Camp Excel Leadership Academy Shapes Davenport Youth

Camp Excel Leadership Academy is making a big difference for underserved youth in the Davenport area.

They seek to provide a safe learning environment to promote growth and development for children through educational and recreational activities that promote wellness and aspire to inspire youth to reach their full potential. 

Three years ago, Camp Excel made their first leap in partnering with USTA Missouri Valley to provide tennis opportunities to their children—most of whom had never played the sport before.

“We go around trying to find all different types of educational activities for our students,” said camp director Vergie Blackwell. “Many of our children are in at-risk neighborhoods and have never been exposed to sports like tennis.”

When Camp Excel first signed up to partner with the USTA, they received financial assistance to buy new tennis equipment for the program. 

The Camp Excel children have responded well to the program thus far. 

“I find that the majority of our kids have been going to their tennis lessons,” added Blackwell. “They get excited and they are very interested in tennis.”

Camp Excel Leadership Academy looks forward to their future goals of getting the children especially interested in tennis into a workshop to further develop their skills, as well as using their resources to offer additional educational opportunities to further their youth’s all-around growth.

To inquire about implementing tennis in your Iowa community youth programming, contact jterpkosh@movalley.usta.com.