Sportsmen’s Tennis Club

Sportsmen’s Tennis Club (STC) has brought tennis into the lives of literally thousands of Greater Boston residents, young and old, since it was founded as a not–for–profit club in 1961.
Hundreds of young men and women from the Club have attended college on full or partial tennis scholarships, and thousands more have discovered strength, courage and self–determination off the courts as added benefits of their work on the court
STC is far more than a Tennis Club. Our youth programs develop academic, health and social skills that improve lives and build communities. Participants become more resilient and resourceful in overcoming obstacles and setbacks, learn to set and attain goals, identify and develop skills for success in life, and develop the discipline and persistence to persevere and progress towards their goals. Adults find an enjoyable vehicle for life–changing exercise, and parents trust STC to provide a safe and nurturing environment for their children.
Our mission is to create an interracial setting where urban youth can develop a healthy, competitive spirit on and off the tennis court; to teach the value of teamwork as well as individual achievement; to encourage interaction and friendships between people from different backgrounds; to learn to win and lose gracefully; and most importantly, to be winners in life.
STC offers three distinct but overlapping program tracks to achieve this mission:
1. Recreational tennis and fitness programs;
2. Instructional and competitive tennis programs;
3. Programs that enrich the social, emotional and educational development of our youth.
STC stands poised to further extend our reach into the community, impacting the lives of thousands more young people and adding enjoyable physical activity to generations of families. We are committed to our community, and strive for excellence and a common purpose in all of our programming. All of this comes at a time when the city of Boston is in dire need of more opportunities for young people to identify with and experience programs that demonstrate their ability to create a positive future for themselves and their communities.
STC is located in an economically diverse section of Boston where no child is turned away from recreational or instructional tennis for lack of funds. We traditionally underwrite the cost of tournament and league participation for some economically disadvantaged families that can not afford the cost for instruction. As a committed community partner we reach more than 1,500 young people who participate in STC programs every year, to play tennis, study at the homework center and interact with adults and peers who care about their social and emotional development.
STC HIistory
Landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted noted in 1870 that Boston was an overcrowded, noisy, and dirty city. Concerned with the health and happiness of Bostonians, the city hired Olmsted to design a park system (1), and he created Boston’s famous Emerald Necklace, stretching from the Boston Common to the Arnold Arboretum and Franklin Park. Designed primarily as a series of passive recreational grounds, Olmsted recognized they wouldn’t meet the growing need for active recreation. He urged the city to purchase what became Franklin Field, and by 1898, it was the most heavily used playing field in the city.
The Field has long been a place where community members congregate, and the stone wall along Franklin Field is a gathering place that reflects Dorchester’s increasing diversity; residents watch games on the fields, enjoy family outings, or simply soak up the sunshine. In the 1980s, a community group fought to have the name changed to one that reflected their history and values as a community of primarily African Americans, more than being named after Benjamin Franklin, and the area was renamed Harambee Park: Harambee is a Swahili word meaning "pull together." This is the ideal location for Sporstmen’s.
Since its inception, Sportsmen’s Tennis Center has been guided by a vision of tennis as a sport that can open doors of opportunity and hope, doors which should be open to all members of society. We focus on strength and opportunity for young people who are often bombarded with troubling images of themselves and their peers. While promoting excellence in tennis, we identify and fill gaps that weaken our youth, families and community.
STC was the first African–American tennis club in the US. The founders were committed to introducing and teaching tennis to inner city Boston youth. For over 45 years Sportsmen’s has been a guiding force in the lives of thousands of low and moderate–income minority youth. The Club has helped introduced local players to worlds of opportunity, and the world of tennis to Boston.
In the early to mid 1970’s, in just our first few years of operation, STC’s 16 and under team was the New England Lawn Tennis Association (NELTA) Suburban League champions, our 12 and under team was the NELTA Indoor League Champions, a 12–year–old STC junior won a NELTA sanctioned singles tournament, and our 18 and under team was NELTA’s League Champion, undefeated in ten matches.
Club founders Jim & Gloria Smith organized a Sportsmen’s USA/Soviet Union Goodwill Tennis Tour in 1989, allowing Sportsmen’s Juniors to travel to and play in the Soviet Union, and in 1998, Harvard University’s Men’s Team played it’s first match in the inner city against Penn State at Sportsmen’s Club. By 1999, the Smith’s estimated that 30,000 young people had grown up with STC helping them to learn about life and tennis. Today, we believe that number has grown to exceed 40,000 young lives touched.