Burbank Tennis Center becomes a retreat for special needs athletes

BURBANK — The Jensen-Schmidt Tennis Academy for Special Needs Individuals has almost become synonyms with the Burbank Tennis Center.

While the facility had been around for 17 years, the event for special needs athletes has been going strong for a decade.

The Burbank Tennis Center hosted the 10th annual installment of the Jensen-Schmidt Tennis Academy for Special Needs Individuals in a three-day event that began Monday and concluded Wednesday.

Because of overlapping summer school for some of the participants, turnout was a little down for the event that was first held at the facility in 2005. However, 120 athletes from as young as 4 to adults in their 50s got a chance to hone their skills and have fun at the free event.

Although the Burbank Tennis Center has hosted professional and junior tournaments, is the home for various tennis clubs and serves as a practice facility for players, the faculty’s executive director, Steve Starleaf, wanted the venue to provide programs for the underserved when he first envisioned the center in the 1990s.

With the help of Bill Greene, the head of the Burbank-based Greenlight Foundation, Starleaf got in contact with tennis instructor Vince Schmidt to make the academy a reality.

Along with the Jensen-Schmidt event, the center also hosts the Tri-Valley Special Olympics, a weekly Acing Autism event, a holiday clinic for special-needs athletes and will be a training facility for the 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games. In addition, it also provided programs for the local BCR, “A place to Grow,” which serves special needs individuals.

“It has all really come to fruition for me. It’s like a dream come true,” Starleaf said. “I could not have envisioned that we would be able to do so much to help this underserved population of players. This is what we wanted the Burbank Tennis Center to be. This is why we work so hard to bring programs like this to the center.

“Serving these special groups is what is really the most important. They are the real champions. The joy they get out of competing and having fun is all worth it.”

Former French Open doubles champions Luke and Murphy Jensen teamed up with Schmidt to form the organization that holds a series of academies throughout the country. Schmidt has been tennis pro for nearly two decades, working with kids and adults. Over the years, he has worked at the prestigious Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy, as well as with Assn. of Tennis Professionals and World Tennis Assn. tour players and Special Olympics athletes.

Schmidt said Starleaf has been a valuable asset in helping the event take root and thrive at the Burbank Tennis Center.

“I have never seen Steve hit a tennis ball with a traditional athlete,” Schmidt said. “I’m sure he is a fine coach and a very good professional. But I have seen him hit a tennis ball with special needs athletes and I know that’s where his heart really is. I have seen him work with our individuals and I know how much it means to him

“I don’t know what in his background led him to do this, but thank God for him. He really has it in his heart to help this segment of special needs athletes.”

One of the unique aspects of the event at the Burbank Tennis Center is that all of the athletes get the opportunity to attend the academy at no cost. During the three-day event, individuals are also provided with free equipment and food. The opportunity for the athletes to attend at no cost was provided by the Greenlight Foundation and the organization has sponsored the local event all 10 years.

“This is our 10th year and that’s really big,” Greene said. “You never think about that when you first start something like this that it could actually make it 10 years.

“Since we have been doing it for so many years, we’ve worked out a lot of the kinks and we really have the schedule pretty much down pat. But there are always surprises that pop up every year.”

The academy was established and designed to meet the sports-specific needs of children and adults with special needs. Along with tennis instruction, athletes learned physical training and got the opportunity to take part in games and other activities. Through the three-day event, participants take part in a wide variety of activities. Athletes were given the opportunity to improve their tennis skills, as instructors put the players through skills drills, coordination exercises and various other physical activities at a variety of stations.

With a trained staff of instructors, academy coaches teach athletes through motivational exercises and positive reinforcement. The academy boasts that by playing tennis, individuals with special needs can enhance their physical conditioning, as well as their social and mental abilities.

The event also benefited from a dedicated group of volunteers, including members of the Burbank High Key Club and the McCambridge Park Tennis Club. The Key Club members served as “buddies” for many of the younger athletes, helping them get to the various stations and generally assisting them throughout the three days.

“I have one girl who graduated from high school in 2009 and she used to work with us then,” Greenlight Foundation Director Debra Gilmore said. “She has gone to college and is in grad school and she has moved on with her life, but she still comes back to volunteer. …That really says a lot.”

Some parents watched as their sons and daughters took part in the academy. Many praised the Burbank Tennis Center and the group of volunteers for making the program enjoyable for their children.

“The best therapy for our kids is physical therapy,” said Robert Burke, whose 18-year-old daughter, Bianca, attended the academy. “Things like tennis, swimming, running and even walking can be so beneficial for individuals like this. For Bianca, she has been doing more physical activities and because of that we have been able to take her off some of her medication and she has been doing much better.

“It is just great that they provide this kind of activity and I know Bianca really enjoys it, along with the rest of the individuals.”

Marty Dunworth has a son, Max, 9, who took part. She said her son has been attending the academy for four years and he enjoys the interaction with other athletes.

“With this being our fourth year, Max really likes seeing some of the same people that he has seen here before year after year,” she said. “He just loves to play sports and really he’s much more coordinated than I was at his age.

“It’s just amazing what they do for the athletes here. The fact that he can play tennis on his own terms is just so important. The one-on-one attention that he gets is key. The fact that they provide the buddies really benefits the players.”

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Follow Jeff Tully on Twitter: @jefftsports.