Special Olympic athletes in Lincoln are now getting the opportunity to play tennis, thanks to the efforts of a retired Lincoln Public Schools physical education teacher.
RON POWELL / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Friday, July 10, 2009 12:00 am
Special Olympic athletes in Lincoln are now getting the opportunity to play tennis, thanks to the efforts of a retired Lincoln Public Schools physical education teacher.
Phil Wolfe has launched the Lincoln Tennis Buddies program, where local tennis enthusiasts work with special needs athletes to expand their sports horizons beyond what Special Olympics Nebraska already offers.
Wolfe began working with the Special Olympics athletes two years ago, coaching them in basketball, volleyball, bowling and track. Being a tennis player himself, Wolfe thought it would be a great addition.
"They've had a tennis buddies program in Omaha for quite a while, so it was something I thought we could do here," said Wolfe, who will coach the Nebraska tennis team in the National Special Olympics Games in Lincoln next July. "A lot of (the athletes) are at the very beginning stages of learning the game, but they're excited about it."
Wolfe says there are 12 athletes currently in the program with eight to 10 buddies working them. Practices are Saturdays at the Nebraska Tennis Center. They practice nine months of year, taking off May, September and October.
"Our goal is to get three buddies per athlete so no one feels obligated to be at practice every Saturday," Wolfe said.
Anyone interested in being a tennis buddy or making a financial donation to help pay for indoor court time in the winter can e-mail Wolfe at cubwolfe@gmail.com.
Ex-OU player hired at tennis center
Heather Nobler, a former No. 1 singles player at Oklahoma, started this week as a pro at the Nebraska Tennis Center. Nobler, a women's assistant coach the past three years at Marquette, played for the Sooners from 2001-05.
The two-time all-Big 12 selection qualified for the NCAA doubles tournament in 2003 and 2004. Nobler, a Des Moines, Iowa, native, was ranked as high as No. 16 nationally in the juniors.
Hjermstad seeded No. 1 at Fremont
Lincoln's Erik Hjermstad, the No. 1-ranked player in the state in 2008, is the No. 1 seed in the men's open singles portion of the Fremont Open, which begins today and concludes Sunday. This is the first tournament of the summer for the former Nebraska Wesleyan player.
Two other Lincoln players - Lincoln Racquet Club pro Rick Stempson and Nebraska Wesleyan sophomore Nathan Hoppe - are seeded Nos. 2 and 3, respectively. Hjermstad and Stempson are the No. 1 seed in the men's open doubles competition.
In women's open singles, Kari Stempson of Lincoln is the top seed.
State Games dates change
The adult sanctioned portion of the Cornhusker State Games tennis tournament has been moved to July 17-19 from its original dates of July 24-26. This avoids a conflict with another USTA sanctioned adult tournament in Grand Island.
Reach Ron Powell at 473-7437 or rpowell@journalstar.com.