Inclusive Enjoyable on the Tennis Court

Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Rex Dover. Read his story, and nominate an impressive volunteer or household as a Daily Point of Light.

Music, tennis and volunteer service. Those are the issues 17-year-old Rex Dover is specializing in as he enters his final summer time earlier than commencement. There’s all the time music taking part in when he’s round, both a favourite artist’s or his personal. He performs the guitar and piano, and he writes and sings his personal lyrics.

Tennis has been within the combine since he was 4 years outdated, when his dad and mom found clinics for youths at a close-by courtroom and enrolled their three sons. They beloved it, and through his sophomore 12 months on the varsity crew, Rex and one among his brothers gained the state doubles event. He made it to the finals with one other associate simply this 12 months.

Rex additionally likes serving to folks, which is why in 2021, after shedding a household good friend, the brothers determined to mix the pursuits they shared to create Belmont Abilities Tennis, the one teen-led chapter of the group in North Carolina. Every Sunday, Rex and volunteer coaches lead one-to-one, hour-long adaptive tennis periods for round 20 athletes with mental disabilities of all ages. They stretch, play video games, run drills, construct friendships, and so on. And since his brothers went to varsity final 12 months, Rex has been working issues solo.

He has recruited and skilled greater than 50 scholar volunteers and impressed tennis organizations from surrounding Hickory and Charlotte to duplicate his program mannequin in their very own chapters. In the summer time, he has additionally given free personal classes on the request of enthusiastic athletes, additional demonstrating how significant inclusivity is to these usually left sitting on the sideline.

What conjures up you to volunteer?

I used to be just a little boy once I began with Meals on Wheels with my mother. It was my first enterprise into service. We’d drive round and ship meals to homebound senior residents and different homebound folks. I all the time noticed the impression that had on different folks.

What impressed you to get began with this initiative?

My brothers and I performed tennis with a good friend named Matthew Lu. In 2019, we had been at his celebration at a trampoline park, and he fell off the rock-climbing wall and hit his head. He died the day after. After that tragedy, we nominated him for the USTA Sportsmanship Award, and he ended up receiving that posthumously.

At the banquet the place we had been accepting the award on his behalf, I met Lou Welch, who’s the Executive Director of the Abilities Tennis Association of North Carolina. She informed me all about her program, and we thought it will be an incredible factor to do in Matthew’s honor, as a result of he was all the time so caring for others. We wished to hold on his legacy.

Tell us about your volunteer function with Belmont Abilities Tennis.

We maintain two eight-week periods per 12 months, one within the fall and one within the spring. I assist discover athletes with mental disabilities to return to our clinics by conducting outreach to organizations just like the Special Needs Community Initiative of Gastonia. My important function is as a coach. I’m additionally there to keep up a protected, inclusive surroundings for everybody to play in, as a result of lots of people with mental disabilities have a tough time feeling included socially.

I educate volunteers the best way to coach earlier than periods start. We often have round 12 volunteers on the courtroom with completely different jobs. Some decide up balls. Some coach, and a few are simply there to present the athletes a protected area to thrive socially.

I’ve some assist, however I do many of the organizing work myself—securing courtroom reservations, writing grant proposals, coordinating with metropolis parks and recreation employees, managing our Facebook pageand different duties. We put up a signup to enlist volunteers earlier than every session, and it fills up rapidly.

How have you ever seen this system profit athletes?

The important factor is the social facet. They’re so excited to return out. They’ll dash from their vehicles out onto the tennis courtroom. That’s one of the best factor to observe.

It additionally offers them an outing for some train, which many don’t have. Everyone could be very invested and loves taking part in. One of our athletes was even chosen as supervisor of the highschool crew.

What’s been essentially the most rewarding a part of your work?

The most rewarding half has been listening to from the dad and mom and athletes how a lot they adore our program. Some of the athletes have requested me for personal classes in the summertime. I’ve performed that loads, and we’ve gotten to attach on a deeper stage.

One of essentially the most memorable moments was the US Open’s USTA Net Generation Experience.
Each 12 months, the USTA sends a corporation that’s serving the tennis neighborhood to the US Open. Abilities Tennis of North Carolina was chosen final 12 months, so every chapter within the state might nominate one athlete, and 25 would go.

My athlete was chosen, so he and I had been capable of go to the US Open for a day. We went to all of the matches, after which he bought to play at Arthur Ashe Stadium on the middle courtroom. It was such a enjoyable expertise for everybody concerned. It was very rewarding to see his pleasure.

What have you ever discovered via your experiences as a volunteer?

I’ve discovered the best way to practice folks with mental disabilities. I’ve additionally realized that folks with mental disabilities are an enormous a part of the inhabitants, and so they’re very underrepresented. There aren’t many alternatives for them to do issues that folks with out mental disabilities would do, so it’s necessary to create them.

Why is it necessary for others to become involved with causes they care about?

It’s necessary to become involved due to how underserved lots of people are. It’s arduous to see how little others have till you exit and attempt to assist them.

What would you like folks to be taught out of your story?

I need folks to understand how fulfilling service is. It’s so rewarding seeing how a lot pleasure this brings to folks.

Do you need to make a distinction in your neighborhood like Rex? Find local volunteer opportunities.