The start of fall for most athletes in the Concord area means picking up a football helmet, soccer cleats or a field hockey stick. Summers for many mean extra time on the golf course and the baseball diamond. Now, an ongoing effort is encouraging more young athletes to opt for a tennis racket.

When Greg Malette and Kevin Parsons started coaching the Concord High School girls’ and boys’ tennis teams in spring of 2021, they saw that none of their athletes played competitive tennis in the offseason. There wasn’t a feeder program providing tennis instruction and experience to develop young talent.

Malette, Parsons and current and former CHS tennis players started the Rundlett/Deerfield Tennis Camp and partnered with the nonprofit Advantage Kids to develop a summer camp for middle school players. The camp, which has already served 50 middle school youths from Concord and Deerfield, recently concluded its second year on Aug. 17 with the Advantage Kids Annual Matchplay State Tournament at the Harvey Smith courts at Memorial Field.

Twenty-four middle schoolers from across the state, including players from Concord, Bow and Deerfield and a handful from Malette and Parson’s camp, competed in the tournament.

Concord brothers Eli and Ari Paddleford reached the doubles final, which was won by Cooper Mousseau (Laconia) and Jordan Ndanga (Gilford). The Paddleford brothers are coached by Mike Constantin through Bow’s Advantage Kids program. Kasey Tarr of Dover won the singles title, with Meredith’s Elsa King finishing runner-up.

But the results aren’t what Malette and Parsons are focusing on now. Advantage Kids’ mission is to “empower children to develop strength of character, resilience and self-confidence through the integration of tennis and life skills,” according to an Advantage Kids press release, and that philosophy has guided Malette and Parsons through their program’s development.

“Middle school players learn tennis technical skills and court awareness while demonstrating how life skills (resilience, positive attitude, honesty as examples) play out on the courts and in school,” Malette said. “I am pleased to see enough interest and ability in tennis such that Concord can host the tournament and field a team after only two years of running the program.”

While only two years old, the effort Malette and Parsons have put into the camp might already be paying off. The first “graduates” of the camp are now entering ninth grade and could be playing at the varsity level in a few months. Plans are already underway for the camp’s third year in 2025. The camp runs through June and July and is held at Merrill Park.

The pair will also be bringing tennis to Rundlett Middle School with Blue Duke Night on Monday from 4-6 p.m. Sign up with Sue Farrelly over at Rundlett at sfarrelly@sau8.org.

Anyone interested in getting involved or wanting more information about the c amp can check out advantagekids.org.