This month’s featured Athlete is Anthony! He was recently chosen to represent Special Pops Tennis at the 2023 Xperience Tennis Invitational Tournament in Charlottesville, Virginia. This is a singles competition only tournament hosted at the Boar’s Head Resort. Invitations are extended to the top 32 adaptive tennis players in the nation. Anthony has been playing tennis since he was in 3rd grade. Although at one point, he felt very discouraged about his progress so he stopped playing. Once Anthony got to high school, he wanted to find an athletic activity to participate in so he picked up tennis racquet again. He came to know Special Pops Tennis through volunteers with Special Olympics Floor. Connections were made and, by 2016, Anthony was attending his first [...]

This month’s athlete feature is Lawton! Lawton was chosen to represent Special Pops Tennis at the USTA National Adaptive Championships in Florida. He has been playing tennis with SPT since 2017 and not only does he play as an athlete, but he also serves as a unified partner volunteer. When we asked Lawton what his favorite part of SPT he was said, “Seeing all of my friends that I have made over the years at tournaments and events. I also love the player parties at the events because it’s fun to hang out with everyone off the tennis courts.” His favorite memory from SPT was traveling to Virginia for a tournament last February. This was his first time being invited to Virginia for the [...]

This month’s athlete feature is Patrick! He has been playing tennis with SPT for 8 years! When asked his favorite part of SPT he said, “It’s not all about tennis but instead you get to hang out with people, get to know them, and become friends.” He has enjoyed getting to know people and creating a solid group of friends. He loves all the volunteers and coaches and how positive they are with every athlete. He loves how much a family Special Pops is and how everyone works hard but also supports one another. Patrick loves playing with his unified partner, Lisa Littleton, who drives down from Greenville, SC to play with him in the Fall Classic and Belton, SC tournaments every year. They [...]

This month’s athlete feature is Allison! She will be representing Georgia at the USA Games in Orlando for Special Olympics this year! Allison has been a part of SPT for 15 years! Her favorite parts of SPT are making new friends, meeting new people, and having fun while playing tennis with all of her friends in one place. She also really loves working with Camille, her coach, at Lifetime! When asked what her favorite memory involving SPT was she said: “Traveling to all of the tournaments is always fun. I’ve been to Belton, SC, Dothan, AL, and so many more. One memory that sticks out the most is getting to speak at the Country Club of Roswell.” When she’s not on the tennis courts, [...]

This month’s SPT Athlete Feature is Ryan. He has been playing tennis with Special Pops since 2011! When asked what his favorite part of SPT is, Ryan had this to said that he loves to get the gold medal. He recently won a very exciting match that went all the way to the last point of a tie breaker! Ryan didn’t have a favorite memory from SPT because he just loves playing tennis! Besides tennis, Ryan also enjoys bowling and shooting hoops in the driveway. He is a big movie buff and also loves music! His favorite song is “We’re the Titans” from Hercules and Xena. He also enjoys playing board games. Something really neat about Ryan is he loves snowboarding! His father takes [...]

This month’s SPT Athlete Feature is Myles. He has been playing tennis with Special Pops for more than 8 years! When asked what his favorite part of SPT is, Myles had this to say: “I love serving behind the white and blue line because you get to hit the ball after you toss it. Also, you get a lot of turns to serve. Socializing is my second favorite part of SPT. I love getting to hang out with all of my friends at the LifeTime training academy for practice and tournaments.” Myles also enjoys bowling, baseball, soccer, swimming, and running track. He is an orange belt in taekwondo and can break a board with one kick! He is currently a senior in high school [...]