I participated in NJTL of Indianapolis from age 7 until 16. The years of experience taught me many things beyond hand-eye coordination. I learned patience and perseverance, because achieving an overhand serve from the baseline is not a task conquered in one lesson or one week. Integrity was instilled in me through line calls and scoring. As I got older, my passion for tennis continued to blossom. In 6th grade I made my middle school's tennis team, and continued to varsity in high school. However, participating on the team not only furthered my skills as an athlete, but more importantly kept me out of trouble. My school dismissed students around 3pm, but my mom didn't get off work until 5pm. Thankfully, the social skills I learned from the positive role models at NJTL and the passion I gained for the sport, kept me on the tennis court and away from the peer pressures faced by an unsupervised teen.