Belani's Tennis Camp Scholarship
Donation protected
Belani is a very well rounded kid. She is and has always been an honor student, she is in her schools gifted program. On top of her educational acheivements, she has a passion for the game of tennis. 
She began her first organized lessons at the age of three. Prior to that her father would take her out on the courts from time to time, to teach her how to hit the ball.
At the age of five she began training with a local coach. He greatly improved her game by teaching her to hit with power. She won her first eight and under tournament at the age of six. By the age of seven she had out grown the mini court used for U8 division.
She began to play U10 orange ball events. These are also played on a modified court. While she had a little success it was easy to see that the power strokes her coach had been teaching her were still too strong for this smaller sized court.
She finally accumulated enough points to play full court U10, where she has had much success. She has accumulated quite the collection of plaques, trophies, and medals (as you can see from the images).
Belani is now nine years old and has been competing in both U12 and continues to play in U10 as well. She was awarded a scholarship from the USTA Southwest Section to attend one week of summer camp at John Newcombe Tennis Ranch in Texas. We are all extremely excited for her to experience this wonderful opportunity.
Belani lives with her parents and her two younger sisters in Tucson, AZ. Her father will be graduating from the University of Arizona this month, and is looking forward to beginning law school in the fall (Hopefully soon we'll be in a position to "pay it forward"). Her Stepmother has been the sole provider for the family since Belani's father closed his local business and returned to school in 2013.
(Belani with Anna Kournikova.)
While the cost of the camp is covered for one week, we are trying to raise enough money for airfare to get Belani to and from the camp. On top of airfare we are hoping to possibly raise enough money to keep Belani in the camp an extra week or two, should she decide to do so.
While we know their are many other stories out there that are probably more deserving of your donation, we hope that some readers may be avid tennis players themselves and/or recognize how beneficial your donation will be to further Belani's development in the sport of Tennis. Whether we come up short, meet our goal or even surpass it, all monies donated will go directly to the advancement of Belani's tennis. We'd like to thank you in advance for taking the time to read her story!
P.S. Even if you are unable to donate, you can help us by sharing her story on your social media. gofund.me/Belani
Thank You!
She began her first organized lessons at the age of three. Prior to that her father would take her out on the courts from time to time, to teach her how to hit the ball. At the age of five she began training with a local coach. He greatly improved her game by teaching her to hit with power. She won her first eight and under tournament at the age of six. By the age of seven she had out grown the mini court used for U8 division. She began to play U10 orange ball events. These are also played on a modified court. While she had a little success it was easy to see that the power strokes her coach had been teaching her were still too strong for this smaller sized court. She finally accumulated enough points to play full court U10, where she has had much success. She has accumulated quite the collection of plaques, trophies, and medals (as you can see from the images). Belani is now nine years old and has been competing in both U12 and continues to play in U10 as well. She was awarded a scholarship from the USTA Southwest Section to attend one week of summer camp at John Newcombe Tennis Ranch in Texas. We are all extremely excited for her to experience this wonderful opportunity. Belani lives with her parents and her two younger sisters in Tucson, AZ. Her father will be graduating from the University of Arizona this month, and is looking forward to beginning law school in the fall (Hopefully soon we'll be in a position to "pay it forward"). Her Stepmother has been the sole provider for the family since Belani's father closed his local business and returned to school in 2013. (Belani with Anna Kournikova.)While the cost of the camp is covered for one week, we are trying to raise enough money for airfare to get Belani to and from the camp. On top of airfare we are hoping to possibly raise enough money to keep Belani in the camp an extra week or two, should she decide to do so.
While we know their are many other stories out there that are probably more deserving of your donation, we hope that some readers may be avid tennis players themselves and/or recognize how beneficial your donation will be to further Belani's development in the sport of Tennis. Whether we come up short, meet our goal or even surpass it, all monies donated will go directly to the advancement of Belani's tennis. We'd like to thank you in advance for taking the time to read her story!
P.S. Even if you are unable to donate, you can help us by sharing her story on your social media. gofund.me/Belani
Thank You!
Organizer
Vanessa Soto
Organizer
Tucson, AZ
