Tennis Venue Services ensures Le Sueur-Henderson High School athletes can play home matches
For tennis enthusiasts, it’s disheartening to see desolate school tennis courts crisscrossed with fissures, reminiscent of earthquake fault lines. Sadder still is knowing that the disrepair will impact participation by prompting kids to gravitate to other sports and activities.
Such was the case with the Le Sueur-Henderson High School tennis courts, which reportedly had been a problem for a number of years—so much so that the deterioration prevented the school’s tennis teams from playing any home matches in the fall of 2023. Located in Le Sueur, Minn., the school serves both the Le Sueur and Henderson communities.
But today, thanks to a big assist from USTA’s Tennis Venue Services—which provided technical assistance, project review, recommendations and funding—the high school’s eight tennis courts have been reconstructed, and four of the new courts have included lighting.
“Total reconstruction of our tennis courts had been needed for many years,” says Cassie Wilke, head tennis coach at the school.
“After our local referendum passed to build a new elementary school near our existing courts, we decided it was the necessary time to begin the reconstruction process. Prior to the reconstruction, we were unable to host home matches at our high school varsity level due to safety concerns. Luckily, we only had to deal with that for one year, but it was a struggle for our program to have proper practices and match opportunities due to the condition of our facility. Everyone was on board [and realized that] for the program to grow, reconstruction was needed sooner rather than later.”
Today, Wilke is happy to report that the courts are fully accessible to the community, hosting open play for anyone, of any age or skill level.
The new courts at Le Sueur-Henderson High School in Minnesota.
“Our Physical Education programs at all levels also use the courts frequently. Over the past few years, our youth programming has really grown and we now offer three separate youth camps over the summer, as well as our varsity, junior varsity and middle school camps and summer tennis instruction.”
There have been conversations about additional programming for the facility and even hosting adult tournaments, too.
Wilke is also quick to credit USTA Tennis Venue Services for the success of the project. “They were a great resource to review our project plans and ensure that we were taking the necessary steps to have the best possible facility while also setting us up for financial help from USTA,” she notes.
The school district received $50,000 from USTA to invest in the tennis court reconstruction effort. “The project was initiated in the fall of 2022—the courts were at the point of becoming unplayable,” recalls Pat Colbert, USTA Northern’s assistant executive director of special projects. “The reconstruction project came in just under $800,000 and funding came from the school district, USTA National and USTA Northern.”
“We were thrilled to be able to help Le Sueur-Henderson High School get this project over the goal line,” says Todd Carlson, director of USTA Tennis Venue Services. “And now, with even more support from USTA National, including a substantial increase in the funds available, we can help to improve tennis courts and facilities at more schools and parks across the country.”
“It was great to see this project come to fruition—it has given a new boost to the community,” Colbert adds. “Whenever we have a new facility such as this, it becomes a welcoming and inviting environment to grow the game.”
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