Three Breakpoint Tennis and Life Skills Academy Awarded in NJTL Essay Contest

This summer, ten juniors were selected as USTA Foundation National Junior Tennis and Learning (NJTL) Essay Contest winners. The contest allowed those 18 and under to participate, and children under 12 had the following prompt: “In your opinion, who is the greatest of all time and why?”. 

Three of those ten winners are students of Breakpoint Tennis and Life Skills Academy: Dakota, Lincoln, and Soren. This Saint Louis non-profit organization helps students gain confidence and self-esteem through tennis and education programming.

“I was proud of all the kids,” Breakpoint Co-Founder and Executive Director of Program Development Ben Gidehaus said. “I love when the section recognizes kids for their passion and hard work, especially for educational initiatives like the essay contest.”

Thanks to the academy, the participants had plenty of educational tools and resources to use as they worked on their writing.

“We worked on essays during tennis and reading camps at Mathews Dickey Club and the Highlands Golf & Tennis Center,” Gidehaus said. “Students had access to coaches, volunteers, and our reading specialists to assist them. In some cases, essays started out as comic books [that] students worked on in the Drawn In program we run in partnership with Nine PBS.”

Soren, Gildehaus’ son, made his father proud as he represented the academy and the life lessons he learned from his family. Who was his greatest of all time? His father.