Lincoln Tennis Association Serves As Tennis Resource

When Jason McFarley moved to Lincoln from Indiana six years ago, he knew he wanted to be involved in the local tennis community in some way. So, he attended a Lincoln Tennis Association meeting, became a regular at the meetings, signed up for events and is now the LTA president.

“I'm so glad I took the leap,” he said. “We have a great board and group of volunteers who are all committed to the work LTA is championing.”

The Lincoln Tennis Association has been around for about four decades, McFarley said, and the mission is to ‘grow the sport in Lincoln and to be the singular resource that unites tennis players, coaches, facilities and supporters in our city.’ It has close to a dozen board members and additional volunteers to help with events such as Lincoln Tennis Volunteer Day and the Annual LTA Awards Ceremony.

“At our most recent board meeting, we brainstormed ideas for how to attract new or former players to the sport,” McFarley shared. “Especially now, in this time of uncertainty around COVID-19, we think there are opportunities to promote tennis as a sport that's great for fitness, provides mental health benefits and is probably safer to enjoy from a social distancing perspective than many other sports. We're looking at how we can possibly organize tournaments, clinics or social events in a way that's inviting and safe for everyone.”

Because of COVID-19, the LTA has had to cancel some events including a free officiating workshop and Play Tennis Lincoln, an event with free tennis clinics across the city. McFarley hopes to be able to reschedule those events.

“COVID has postponed some of the projects we began planning earlier this year, but LTA has been resilient and creative in finding ways to move forward,” he said.

McFarley said the organization has three goals for the immediate future: get more people, especially juniors, involved in LTA committees; make sure all facilities, non-profits and businesses that support Lincoln tennis are in the LTA; and refresh and update the website.

If you’re interested in volunteering, Lincoln Tennis Volunteer Day is coming up on Saturday, Aug. 22, 2020. The LTA will select a park, clean the courts, re-paint the lines and build backboards. Contact Nancy Johnson at nancyjoyjohnson@gmail.com for more opportunities.