OPAF Launches First Volley Tennis Clinics

The Orthotic and Prosthetic Assistance Fund (OPAF) Langhorne, Pennsylvania, launched its newest program, First Volley, an adaptive tennis clinic for amputees and orthotic wearers on August 7 at Bucks County Racquet Club located in Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania. According to the organization, the reviews are in and the event was a huge success!

All who pre-registered were in attendance, in addition to some walk-in attendees, bringing participation to a total of 11 amputees and one attendee with a congenital handicap. Two participants rented a car and drove from New York City for the chance to attend First Volley. Other attendees came from central Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and the greater Philadelphia area. Both upper and lower extremity amputees were represented, as well as several bilateral amputees.

Bucks County Racquet Club donated all of its indoor courts and the use of many staffmembers to assist Darren Kindred, director of tennis and Marty Devlin, tennis professional, with the event. A representative from Prince Sports, John Hendricks, was on hand to supply all merchandise used for the afternoon as well as prizes for each participant.

The afternoon began with a presentation by Dana Bezar of her amazing tennis skills. Bezar is a quadrilateral amputee who plays tennis standing up. The only concession that is made for her disability is she is allowed two bounces of the ball on her side of the net, if needed. Coaches, Devlin and Kindred, have been assisted by the engineering staffat Prince Sports in creating an adaptive device to attach Bezar's racquet to her prosthesis and provide reinforcement of the racquet handle. She demonstrated forehands and backhands, and also put top and back spin on the ball at will. With this kind of inspiration, the participants were sent to different courts for individual and group instruction on tennis strokes as well as volleying on a rotating court basis.

The tennis event wrapped up with Hitting for Prizes, sponsored by Prince Sports. Over fifty prizes including hats, shirts, and posters were scattered over one side of the tennis court and participants were asked to volley the ball over the net and if the ball hit a prize it was theirs to keep. In addition to Prince merchandise, each participant also received an OPAF golf shirt, a pair of OPAF/First Volley tennis socks, courtesy of Comfort Products, and a certificate of completion.

The afternoon concluded with beverages and refreshments, provided by host, Bucks County Racquet Club. Plans are in the works for OPAF and the tennis club to offer a new program that includes courts for amputee tennis on a monthly basis.

First Volley was the brainchild of Robin Burton and Darren Kindred. "We can envision First Volley growing very rapidly to a national level as there is a need for excellent adaptive tennis instruction and a desire by the O&P community for these kinds of opportunities. It was wonderful to see the enthusiasm of not only the players, but the tennis staffas well," said Burton.

OPAF thanks the Amputee Coalition of America (ACA) Knoxville, Tennessee, for notifying its membership of First Volley. Materials provided by ACA were on display at the registration table with free samples of their newest publication, Expectations, as well as the chance to discuss prosthetic parity with Elizabeth Mansfield, OPAF Board member, who also serves as ACA's outreach and advocacy co-coordinator.

OPAF is negotiating with Prince Sports and other companies interested in sponsorship opportunities in the future. If you would like to be involved or host a First Volley clinic, contact Robin Burton, executive director at 215.752.5756 or rlb@opfund.org

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Alabama Prosthetic & Orthotic Association Focuses on Hot Topics

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