Opportunity to Network Beckons Kids

In a gang-infested park surrounded by low-income housing sit four well-kept tennis courts that are part of the Sepulveda Recreation Center.

Bob Heiser, a native of the San Fernando Valley, has taught lessons there for 16 years.

Among the programs he runs is the National Junior Tennis League for underprivileged youths (ages 8 to 17).

The United States Tennis Assn. created the NJTL 12 years ago to give children who ordinarily would not have a chance to play tennis an opportunity to learn the game.

The Amateur Athletic Foundation funds it and the Southern California Tennis Assn. helps administer it.

“The really nice part about it here is that it keeps the kids out of trouble,” Heiser said. “A lot of these kids would have nothing else to do most of the summer.”

Heiser, who has run NJTL at the Sepulveda Recreation Center for 10 years, says about 45 youths take part each summer.

One of the most appealing things about the program is that it’s so affordable.

While many summer youth tennis camps cost an average of $150 a week, the NJTL costs only $13 for eight weeks.

The fee includes 18 hours of instruction, a T-shirt, certificate of participation, a one-year USTA membership and tickets to local professional tennis tournaments.

Rackets and balls are provided and the fee is waived for those who can’t afford it.

“I really like it because it gives me something to do in the summer,” said 11-year-old Alisa Janesajawan of Panorama City. “Tennis lessons are too expensive so I wouldn’t be able to play if my dad didn’t find this.”

Janesajawan used to spend summers swimming in the recreation center’s nearby pool but it was severely cracked in the 1994 Northridge earthquake and now it’s drained and off limits.

Tennis is all Janesajawan and her neighborhood buddies have this summer. The alternative, they say, is watching television at home.

“That gets real boring,” Janesajawan said. “This is more fun.”

Many youths are in the same situation, says NJTL director Arlene Barco. The program is offered at 121 Southern California locations through Aug. 17.

Eleven of the sites are in the Valley and Ventura areas. They include: McCambridge Recreation Center in Burbank, Lanark Recreation Center in Canoga Park, Victory-Vineland Recreation Center in North Hollywood, Oxnard Tennis Center, Ritchie Valens Park in Pacoima, Port Hueneme Naval Base and Moranda Park in Port Hueneme, Sherman Oaks Recreation Center, Sun Valley Recreation Center and El Cariso Park in Sylmar.

“More than 5,000 kids go through it every summer,” Barco said. “All children are welcome, but most sites are in the inner city because we want to expose more of those kids to the sport.”

The idea came from the late Arthur Ashe--a UCLA standout and 1975 Wimbledon champion--who wanted to give economically disadvantaged kids the opportunity to play a game that for years has been labeled as a sport for rich country club members.

Heiser, who played tennis at San Fernando High in the mid-1960s then at Cal Lutheran until 1969, gets $22 an hour from the USTA to conduct the NJTL group lessons.

He says the program is popular at his location, but sometimes parents are intimidated by the teenagers who loiter outside the tennis courts at the Sepulveda Recreation Center, often smoking pot and using profanity.

Heiser believes he would have about 15% more students in the program if not for the element of danger.

“A lot of parents don’t like the area and they don’t want to leave their kids,” Heiser said. “We’ve never really had any major problems, though.”

Deborah Vonderlage of Arleta usually sits on a courtside bench while her daughter, Jennifer, 11, participates in NJTL at the Sepulveda Recreation Center.

Two summers ago Jennifer went through the program and there were no scary incidents.

Vonderlage was glad to bring her daughter back.

“It’s a great opportunity for the price,” Vonderlage said. “There’s no way we could afford private lessons.”