You Ask, Patch Answers: Why Aren't There South Cobb Schools in County Elementary Tennis League?

One reader wondered why there were no South Cobb schools included in the spring Cobb County Elementary School Tennis League, which is open to all second to fifth grade students.

South Cobb has a couple of parks that have tennis courts, including , which has eight courts.

No South Cobb schools are currently included in the league because no parents from South Cobb schools have registered complete teams to participate in the league.

Each team must have a home school, parent volunteers and at four children at the same level.  The levels vary from red, white and blue. There is no limit to the number of teams a school can have participating in the league.

“It takes parent volunteers from the schools to step up to be a coordinator and form teams,” Eddie Canon, director of the Cobb County Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs Department, told South Cobb Patch.

“If the schools are not on the list, it’s because no one stepped up,” Canon said.

Schools can be added to the league; parents only need to register their children using the “other” code on the registration site.

Once there is enough participation–at least four children at the same skill level–from a particular school, then a team can be created.

This particular league is one of the only programs offered by the county that does not require United States Tennis Association membership, which is $19, a league fee of $26 and an additional court fee, which varies by location. This program is $10 per child for six weeks.

Most teams have practices with a tennis professional, and that’s an additional fee of $65 per hour, which is usually divided by the number of children on the team. However, practice with a professional at the tennis centers is not mandatory.

“The children do a whole lot better when they have practices as a team,” said Lola Wilburn, coordinator of the elementary tennis league at Harrison Tennis Center, where the league first began five seasons ago.

The original deadline for the tennis league teams to register was Feb. 18. However, the deadline has been extended to Saturday.

Cobb County also offers a fall elementary tennis league for those who want to participate and need more time to organize a team.

Parent/Coordinator information about the league is attached to this article.