We're all about connecting the dots

The idea for QuickStart Tennis of Central Virginia (QCV) was conceived by its founder, Lynda Harrill, in May 2009, after she worked with QuickStart Tennis in Albemarle County for over a year. Lynda was instrumental in taking QuickStart to kids in Charlottesville and its seven surrounding counties during 2009 and believed the approach could be successfully replicated in additional counties in central Virginia where tennis is not a household word and certainly not part of any school curriculum. Some of these counties do not even have public tennis courts. So she established QCV to operate as a special-purpose Community Tennis Association that will serve as a starting point to the USTA's "Pathway to Growth" in primarily rural counties in central Virginia.

QCV is a greenhouse -- growing tennis players, using a new, fun-filled teaching format, who will advance to more traditional tennis-teaching programs when they are ready, as determined by age or skill for those over 10.

QCV also acts as a tennis "think tank" for finding new ways for tennis to be a positive influence on kids and identifying ways to connect a variety of people through sharing a passion for tennis. Lynda describes the process as "turning over rocks and connecting the dots." This process led to the creation of the Jump Start QuickStart Tennis, Go Bananas for QuickStart! and Grow Veggies for QuickStart!. QCV also is planning a QuickStart Head Start pilot that will take tennis to at-risk three- and four-year-olds. The latest  QCV "brainstorm"  involves working with the UVa Curry School of Education to develop QuickStarters, a middle school-based "kids mentoring  kids" program for at-risk kids, for the Childhood Obesity Task Force.

QCV Board members and volunteers are a dedicated bunch who believe this new approach to teaching tennis is a terrific vehicle to affect many kids' lives in a very positive way.

QuickStart Tennis of Central Virginia Board of Volunteers

Sheridan G. "Sherry" Snyder, co-founder with Arthur Ashe and Charlie Pasarell of National Junior Tennis League (NJTL), Honorary Chairman of the Board

• Tessa Pehanick, President
• Stevia Anda, VP of Communications
• Lynda Harrill, VP & QuickStart Tennis Coordinator
• Pat Severson, VP of Operations and Training
• John Oliver, Secretary
• Roy Harrill, Treasurer
• Jonathan Amos, Community Development Director
• George Fitz-Hugh, Junior Team Tennis Coordinator 
• Melodie Hagspiel, Events Coordinator
• Ron Manilla, Adult & Senior QuickStart Director
• Joe Miller, Programs Director

Board biographies, click here.

Would you like to volunteer?

QCV has several openings on its Board of Volunteers for anyone who would like to help improve kids' lives through playing tennis.

QuickStart Tennis of Central Virginia is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization and a registered USTA Community Tennis Association.