Special Olympics"I Love Tennis Award"
Lisa Simmers with our Special Olympics Director, Whit Evans
About Lisa….
Lisa is the daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Lloyd Simmers. She’s been involved with Special Olympics tennis for the past 11 years. Lisa has also participated in bowling, soccer and softball teams. Her improvement with her tennis game, over the years, has been amazing!
Lisa began playing short court-court tennis and has worked her way up to playing full-court tennis with outstanding results! She has won medals at the Kutztown Sectionals, along with the summer games held at Penn State each June. All of these were accomplished with a smile on her face!
Brooks Trimble
Brooks Trimble started playing sports with Special Olympics around the age of 12. He has participated in bowling, soccer, skiing and softball in addition to his favorite sport TENNIS! Brooks fell in love with tennis over 20 years ago and plays any time “Coach Whit” calls on him to play. He participates in and has won numerous medals in both singles and doubles at the Summer Special Olympic Games at Penn State as well as sectional competitions at Kutztown University. He also competes in the Special Olympic tournament held in conjunction with the Koser Jeweler Pro Tournament at Hempfield Rec every August.
Brooks is an avid Conestoga Valley High School sports fan who attends all home games during football and basketball seasons. He is a very popular player and is well liked by his peers and coaches. Coach Whit says, “He loves tennis so much that even when he is injured, he still comes to practice and plays tennis year-round with all our programs. He always has a smile on his face and makes friends everywhere he goes!”
Kaitlyn Good
My name is Kaitlyn Good. I am 26 years old and have been involved with Special Olympics since I was 9. I do bowling, soccer and tennis, but tennis is my favorite sport. It is great exercise and helps me with my stamina. My coach says my serving, backhand and forehand have improved a lot since I first started playing. I like meeting new people, making friends and competing. All the coaches and my other teammates are very nice and supportive. We have the best time together. I especially like being able to go to Penn State for summer games in June. I play both singles and doubles there and I like when everyone cheers us on. I always try my best. We get to stay in the dorms and go to the Creamery for ice cream. It is so much fun! Thank you for this award, it means so much to me to be recognized for a sport I love so much.
Isaac Orner
Hi! I’m Isaac Orner. I want to tell you about my experience with Special Olympics Tennis. My Mom and my Nina have always loved Tennis, but I wasn’t interested in trying something new, no matter how many times they brought it up. New things have always felt scary to me. Fortunately, my Mom didn’t give up. Every year, Mom would suggest that I give Tennis a try. I always said, “No thank you!” Well, after years of this, I finally agreed to one practice, mainly to get Mom to stop asking
That’s when I met Coach Whit. What a night that was! I got a racket in my hand and I couldn’t believe how much fun it was to get that ball across the net! The world opened up to me with new possibilities! Coach Whit was so kind and welcoming to me, it wasn’t scary at all. In fact, I forgot all about that and just smiled at my shock that I could do this! I can even serve the ball! Now, I love, love, love Tennis! Coach Deb, Coach Holly, the F&M teams, and the volunteers have made Tennis so exciting and fun!
Since that first practice three years ago, I’ve gained more confidence in my abilities, and I have much more courage to try new things. In school, I tried new classes like Woodworking and Art and I loved those too. I even signed up for Best Buddies at Elizabethtown College and I have a new friend there! As for sports, I now participate in Bocce, Bowling, and my old standby, Basketball. I also have gone to overnight camp, which gave me a chance to be on my own without Mom for a whole week. I never thought I could do that either. Boy was that fun! All of these things have given me lots of things to look forward to in my daily life. My life is so much better with all of these fun things to do! Tennis has helped me in so many ways!
Special Olympics Tennis has given me a place to belong. I even got to go to Penn State with the team! I am getting more physically fit and my skills are improving. I have lots of new friends. They accept me for who I am. The Special Olympics Tennis Team has become my extended family. I love them all very much! I hope that I can play on Coach Whit’s team for the rest of my life!
Let’s see, it is Saturday. I asked Mom and she said that it is only 3 more days until tennis practice. I can’t wait! In the meantime, I am going to go home and bounce the ball on my racket to get ready!
Olivia Lynch-“I Love Tennis Award”
This Tennis Central award is presented, annually, in memory of Olivia Lynch. Olivia passed away on Wednesday, December 2, 2015 following a battle with brain cancer.
Born in Lancaster, she was the loving daughter of Paul C. and Kelly M. Bruce Lynch. In addition to her parents, Olivia is survived by her older sister, Grace M., and her younger brother, Liam B.
Olivia loved pedicures, chocolate peanut butter cup ice cream with whipped cream and M&Ms, drawing with her sidewalk chalk, playing with her friends, and was developing a love of TENNIS! Even when she was not feeling well, she always put a smile on her face, laughed and played at Tennis ACES! Her smile was contagious and she showed everyone at Tennis ACES how important it was to play something you love, with your friends, and her love was TENNIS!
Each year, a Special Olympian is selected as the I Love Tennis Award Winner who embodies the love and passion for this lifetime sport of Tennis! The award is presented at our annual Gala.
