NJTL Network: Sharing Our Stories
USTA Middle States is excited to announce a new content series, Sharing Our Stories, that celebrates the life-changing, positive impact that our local National Junior Tennis and Learning (NJTL) network is making. Through human interest stories and spotlights, Sharing Our Stories will showcase many of the remarkable individuals and programs within our NJTL network who are following the USTA Foundation's mission of bringing tennis and education together to change lives.
Reading Recreation Commission | COR Tennis
When rain can’t keep your players from the courts, you know you’ve made an impression.
That’s exactly the moment when Matt Lubas —former director of the Reading Recreation Commission (COR) — realized that the Reading, Pa.-based National Junior Tennis and Learning (NJTL) program was truly making a difference.
“It was a rainy day and I saw a kid walking down the street with his racquet on his back,” Lubas said. “That’s when I knew that tennis was a sport kids were choosing in Reading.”
As an NJTL chapter, COR provides the community with an opportunity to learn and grow through tennis and education. Throughout the years, the organization has been recognized locally and nationally as NJTL Chapter of the Year, along with numerous other accolades.
Most recently, the Reading High School girls’ tennis team made school history by becoming Berks County Interscholastic Athletic Association (BCIAA) champions for the first time. Many of the team’s players grew up in the COR NJTL program.
“Let’s give credit where credit is due,” said Reading High School head coach Mike Fischer. “These players are a product of COR’s school tennis program. They started in elementary school when the program first began and their success just goes to show that the sky’s the limit when you have committed leaders and athletes.”
Matt Lubas, former director of COR
The noticeable impact that tennis had on the kids in schools led to the natural expansion of the program. Administrators and teachers started reaching out and asking them to come into their schools, creating an excitement and dedication for growing the game in Reading.
“When it all first started we were running the before school programs and people thought we were crazy,” Lubas said. “It really was a natural phenomenon seeing the kids come in early. They were getting up, they were excited. It got them ready for the day of school, and once teachers and administrators started to see that impact, they thought, ‘hey, this is a great thing’.”
The early days of only seeing tennis in the schools flourished, turning Reading into a tennis destination. Hampden Park is one of the homes of the COR program, welcoming children and adults from all over the city. In 2023, Hampden Park was named to Racquet Sports Industry Magazine “Champions of Tennis” list, earning Public Park of the Year honors.
It’s just one more thing that makes COR, its players and organizers so special while helping it continue to positively influence the community.
“The hope is to continue to infuse tennis at the grassroots level,” said Lubas, who was with COR for nearly 25 years and recently became the Assistant Athletic Director at Reading High School. “We still fight the battle of tennis not being mainstream in an urban environment. We need to continue to get tennis to our kids early and show how exciting it can be. Hopefully they’ll gravitate to it, grab a racquet and join us.”
USTA Middle States currently has 13 National Junior Tennis and Learning (NJTL) organizations within the section. Following the network's mission of “changing lives through tennis and education,” we proudly share the stories of NJTL’s impact on those in our community. For more information about the USTA Foundation and the Middle States NJTL Network, please contact Renee Bridges, Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: Bridges@ms.usta.com.
For more information about contributing to the USTA Foundation to support those participating in NJTLs please click here.
COR Alumni: Where are they now?
Gerardo and Valeria Sanchez
Gerardo Sanchez began playing at COR in 2019, following in the footsteps of his cousin and younger sister Valeria. Now the siblings find themselves on academic scholarships to Albright College and playing on the tennis teams. Recently, the two won Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Commonwealth tennis players of the week.
“COR’s family-oriented, welcoming environment helped me stick with tennis and expand my community,” Gerardo said.
Valeria Sanchez
Gerardo Sanchez
Gerardo was the assistant coach of the history-making Reading High School girls’ tennis team (his sister played on the team) and currently works part-time at Hillcrest Racquet Club. He is a double major at Albright College, studying Visual Communications and Computer Science.
Larry Zerbe & Luis Fernando Cortez
Luis Fernando Cortez
Life is certainly coming full circle, or at least half circle, for Luis Fernando Cortez who started with the NJTL in 2011 and is still a volunteer today. Fernando Cortez is an insurance sales agent and his first tennis coach, Larry Zerbe, is among one of his clients.
“If it wasn’t for COR I wouldn’t be who I am today,” he said. “I was a very introverted kid. COR’s welcoming environment helped me become more personable and led me to my career.”
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