Donna Lenseigne Memorial Youth Tennis Scholarship
On March 14, board members Chris Flanagan and Rocco Demateis awarded Adrianna Carroll the 2024 Donna Lenseigne TAGS Tennis scholarship on court at West Valley High School. Congrats Adrianna!
The TAGS Youth Tennis Scholarship program is named in honor of Donna Lenseigne, a former TAGS board member, who transformed the Gonzaga Prep girls’ tennis program and passed away unexpectedly in July 2010, at the age of 51.
Donna served as G-Prep’s girls’ tennis coach in the 1990s and early 2000s. During her tenure, G-Prep won seven straight Greater Spokane League championships (1997-2003). The Bullpups didn’t lose a match for eight years.
“She was one of the most talented, hard-working, caring and positive people I have ever met,” G-Prep President Al Falkner shared. “Over 80 girls turned out for tennis each year because of her passion, care and love of her players.”
TAGS is committed to fostering good sportmanship and the love of tennis to the youth of Spokane. Each year we will honor Donna's legacy by awarding scholarships to youth who demonstrate a commitment to tennis and a love of the game.
To be eligible for a Donna Lenseigne Youth Tennis Scholarship, players must:
- Be under 18 years of age
- Be active Junior High or High School players in the greater Spokane area
- Be TAGS members (either youth or part of a family membership)
- Complete as many TAGS matches as possible
The deadline to apply for a youth scholarship is September 30. Click HERE to fill out the application.
Try this activity at home or on the court to work on hand-eye coordination and control. To make it more challenging, try spreading your arms out wider or letting the ball bounce higher. Try to see how many you can get in 30 seconds.
No court to play on at home? No problem! Make your own net at home using regular items from around the house. Get creative, but make sure to ask for permission from your parent or guardian before using!
Edgies works on your grips, specifically a continental grip. Using your racquet with a continental grip, try and see how many times you can hit the ball using the outer edge of your racquet. You got this!
See if you can master this activity called, Body Volley. You bounce the ball off the racquet and then off a body part to work on coordination, hand-eye and creativity. Challenge yourself and see how many you can get!
Grab a partner and try this activity to work on hand-eye coordination, core strength and shoulder stability. You can start by passing the ball back and forth on your hands and knees. Once you have built up the strength, try moving to a full plank position. Be sure to listen to your body and take
This activity works on your ready position, contact point and swing path. We used a ladder as our net; get creative and find your own materials to create a barrier. Once you are comfortable with lobster trap, you can make it more challenging by hitting it back to your partner.
With this activity, you can play with friends or on your own to improve consistency and control. Work to bounce the ball up on your racquet, or even do a trap, to see if you can achieve ten in a row. To work on forehands, hold the racquet palm up. To work on backhands, hold the racquet palm
After you’ve had success in Hot Hands activity, try adding movement to make it more challenging. Passing tennis balls from left to right or right to left with your partner will help improve your hand-eye coordination and reaction time.
Ready to work on hand-eye coordination and reaction time? Grab a friend and try passing tennis balls from left to right, or right to left to improve your skills. Add more tennis balls to your rotation to make it more challenging.
