By Nick Freeman
In 2016, 123 kids signed up for Frog Island Tennis Camp and attended the camp on June 6-7. “It just keeps growing,” Jerry Stringer, founder of the camp, said.
In 1975, Jerry Stringer founded The Frog Island Tennis Camp to promote the tennis program with hopes of students joining the high school team. Before 1975, Flora had little more than a rec program, put together by the City of Flora. At that time, an instructor was in charge of the program and anybody could join.
Today after 41 years, any individual in grade 1-12 can attend the camp. To promote the camp, flyers are passed out and schools are contacted about the event. The main focus of Frog Island Tennis is to educate kids on fundamentals of tennis. At the camp, children learn the proper strokes, how to keep score, how to play doubles, the positioning, etc. The ultimate goal of Frog Island consists of developing a love for the game within the campers. Mr. Stringer states, “It’s not just all learning about tennis and developing how to hit a forehand and backhand, it’s to have fun, be active, and get involved.”