Old Racquet You Don't Need? Teen Jared Glick Will Find it a Good Home

High school tennis player Jared Glick of Holden Massachusetts was injured last fall, keeping him out of competition but eager to keep the sport in his life. He began contemplating other ways of sharing the game he loves and decided to start Racquet Roundup New England, a program dedicated to collecting new and used racquets and donating them to adults and children unable to afford new equipment.

He set a goal of collecting fifty racquets to distribute through the New England section and Tenacity Tennis, a community outreach program in Boston. But under his persistent guidance, and with the help of major racquet companies, independent clubs and individuals, that number has grown to over 225. The Professional Tennis Registry is now assisting him with racquet distribution on a national level.

"This started out as a small idea, and then turned into something a lot larger," says Glick, who was sectionally ranked in the 16s before his surgery. "People from all over the country have sent in racquets, and companies have been a huge support. We all have at least one racquet lying around, it's just a matter of telling people hey, there's something you can do with those racquets."

Glick has set a goal of 300 racquets collected by this summer, and if you are an individual, a club owner, a coach, a retailer, a tournament director or anyone else with access to racquets, he would love to hear from you.

"It is amazing to me how people who don't even know each other can come together to unite for a common goal," Glick says. "I've really been stunned and so grateful for the ways in which people have supported this program, and I hope to see it grow and continue on for years to come."

Please contact him at racquetroundupne at hotmail dot com if you can help a very special young man share his love for the game of tennis.