‘Inspirational,’ ‘energizing,’ ‘informative’: NJTL leaders gather at insightful Impact Conference

USTA Missouri Valley was well-represented at the USTA Foundation’s Impact Conference, an annual gathering of more than 200 individuals from the National Junior Tennis and Learning (NJTL) network.

USTA Missouri Valley staff members as well as leaders from seven NJTL chapters from within the section attended the conference, more than doubling last year’s section participation numbers.

The Impact Conference took place Oct. 27-30 at the JW Marriott Grande Lakes Hotel in Orlando, with a Red Ball Tennis and social event occurring at the USTA National Campus. The conference brought together NJTL executive directors, advocates, volunteers and speakers to celebrate milestones and share insights—all dedicated to changing lives of under-resourced youth through tennis and education.

Leaders from the following USTA Missouri Valley chapters traveled to central Florida for the third annual conference to learn, connect and develop professionally.

• Breakpoint Tennis & Life Skills Academy (USTA St. Louis)

• Dwight Davis Tennis Center (USTA St. Louis)

• First Serve OKC (USTA Oklahoma)

• Genesis Foundation for Fitness & Tennis (USTA Kansas)

• Net Rushers Community Tennis Association (USTA St. Louis)

• Stephanie Waterman Foundation (USTA Heart of America)

• Youth At Heart (USTA Oklahoma)

Jaren Glaser—USTA Missouri Valley diversity & inclusion manager as well as USTA Heart of America/Kansas tennis service representative—said she enjoyed attending the Impact Conference and learning alongside her peers.

“The idea that none of our chapters are alone in what they are doing is really important,” Glaser said. “They belong to a network of chapters within the USTA Missouri Valley and to a larger network under the USTA Foundation across the country. They are given all these tools and resources to use.

“They get to meet people from the foundation who provide their programs and services nationally. It’s just a really good opportunity to form those connections to learn we are all in this together. And everyone from national to section to district to chapter is a part of this process and wants to work to help our chapters succeed.”

Jerry Horsford from the Dwight Davis Tennis Center NJTL in St. Louis likewise attended the conference and echoed Glaser’s viewpoint.

“We found the conference both inspirational and informative,” Horsford said. “The volume of work being done by NJTL organizations nationwide to support our youth was truly astounding. It gave us a glimpse of what is possible and the knowledge we can likewise succeed. Equally importantly, we were given access to the USTA’s wonderful support system and some great tools for raising the funds we need.”

Fundraising and grants, organizational structure and capacity-building were some of the focal points discussed during the Impact Conference, which included general sessions and peer-to-peer education opportunities. Glaser noted there were tangible, specific points of learning leaders could take back to their communities and apply within their chapters.

“I really appreciated the conference was focused on capacity-building sustainability of our chapters,” Glaser said. “We have so many people who have great hearts for what they do and so many programming ideas, and I want to see them come to fruition. The start of that is on the development of leadership and the capacity of the organizations and their sustainability.”

Krisann Diaz, director of development at Youth At Heart, was the first staff member from the Oklahoma NJTL to attend an Impact Conference, and she found the experience invaluable.

“The Impact Conference was energizing and inspiring,” Diaz said. “As someone with no background in tennis but a lot in nonprofit development, I returned to Tulsa feeling connected to the NJTL community and excited to expand tennis programming at Youth At Heart! The conference was key in helping me make an emotional connection to tennis, and I put that into my work.”

Glaser said learning more about partnerships the USTA Foundation has cultivated with outside organizations—and the technology and resources that come with those partnerships—was a critical takeaway. The Impact Conference also provided USTA Missouri Valley leaders the chance to engage with and learn from NJTL chapters of various sizes from across the country.

“You have this incredible space where you’re all in the same location. You’re all there for the same reason. You have all these resources at your hands, and everyone is there to learn. Everyone has made the time and space for this learning,” Glaser said. “It is really something we don’t see a lot in current culture where everyone is present and there to learn together. Maybe the big thing with conferences is you invest a few days of time to a lot of potential growth in the future.”