LEE — Sophie Herman, youth development director for the Lee Community Tennis Association, has seen a decline in youth sports participation since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Many kids have specialized in one sport, according to Project Play. The average number of sports children ages 6-17 regularly played in 2023 was 1.63, down 13 percent since 2019, according to Sports & Fitness Industry Association data.
Getting kids involved in tennis and keeping them long-term is important to Herman and many other program directors.
Kids practice their volleys during the Lee Community Tennis Association’s summer youth tennis program at Lee High School.
“It’s getting kids back into [sports] and the socialization of kids,” Herman said.
The nonprofit Lee Community Tennis Association provides facilities and coordinates instructional and competitive tennis programs for youth and adults in Lee and other local towns. The Lee CTA and Bousquet Sport’s tennis program in Pittsfield are hoping to take advantage of the heightened level of interest in tennis, which has been rapidly growing since the pandemic.
JP Barbeau, director of tennis and racquet sports at Bousquet Sport, said COVID-19 helped grow tennis because it was one of the safest sports.
The United States Tennis Association, which has supported Lee CTA, announced in February that it will be committing $10 million in grants to help build and extend playable hours on courts across the country.
“[USTA] has given me a lot, funded a lot and helped in a lot of ways,” Clare “Bunnie” Lahey, executive director of Lee CTA, said. “Without USTA behind us, we wouldn’t be anywhere near where we are.”
USTA’s third-party research participation report recently showed that 25.7 million people played tennis in America in 2024 — highlighting five years of consecutive growth. The study is based on every person who plays tennis at least once during the year.
Kids practice their swings during the Lee Community Tennis Association’s summer youth tennis program at Lee High School.
Lee CTA and Bousquet Sport offer programs for all ages, but are focusing on the youth this summer. By starting kids young, Herman, who began in the program at age seven, believes that they will stay with the sport through high school, just as she did.
“[It’s about] giving them that foundation and then just working on exceeding or growing their skills,” Herman said.
GROWING THE GAME
Lahey started Lee CTA in 1985 and also coached tennis at Lee High School for 10 years along with her husband Edward. She said Lee CTA has continued to fulfill its mission to grow the game, and it’s been “gratifying to see so many children come through the program.”
Lahey received the Gardner Ward Chase Memorial Award from the USTA New England in 2016 and was inducted into the New England Hall of Fame in 2017.
The award recognizes outstanding lifetime contributions to New England tennis. Lahey has also worked closely with the USTA, serving on its New England board for 10 years.
Kids grab a drink on the court during the Lee Community Tennis Association’s summer youth tennis program at Lee High School. “It’s exceeded our expectations,” Teva Smith, whose 10-year-old son is participating in the program, said. “The overall experience has been incredible.”
Her work with USTA included raising $87,000 to resurface the six tennis courts at Lee High School in 2014. Lahey has been running programs for over 40 years and said the impact she’s had on others is “why I stick with it.”
“What I’m all about is preserving the game of tennis,” Lahey said. “I want to pull in more kids and have more people aware that tennis is alive and well.”
Herman said that anybody who has gone through the program would praise Lahey, who she says has impacted everyone.
BENEFITS OF YOUTH PROGRAMS
Lee CTA is offering four weeks of summer programs for kids in three age groups: pre-teens (5-7), beginners (8-10) and teens (11-15). The programs run in four-day sessions and focus on fitness, teach the fundamentals of tennis, and include hands-on training with instructors.
“It’s exceeded our expectations,” Teva Smith, whose 10-year-old son is participating in the program, said. “The overall experience has been incredible.”
For pre-tennis, the cost is $35 for members and $50 for guests, and for beginners and teen tennis sessions, the cost is $52.50 for members and $75 for guests. Lahey said that they’ve had about 80 kids every year in the summer program.
Instructor Shaelyn Kelly teaches the correct grip to a kid in the beginner group during the Lee Community Tennis Association’s summer youth tennis program at Lee High School.
“I try to make things affordable and give them lots of opportunities to play,” Lahey said.
Herman, who is in her fourth summer coaching and will be a junior in college in the fall, was one of four instructors at a session last week that had 11 kids in the beginner session.
Smith said the knowledge and services provided by the camp are great and that the instructor’s ability to relate to the kids is impressive.
The majority of the instructors in the program participated as kids, Herman said, adding, “We see ourselves in these kids.” Herman played tennis for Lee High School and won a Western Massachusetts title in 2022 with teammate Shaelyn Kelly, who is also a coach in the program.
It’s fun telling the kids about winning a Western Mass. title, Herman said, adding, “The wheels kind of turn in their head[s] like, ‘Oh, I could do that.’”
Kelly is also in her fourth summer coaching in the program and participated as a kid. She said it’s been a fun experience coaching and that there is always some chaos, but it’s “fun chaos.”
Having consistency in the program with instructors is important, Lahey said, adding that she brings her coaches up through the program, starting when they are kids. Lahey said that having coaches who are currently in college allows the kids in the program to see a future in education and possibly tennis.
“They are working with them on life skills and helping them learn how to be a part of a group,” Lahey said.
HIGH DEMAND AND PARTICIPATION INCREASING
Barbeau has been at Bousquet Sport for 15 years and was part of the redesign of the facility. Due to the “huge demand” for tennis and pickleball, Barbeau said they built four new hard-court tennis courts, four clay tennis courts, and six pickleball courts as part of their outside expansion. Overall, Bousquet Sport has 13 tennis courts and 12 pickleball courts available for use.
Tennis has grown 46 percent from its 2019 baseline of 17.7 million participants, and among youth, participation has grown from 5.8 percent to 8.3 percent of people aged six and older, according to the USTA’s 2025 tennis participation report.
Kids warm up on the court during the Lee Community Tennis Association’s youth tennis program at Lee High School.
Barbeau says Bousquet Sport is offering four weeks of summer programs this year for kids between the ages of 6-17, but they typically offer six weeks. The camps are limited to 16 kids, and Barbeau said that every session is full. The cost is $495 for members and $595 for nonmembers.
The camps are tennis-specific and six hours a day, Barbeau said, adding, “We’ve seen participation going up and up.” They also offer after-school programs from September to May.
Barbeau thinks growth can improve more and said there is a demand for marketing on the tennis side. He wants the USTA to invest more money for instructors to go into schools and introduce the game to students.
“[If we can] get the USTA or one of these organizations to introduce the game to the kids and then help fund some of the after-school programs to get the kids here, it’s going to make the numbers go [up],” Barbeau said.
