The 16th annual Toe River Racqueteers Tennis Camp, hosted by Partners Aligned Toward Health (PATH), had a wonderful turnout with 94 campers sharpening their tennis skills on the Mountain Heritage High School courts. The camp focuses on promoting tennis skills, fostering new friendships, and encouraging physical activity, and was once again a resounding success.
If you missed tennis camp, don’t worry! PATH’s free Toe River Racqeteers Pickleball Camp starts on Monday, June 16th goes through Thursday, June 19th. You can register online by visiting: bit.ly/TRR2025pickleball.
This four-day camp is completley free and all pickleball supplies will be provided for campers, but make sure to bring water, sunscreen, close-toed shoes, a hat if needed, and a great attitude! Please plan to come to the Mountain Heritage tennis courts 15 minutes before your session. Rising K-2nd camp is from 9-10am, camp for rising 3rd-5th is from 10:15-11:15am, and camp for rising 6th-10th graders is from 11:30am-12:30pm.
Pickelball camp participants will get moving with fun warm-up activites and skill-building challenges, before learning the rules of pickelball from USTPA Master Professional and founder of Tennis Insights, Michael Baldwin. By the end of camp they’ll get a chance to play a few games of pickelball, which is one of the fastest growing sports in the country.
Every year “Coach Mike” Baldwin and Willi Baldwin play an essential role in creating a positive and instructive atmosphere throughout both camps. During this year’s tennis camp “Coach Mike” helped participants of all ages improved their racquet control and volleying techniques, while older attendees advanced to playing full tennis matches. The camp’s primary goal was to introduce youth to tennis, cultivate foundational tennis skills, connect youth with peers, and most importantly, ensure they had fun!
Partners Aligned Toward Health extends its gratitude to the Yancey County Health Department for sponsoring this year’s camp. Their support allows the camps to provide free t-shirts, tennis racquets and pickleball supplies to all participants. Special thanks are also due to Mountain Heritage High School for offering a safe and welcoming space for the camp.
Thank you to all the wonderful volunteers that made this year’s tennis camp possible. In partictular, thank you to the new Mountain Heritage High School men’s tennis coach, Bobby Tolbert, for volunteering every day of camp and coaching the most advanced students in each session! If you’d like to volunteer at the pickleball camp, please visit: bit.ly/TRRvolunteers.
For more information on Toe River Racqueteers camps, check out details at www.pathwnc.org under the Tennis Camp tab, the Partners Aligned Toward Health Facebook page, email tara@pathwnc.org, or call us at 828-682-7899.
