Tennis Venue Services revamps Hardin High School's tennis courts in Montana
There is one thing you can’t miss when you drive into Hardin, Mont., a rural town of 3,800 about 45 miles east of Billings: six newly-refurbished orange and gray tennis courts at Hardin High School, along with the players on them.
Fifty years ago, Land and Water Conservation Funds originally helped build three courts for the Hardin High Bulldogs. The school sits just outside the Crow Indian reservation, and the Crow Nation and Tribal Council helped maintain the three courts for decades.
But as the popularity of the sport grew, so did the need for more courts. On Sept. 12, six renovated courts were dedicated and celebrated with a community lunch and a tennis clinic (hosted by USTA Intermountain and USTA Montana), all made possible with the help of the USTA Tennis Venue Services (TVS) grant fund.
“When I moved to Montana about four years ago, I heard that the Hardin tennis courts needed repair, so a year ago, we started raising the funds to resurface six tennis courts in Hardin,” says Jodie Adams, a member of the USTA Montana Board of Directors and a USTA National consultant.
“As someone who has worked with parks and school programs throughout my career, I knew the community’s desire for improvements was there. They just needed more knowledge about available resources.”
Adams referred Montana community leaders to TVS, where they applied for $50,000. That was the impetus for other entities, including the Montana Coal Board, to match funds for the six-court project. “But TVS provides so much more than just money that our rural communities need,” Adams explains. “Sometimes, something as simple as a correct concept drawing can help leaders and volunteers see a way forward.”
“Refurbishing our courts was on our long-term plan,” says Tobin Novasio, superintendent of Hardin School Districts 17H & 1, “but we probably wouldn’t have gotten to them right away without Jodie getting the ball rolling with TVS.”
Once Mike Flamm, Hardin Middle School principal and longtime tennis coach of 20 years, got the high school tennis program up and running, the students did the rest. “It took about three years to get the kids recruiting among themselves,” Flamm notes, “but once they did, their sense of school pride and being part of a successful program really changed the landscape.
“We’ve had 70 to 80 kids come out for tennis in the past few years. Now we’ve won a couple of state championships and are hoping to bring (the championships) to Hardin in coming years. It makes an incredible economic impact.”
“This community has a craving for tennis, and it’s wonderful to see how everyone came together to make this project happen,” adds Todd Carlson, USTA Senior Director of Tennis Venue Services, Parks & CTAs.
Phase II of the Hardin project involves adding four new courts, to create a hub of 10 total courts that will continue to serve numerous rural communities and the Crow Tribal community throughout the east side of Montana. (About 88 percent of the high school’s student body is comprised of minorities, and the majority of the 540 students are American Indian.) The school also is now pursuing a bid to host the Montana High School State Tennis Championships, which would be a first for the southeast area. Hardin is also hoping to be the home to a new National Junior Tennis & Learning (NJTL) chapter.
“Having grown up on a farm in a rural community myself, I know firsthand what an amazing difference tennis can make in communities like Hardin,” notes USTA Intermountain Executive Director Rob Scott. “This is sure to impact so many lives that otherwise might not benefit.
“It’s been a fantastic team effort from local, section and national partnerships to get this project over the finish line.”
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