Technology has connected all 25 Buddy Up Tennis locations in ways that we never imagined possible. We have transformed our 90-minute tennis and fitness clinics to an exhilarating hour of tennis, fitness, and fun that can be done entirely at home via Zoom Video Conferencing with 100+ Athletes, Buddies, and Coaches from across the country! The duo responsible for this creative new virtual path filled with energy and excitement are Coaches Doug DiRosario and Kyle Collette.
One Lake Nona Athlete parent enthused, regarding Doug and Kyle’s broadcasted live and interactive clinics, that “Buddy Up Tennis did not skip a beat. Our Saturdays have always been marked off for Buddy Up Tennis, and thanks to Doug and Kyle, we can still enjoy the program as a family in the comfort and safety of our own home.”
As experts on the court and in the gym, Doug and Kyle continue to find creative ways to ensure that each portion of the Buddy Up Tennis clinic, from start to finish, is maintained within the virtual at-home clinics. They have kept our four fitness stations intact, and have incorporated activities such as juggling, jump rope (without a jump rope), line hops over a sock, animal walks, and burpees! Amazingly, Doug and Kyle have conquered the daunting task of keeping the integrity of the tennis portion intact…without a tennis court! They discovered outlets to ensure that our Athletes still practice all of their tennis strokes through shadowing drills and use of a balloon or a sock in place of a tennis ball.
Doug and Kyle’s creativity stands tall in the tennis community, but it’s the interactions between Athlete, Buddy and Coach that truly make Buddy Up Tennis clinics unique, and these two have harnessed these interactions and brought them to life in our At-Home Clinics. The Buddies continue to serve as one-on-one Coaches, teammates, cheerleaders, and friends by demonstrating activities and encouraging the Athletes to reach their next personal BEST. Likewise, Coaches from across the country have begun stepping in during the At-Home Clinics to lead drills and games, just as they would on the courts. Doug and Kyle have been able to share smiles and words of encouragement, and to spotlight every single Athlete that joins the At-Home Clinics, just as they would at Buddy Up Tennis in person.
Coordinator Director Allison Davis shares, “You cannot replicate Doug and Kyle’s energy and synergy! They feed off of one another, and our Athletes respond to their personalities like no others. For years, Coaches and Coordinators have wanted to bottle the two up and bring them to their own locations, and these virtual clinics allow us to literally send Kyle and Doug to the living rooms of our Athletes, Buddies, and Coaches!”
At one point during a Zoom and Facebook Live broadcasted clinic, Doug and Kyle viewed one of the Buddies doing a cartwheel as a dance move, and the two immediately attempted to do cartwheels in sync, as well, putting smiles on the faces of the nearly 100+ Athletes, Buddies, and Coaches who had tuned in via Zoom and Facebook Live.
Off the (At-Home Clinic) courts, the two are not letting anything get in the way of keeping the Buddy Up Tennis mission from changing lives. Coach Doug continues to check in and stay in touch with the Buddy Up Tennis Coach network nationwide. Similarly, Coach Kyle has been hard at work creating at-home fitness opportunities for our Athletes, including our new Buddy Up Fitness On-Demand Program, which offers three 40-minute workouts designed specifically for our Athletes with Down syndrome, all to be completed in the comfort of their own homes.
The dynamic duo has been bringing the Buddy Up Tennis energy to our 25 communities through launches and follow up visits for years, and today they find themselves uniting the entire Buddy Up Tennis family via technology. The technology avenue may be new, but these Coaches’ energy, humor, and passion for working with our Athletes has never changed!
Click HERE to experience the dynamic duo’s energy and excitement during our virtual clinics.