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Before the Williams sisters came along, Slade remembers, recruiting African American kids to play tennis was pretty tough. When Venus and Serena came along, she says. They made it easy, like Tiger (Woods) did in golf.
Most of the Johnston Y kids are from the City Within A City area of Charlotte, which targets at-risk kids and communities. They primarily come from Charlotte Housing Authority communities and the neighborhoods of Belmont, Optimist Park and Villa Heights. She's also worked with kids from Reid Park and Thomasboro, other low-income, predominantly black neighborhoods.
If you wonder about the impact, just ask the Johnston Y's Steele. Since her kids began in Slade's program three years ago, tennis has become a high priority. There are two things you can't take away around here without a fight -- tennis and swimming, Steele says.
Cecil Brandon, a stockbroker who teaches in Slade's summer program, praises the high number of kids she reaches. When I was younger, and a coach (Calvin Davis) took an interest in me, it made a huge difference, says Brandon, who played at East Mecklenburg High and attended the University of Alabama. With the type of volume she has, she's touching so many kids. That's invaluable.
One of the best things about her is she relates so well to young people, continues Brandon, who works for Josephtha1 & Co. She's firm when she needs to be, and always in a nurturing way. That's especially important for many of the (disadvantaged) kids who come through.
Says the Y's Steele, She keeps up with the kids and remembers them year to year. She comments to them on their progress. She's dedicated her whole life to kids and introducing them to sports opportunities.
When Slade came to Garinger as its tennis coach in 1997, it was a dream come true for the Burlington, NC native. She had always wanted to coach the sport she'd played for more than 25 years. (She's rated a 4.5 doubles player, which is good. 7.0 is a touring pro.) A sociology graduate of Barber Scotia, and a veteran middle school teacher, athletic director and basketball coach, she was ready for the challenge when she came to Garinger five years ago.
Tennis players were scarce and the courts were a mess. The asphalt was cracked, the nets were tattered and trash and broken glass were everywhere. Years before, the school had had a program under Coach Joyce Hunter, but after she retired, the school had gone through a series of coaches. Today, not surprisingly, there's a fresh coat of blue paint on the courts, a big Garinger Cats sign on the fence and not a drink cup or broken bottle in sight. I get great support from the community, Slade says.
Don't get me wrong; the sport is still not big at Garinger. And it probably never will be, for no fault of Slade's.
That's because most top tennis players in the state concentrate on the USTA junior circuit. Many don't even play on their high school team. Still, the sport gives more high school kids a chance to experience the benefit of a sport, and Garinger is no longer an automatic doormat in the conference.
We have had girls make all-conference, and we used to always be last, says Slade, now in the midst of her girls' season. Our boys are getting better, too.
Being a part of one of Slade's programs is not a casual undertaking. She expects youngsters to be on time, have their shoes tied and be ready to go. The kids know up front that she expects certain things, Brandon says. She runs her program in a particular way, and it's based on respect for people.
Slade has taken Garinger boys' tennis team to the Family Circle Cup twice, to serve as ball boys for the women's pro tournament. And she uses the occasions to teach lessons about life.
At the event this past spring in Charleston, her Garinger boys were playing rallyball between matches. The modified half-court tennis game intrigued their fellow ball boys, but they didn't have any racquets. So Slade encouraged her boys to share their racquets, teach their fellow ball boys the game, and work them into the competition.
By the end of the week, the two groups, which couldn't have been more disparate -- the Garinger boys were older, less skilled, more diverse and less affluent, while the others were younger, more skilled, almost all white and affluent -- were friends.
Some still keep in touch today, Slade says, happy she helped bring together the divergent groups. That's why I'm a coach. I help break down barriers.
