Countywide : DANA POINT : Wheelchair Tennis Is on a Roll

His 9-year-old brow furrowed in concentration, Nick Boehm waved his racquet as the green tennis ball floated past him.

Crouched in his wheelchair, Nick missed three more times before connecting solidly, buzzing the ball past his instructor’s ear.

“I used to feel bad that I couldn’t do a sport,” he said with a smile, “but now I can and it makes me feel good.”

In three Orange County cities, wheelchair-bound youths are learning to play tennis under a $50,000 grant from the Amateur Athletic Foundation, a sports organization that was endowed with surplus Los Angeles Olympics funds.

“It’s the first year-round wheelchair tennis program that we know of,” said Elaine Beachey of the Los Angeles-based AAF. “This program is giving the opportunity to play tennis to kids who never had the chance before.”

The clinics are offered in several locations in Southern California by the National Foundation of Wheelchair Tennis, a nonprofit San Clemente group.

In Orange County, about 35 youngsters, from elementary school children to teen-agers, take advantage of weekly free lessons in Santa Ana, Orange and Dana Point.

But even more valuable than the opportunity to learn tennis, said instructor Brian Geier, is the contact between youths with similar disabilities.

“It’s a great chance for them to socialize with other kids,” said Geier, who also uses a wheelchair, “and that is very important.”

At the Dana Hills Tennis Club, Cheryl Werth watched her 10-year-old son, Brandon, practice his volleys under Geier’s watchful eye.

“I’m really glad they started a weekly clinic,” she said. “Brandon is improving fast.”

Werth grinned as Brandon stroked a solid shot into the opposite court.

“It sure beats having him play Nintendo all the time,” she said.

For details, call the National Foundation of Wheelchair Tennis at (714) 361-6811.