About BICYTP
“USTA New England is thrilled to work with Boston Inner City Youth Tennis. The group's commitment to introducing the sport to inner-city kids is unwavering and its programming will impact the lives of children far beyond the lines of a tennis court. Not every child will become a professional tennis player, but through the strong efforts of dedicated grassroots programs like Boston Inner City Youth Tennis- every kid who wants to have a chance to do so, will have that opportunity. More important, though, is the organization's desire to improve the quality of the academic lives of these children.”
Deirdre McCormack- Director of Community Tennis Development, United States Tennis Association New England
Intro to BICYTP
The Boston Inner City Youth Tennis Program (BICYTP) was founded in 2006 to use the power of tennis to empower low-income youth who live in Greater Boston. BICYTP believes that the discipline and rigor of this individual, yet team, sport provides critical learning experiences that shape their positive character development. While wrapping young people in a nurturing environment, mastering not just the physical skills needed to effectively compete in tennis but the social and emotional intelligence as well will instill important values such as perseverance, fortitude, strength of mind and patience – essential life skills that become foundational keys to future success. While the program’s approach has evolved over the years, this mission and purpose continue to be the same.
What We Have Done
In past years, the BICYTP contracted its services to educational and religious institutions such as charter and private schools, the Boys & Girls Clubs and the Black Ministerial Alliance. The program has served more than 1000 children in the greater Boston area, some of whom have gone on to obtain college scholarships and play competitive tennis. Our first class of students are now college graduates, pursuing Master’s degrees, or are currently in college and teaching tennis to children in the community.
Our program reached young people in the following communities:
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Bridge Boston Charter School – Dorchester, MA
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Thatcher Montessori School – Milton, MA
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Lexington Montessori School – Lexington, MA
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Little Voices Early Child Care –Hyde Park, MA
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Victory Generation Program –Roxbury, MA (seven sites located geographically throughout Greater Boston: Chinatown, Roxbury, Dorchester)
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Orchard Garden Boys & Girls Club – Roxbury, MA
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Swaby Taekwondo Academy – Dorchester, MA
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Montesserrat Aspires Community Organization – Montserrat W.I.
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Boston Renaissance Charter School – Hyde Park, MA
Moving Forward
The programming model of BICYTP will be modified to better serve our participants by moving from after school to an into the school model to work with students directly, following athletes as they develop the skills to be ready to move to a more advanced level in which they travel on our tours to competitive tournaments.
BICYTP’s vision is not only to train strong tennis players, but also create opportunities for our youth to obtain a college scholarship through their tennis achievement. BICYTP is coordinating with local colleges to incorporate creating an early exposure to higher education as the students move through the program. The goal of this interaction is to encourage students to both pursue a college education and the athletic scholarship for tennis to help pay for the tuition.