In their own words: USTA Adaptive Committee members on AAPI Heritage Month

As the name implies, AAPI is a wide-ranging group of people who come from very different cultures. For instance, if you think about Pacific Islanders and Asians from the northern continent, we do not share much heritage at all. So while I appreciate the attention AAPI Month brings to all of us, people need to understand it involves many different races, cultures and ethnicities.

Tennis, of course, can be unifying in so many ways. I played growing up, got burned out after captaining my high school team, put my racquet aside for about 20 years, then rediscovered the joy of the sport about eight years ago. Now I play as often as I can and am captain of a mixed team and play in a women’s league.

Importantly, though, playing tennis has led me to volunteering on the USTA National Adaptive Tennis Committee, and for USTA New England, I’m chair of the Adaptive Tennis Subcommittee and on the section’s DEI Committee. All of this ties in nicely with what I do in life.

I’m an educator, with a master’s degree in education, and I’ve worked with children with psychosocial disabilities for nearly 25 years. I’m in the field of Animal Assisted Interventions and Nature Based Services, using animals and nature to work with students with special needs. I’m a certified Therapeutic Horseback Riding instructor, and I mentor and supervise staff and interns who work with students and animals and plants directly. I also work with therapists and clinicians and provide education on animals, animal behavior and welfare so we can work with children and animals safely, therapeutically and ethically.

My career has been around children who cannot access things that others can. For instance, because of their behavioral challenges, the kids I work with often cannot access academic instruction in traditional ways. They also often are not successful in participating in social and other opportunities such as sports and high school athletics. 

Tennis is a sport that requires communication and cooperation with others. I would like as many children as possible to access this lifelong sport because it will help them experience more inclusion and help them be a part of the community. My dream is for every high school tennis team to have a unified or adaptive division, and matches will have adaptive or unified courts, just like they have singles and doubles. Adaptive athletes can be a part of their high school teams.

I’m extremely proud of who I am and of my background, but I am also very aware that I’ve been privileged to grow up with very little hardship in a very peaceful, yet homogeneous, culture. There are a lot of things that I have not experienced, yet every day I continue to learn and grow. Compassion, empathy and a passion for what I do, both in life and in tennis, continue to guide me, and I hope continue to allow me to be a part of an increasingly inclusive society.

To further assist those adaptive players, in 2018 I also became a Certified Tennis Performance Specialist through the International Tennis Performance Association (iTPA), learning the biomechanics basis of fundamental movement in tennis. Additionally, I became a certified personal trainer through the National Strength and Conditioning Association in 2019, then obtained the Corrective Exercise Specialist certificate from the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) in 2020. All of this education has been for the purpose of being able to deliver an individualized methodology of tennis training to adaptive tennis players.

In 2020, I joined the USTA National Adaptive Tennis Committee, and I quickly realized there is a threefold problem when it comes to adaptive tennis. First, the general public has no clear understanding of the “adaptive tennis player.” Currently, the USTA defines adaptive players in three categories: physical/rehabilitation, cognitive/developmental and social/emotional. Most people tend to group “Special Olympics” players with adaptive players, not realizing the broad range of conditions.

Second, the tennis teaching community has no idea how to teach this new category of players, as there is no set manual for teaching this group.

Third, adaptive players tend to view themselves as limited in function, since they constantly receive negative external reinforcement concerning their limitations.

I knew tennis could be a way for adaptive players to find a new identity, a new confidence and a new pathway for healing. On the National Adaptive Tennis Committee, I’m the co-chair of the marketing and outreach subcommittee and am also on the training and education subcommittee. Recently, I traveled to the USTA National Campus in Lake Nona to work on the Level 2 manual for teaching adaptive tennis. In our research, we’ve discovered that the adaptive tennis market represents a huge, untapped financial opportunity, with more than a million potential players who can be a tremendous market for tennis teaching, equipment sales and court time. But, more importantly, tennis represents a pathway for these individuals to discover themselves, to feel a part of a community and to realize that the only limits they have are those they set for themselves.

As an Asian American, there have been times when I’ve felt apart from mainstream society. Perhaps this is why I feel so passionate regarding the mission of Adaptive Tennis US, to give the “outsiders” a voice, a chance to compete and a way of finding themselves. Tennis is our guide in life.

I’m also a Special Olympics coach for the local area, a Team Florida coach for the USA Games, and also a Love Serving Autism certified coach. And I’ve been honored to have been recognized for my work over the years, most recently with the 2017 USTA Florida Champion of Tennis Award, 2019 Pensacola Sports Volunteer of the Year Award and 2020 USPTA Florida Diversity Award.

As a woman in tennis teaching, I’d certainly like to see more female professionals in general, but especially in leadership positions. It’s tough to be seen and heard in this male-dominated arena, but I do feel that we’re making more and more inroads. My advice for women considering a career in the tennis industry is to just go for it! Don’t let fear or doubt drive you away. Seek out a mentor. If you’re currently teaching, keep doing what you are doing! Your voice, your opinions and your ideas matter.

For me, I also find great enjoyment as a player and a volunteer in tennis. I’ve captained and played in USTA Leagues since 1998 and have made many friends over the years. As a volunteer, I currently serve on the USTA Florida Board of Directors and also as a member of the USTA National Adaptive Tennis Committee, where I get to bring my expertise in coaching and working with all types of players to helping determine a strategy for a broader, national audience.

My volunteer service in this game has been most satisfying, and reminds me of this quote, from an unknown source, that seems especially apt today: "Volunteering is the ultimate exercise in democracy. You vote in elections once a year, but when you volunteer, you vote every day about the kind of community you want to live in.”