Irvington tennis clinic reaches out to Special Day children

Mary Ann Bryant and her son, Erik, can usually be seen coaching the Viking tennis teams. On Memorial Day, however, they showed up at Irvington for a different purpose, to host their annual Special Day.

“Our tennis clinic is designed to expose children with special needs to sports,” said Coach Bryant. “Above all, it’s about coming out and having fun.”

336 fliers were sent out to elementary schools across Fremont advertising this free event, which is sponsored by Erik’s employer, Foxit Software Company.

“The attendance this year is slightly less than last year despite all the fliers we sent out,” said Coach Bryant.

Assisting the two coaches were members of the IHS tennis team, who were buddied up with the students. Volunteers led the students through a series of stretches and warm-ups. Then, students were taught how to grip the racket correctly and how to perform a correct swing. Warm words of encouragement brought smiles across the faces of the students. Perhaps this could be a future QUEST topic to explore in the future.