids Take Home The Hardware

It was a hot, hot day at the Greens Country Club Smasher’s tournament today. We’re so proud of our BCCTA kids who fought through the heat and took home the hardware! We had five of our kids in the tournament and when it was all said and done they took home three 1st Place and two 2nd Place medals. Macy Hays and Taytum Jones both won their draws while Javier Vazquez and Kellen Hays captured Silver medals in their draws.

The outstanding performer of the day has to go to Kadence Williams who won her draw by winning all three of her matches! It was Kadence’s first Singles title of her career. Kadence split sets in two of her matches and won both tiebreakers by the identical score of 9-7! She was on the court for over three hours in blistering heat that caused some of the girls to forfeit their matches. Congratulations to all of our kids!

BCC Cheetahs Claim State 10U Championship

The Junior Team Tennis season came to an end this past week at the LaFortune Tennis Center in Tulsa with the USTA Oklahoma District Championships. After an undefeated Summer season, and another City Championship, the BCC Cheetahs traveled to Tulsa to compete against the Oklahoma City Tennis Center as well as the two top Tulsa teams, RH91 and Indian Springs. After two hot days of round robin competition the Cheetahs brought home the State Championship defeating the 2nd Place Indian Springs 10U team with 92 total games to 72 total games.

The kids and coaches of the BCC Tennis Academy are so proud of our Cheetah team and all of the hard work they’ve put in throughout the year. They will continue to practice and compete this summer in individual tournaments to prepare for next Fall’s Junior Team Tennis season. John Paul Dillon, team captain, is the only player who will age up to the 12s for next season. Kadence Williams, Taytum Jones, Kellen and Macy Hays, (all 9 yr olds) and Grey Dillon (7 yrs old) will all return for next season. In addition to these players we will gain new players in Braver Reineke, Alma and Andrea Mendoza, and Yuri Mendoza. Exciting things are happening with the players of the BCC Tennis Academy!

Cheetahs Capture 3rd Straight City Championship

The BCCTA Cheetahs won their 3rd straight 10U Team Tennis City Championship on June 29 at the OKC Tennis City! With the win the Cheetahs ran their winning streak to 14 matches. All of the players came ready to play and worked incredibly hard for every point.

Up next for the Cheetahs will be a trip to Tulsa for the USTA Team Tennis State Championship at LaFortune Tennis Center. The top 4 teams in the state will compete over two days to see who will win the State Championship. Good luck to all of our players and coaches.

We Are Thankful For You!
BCCTA Leadership Team

For the past 6 years the Britton Christian Church Tennis Academy has provided summer camp for kids who want to learn more about loving God, making friends, and playing tennis. Each summer new players have joined us and their parents have been blown away by the level of coaching and love offered by our coaches.

An opportunity like the BCCTA Summer Camp doesn’t just happen, it takes tons of work throughout the year raising money, recruiting coaches, and making preparations for the best four days of summer. Jessica Reineke, our Executive Director, and Board members Steve Porter, Brad Lund, and Rob Braver are the heart of our organization.  They don’t just make time for the four days of camp each summer; they work year round in coaching and encouraging our kids. Steve Porter leads a dynamite group of volunteers who work with our Los Gatos Tennis and Learning Club. Brad Lund is Director of Player Development and coaches our 10U City Champion Team Tennis “Cheetahs.” Rob Braver is Head of Development and works year round to get the word out about the great work going on in the BCCTA. Our players and their families are more than grateful for our leaders who give and give and give to bless our kids.

It has often been said, “There’s no ‘I’ in team.” It is such a joy to work alongside of Jessica, Steve, Brad, and Rob. They’re more than tennis coaches, more than people with big hearts; they are a team who share a common vision of changing the world one child at a time!

BCCTA Summer Camp ’18
Opening Day!

We had such an incredible opening day for our 6th BCCTA Summer Camp! We welcomed 68 excited tennis players to the Betsy Braver Tennis Complex at Heritage Hall High School. We were super excited to have 22 first timers experience the fun, sun, and joy of playing tennis with our amazing coaches!  We have incredible coaches who are sharing the fundamentals of the great sport of tennis with our kids, but more importantly, they are sharing their hearts full of love with all of our kids.

Camp will take place from 9-12 Noon through Saturday. We’d love to have you come out and see the wonderful things God is doing through the kids and coaches of the BCC Tennis Academy.

BCC Tennis Academy Made the News!
The Baseliner Magazine

Hi Everyone,

Our friend David Minihan, Executive Director of USTA Oklahoma and the Director of Tennis at Kickingbird Tennis Center in Edmond, publishes a wonderful online magazine called, “The Baseliner,” each month. The Baseliner is full of tennis news for those of us in Oklahoma. In the most recent publication there is a great article about the BCC Tennis Academy. You can read the entire Baseliner Magazine or you can read the article, “Love God. Make Friends. Play Tennis!” by following the  link:

June 2018 Baseliner

Congratulations 10U Tournament Players!
Earlywine Smashers Tournament

It was a great day for the BCC Tennis Academy as seven of our 10U tournament players battled the heat at the Earlywine Memorial Day Smasher’s Tournament. Today marked the beginning of a busy Summer schedule for our kids.  We had two 1st place (Javier Vasquez and John Paul Dillon,) two 2nd place (Kadence Williams and Kellen Hays,) and one 3rd place (Grey Dillon) finishers! We are so proud of all of our kids!

We are proud of the progress each of our kids are making on the court, but we’re even more proud of the way they support one another at all times. When one of our kids wasn’t on the court playing they were sitting in the bleachers watching and cheering on one of their buddies. At the BCC Tennis Academy our goal is to teach kids to “Love God. Make Friends. Play Tennis!” Every one of you are champions on the court and off!

 

Congratulations Shamycheal Baker
Leadership Award Winner

Sunday was a big day for the BCC Tennis Academy! Our kids and coaches were recognized for their outstanding work in our community during morning worship at Britton Christian Church. It was also announced that the Board of the BCC Tennis Academy has been given permission by the leaders of Britton Christian Church to build 3 tennis courts on the land just south of the church gym. With one indoor 10U court and soon-to-be 3 outdoor courts–the kids of the BCC Tennis Academy will have a place of their own to call “home!” This is incredible news and will open up new opportunities for us to reach out to the kids of our community.

Following the morning worship service, Shamycheal Baker, a graduating senior from Centennial High School in Oklahoma City, was recognized by Coach Steve Porter and Coach Rob Braver as the very first recipient of the $1,000.00 BCC Tennis Academy Leadership Scholarship. Shamycheal has been playing tennis with the BCCTA for about 5 years. He has gone out of his way to encourage all of our players, always has a great attitude, and is always willing to help our coaches. Shamycheal embodies the BCCTA motto: “Love God. Make Friends. Play Tennis!” Shamycheal plans on signing up for the Peace Corps after graduation and there is no doubt that he will make this world a better place. We’re proud of you Shamycheal!