The dozen tennis courts at Center Grove High School stir with activity during a sun-splashed weekday morning.
At the north end of the facility, instructors encourage players barely taller than the net in front of them.
“Racket up … eye on the ball … great job.”
Nearby, courts are occupied by middle school and high school tennis enthusiasts, each (okay, most) of them listening intently in an effort to improve or fine-tune aspects of his or her game.
And so it goes at the annual Southside Tennis program at Center Grove, a tradition started by longtime Trojan boys coach Ivan Smith during the disco era and at absolutely no risk of waning in popularity.
This year alone, the program attracted 485 players, the majority signed up through the use of online registration. Smith estimates the number to be closer to 500 once the other sign-ups are factored in.
This summer’s program started June 1 and runs through next week, with a one-week break at the halfway point (June 28-July 2).
What began with Smith giving lessons in the summer of 1977 to between 15-20 people, adults included, blossomed into a place that has helped develop state champions and all-state players from a pool that so far exceeds more than 50 different Indiana high schools.
Smith’s mission was as follows: Take the template originated in the north and bring it south.
“The benchmark for high school tennis was North Central, and they had a great summer program,” Smith said. “Thirty courts and they were all full, and I noticed when we played other teams on the northside, they all went to the North Central program.
“I thought that was a huge advantage because my kids have to play each other, and in the summer the (Northside players) can play kids from other schools and get better.”
The Southside program does the same, albeit with geographic differences.
Players representing Johnson County school systems take part, obviously, but others from as far away as Terre Haute and Batesville have made the drive to Center Grove seeking instruction. Smith’s collection of teachers includes Whiteland girls and boys coach Mike Gillespie, Center Grove girls and middle school coach Debby Burton and former Trojans standout Tony Epkey.
Epkey grew up attending the summer program, as did other current instructors such as recent graduates Quinten Gillespie of Whiteland, Ethan Gray of Greenwood and Dhrumil Patel and Holyn Aukerman from Center Grove.
At one point, Smith points to an instructor who played at Plainfield and attended the Center Grove summer program when younger. Another is from Avon … that one over there from Mooresville … and so on.
“I love that we open our doors to people outside of Center Grove,” said Burton, who is in her 26th summer as a coach. “And I love that it’s all about getting kids enthusiastic about the sport of tennis, and that all these kids who grew up in our program have come back and can’t wait to be an instructor.”
The Youth Progression classes are ages 5-10 (with some 4-year-olds occasionally mixed in); the oldest players are high school seniors.
Among this summer’s players is Jack Dybwad, 13, who’ll soon start his eighth-grade school year at Center Grove Middle School Central.
“I like that you can have fun, do these little drills and then there’s another hour and a half you can actually play matches,” said Dybwad, who just picked up the sport last year and is attending the summer program for the first time. “I do think I’m getting better. The instructors are all really nice and all of my friends play, too.”
Smith, who makes it a point to sign players in in an effort to familiarize himself with those taking part in the summer program, cherishes this time of year. A Hall of Famer and the state’s career leader in boys tennis victories, Smith enjoys witnessing the growth of tennis on this side of Indianapolis.
“I’m very competitive. I like the tennis season. I like the competition, but I really like the summer more because it’s not a competition thing. It’s a building thing, and it’s an education thing,” he said. “It’s become what I envisioned, so that’s a benchmark, I guess.
“We continually try to get better.”
That’s precisely what the Southside program is and has long been about.
