USTA/NNMTA's 2004 Fall Mid-School Tennis League (a USA Team Tennis Event)
Thirty middle schools from around the state participated in the league with a combined total of over 660 players. This league focuses on 6th through 8th grade students many of whom have never played tennis. The coaches of these teams are sometimes parents but often just tennis players who want to extend their love of the sport to kids who are often interested in trying it out to see if it is something they want to pursue. Coaches are given a short training session and materials that assist them in getting the kids ready to play matches against other schools. The matches consist of 3 singles and 3 doubles in both boys and girls events. There are 3 divisions that the players are grouped into: A (for the more advanced players); B (for players who are less experienced); C (a combination of boys and girls into a coed category when there are not enough players to constitute a separate A or B team).
The schools participating in 2004 were Academy, Albuquerque Charter Schools, Albuquerque Christian School, Annunciation, Belen, Cleveland, Desert Ridge, Eagle Ridge, Eisenhower, Garfield, Grant, Home Schools East, Home Schools West, Hoover, Immanuel Lutheran, Jackson, Jefferson, John Adams, Kennedy, Lincoln, LBJ, Madison, Monroe, Mountain View, Queen of Heaven, Sandia Prep, Taft, Taos, Taylor, and Truman. Most of the schools were from Albuquerque, but we were delighted to have a school from Belen, Espanola, Las Vegas, Los Alamos, and Taos among our contenders. Any school interested in information on starting a league team or anyone interested in coaching a team, contact Sue Jollensten at the NNM office (505-823-6599) or email her at sjollensten@comcast.net.