THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, July 13, 1996 TAG: 9607130001
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A15 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: OPINION
SOURCE: Kerry Dougherty
LENGTH: 77 lines
Watching the men's tennis final at Wimbledon on TV last weekend, I couldn't help thinking of MaliVai Washington's black predecessors on Centre Court: Althea Gibson and Arthur Ashe.
I also thought of Jose Benjumea.
He's the Virginia Beach tennis pro quietly putting tennis rackets into the hands of poor black kids at the Beach.
Perched on the edge of a picnic table at Owl Creek Municipal Tennis Center one muggy afternoon this week, Benjumea surveyed his domain: 14 public tennis courts.
As traffic whizzed by on General Booth Boulevard, Benjumea tried to explain why he was teaching tennis on city-owned courts; virtually every major country club and racket club in the area had been trying to lure him to swankier settings for years. He spent two years teaching at private facilities but was drawn back to city courts several years ago.
``I'm the public's tennis pro,'' said Benjumea, flashing a grin. ``I love it out here. And if I were in a private club somewhere I wouldn't be able to have my Half-Mile Program.''
The Half-Mile Program, now in its second year, is Benjumea's effort to get poor, minority kids off the streets and onto the tennis courts. The ``half-mile'' is a stretch of Birdneck Road adjacent to the tennis courts. It encompasses Seatack and Friendship Village, two of the city's poorest neighborhoods.
Every Thursday afternoon Benjumea and two other tennis professionals give free group lessons to children from Birdneck Elementary School. They supply the rackets and balls and the children are always taught by pros - not just well-meaning players who volunteer.
``The kids get the same thing someone else would pay for, we make sure of that,'' Benjumea said.
Beginning in September, Benjumea will introduce the Half-Mile program to the youngsters at Seatack Elementary School.
To encourage the children to practice during the week, Benjumea picks up the $2 or $4 tab every time they play at Owl Creek. To keep them coming back, he promises a free ``Jose's Tennis School'' T-shirt to students with perfect attendance.
I assumed that part of Benjumea's mission was to discover the next Arthur Ashe or MaliVai Washington or Zina Garrison Jackson. I was wrong. His goals are much higher.
``That's not why I'm doing this,'' he said earnestly. ``I'm trying to show the kids that there's more to life than the streets.
``On the court we're teaching them manners, how to behave. They don't get that at home. We're trying to instill sportsmanship. I want to give them confidence, inspire them, maybe even be a role model for them.
``If one of these kids turns out to be a great tennis player, fine. But I'll be happy if they just become good citizens.''
Benjumea believes he can relate in a special way to these children because of his Hispanic background - he's living proof that tennis is not a whites-only sport. Born in Colombia, Benjumea came to the United States with his family when he was 8. He graduated from Princess Anne High School, began taking tennis lessons at 19 and competed on the Old Dominion University tennis team.
He's been teaching tennis since 1973 and is one of the area's most sought-after instructors. Longtime students jealously covet their regular slots with Benjumea. Prospective students can wait months to be squeezed into his tight schedule - unless they're part of the Half-Mile Program.
Through the Half-Mile Program, Benjumea has created a unique bridge between middle-class Virginia Beach tennis players and the low-income families that live near the courts. When his paying students learned about his low-income students, they were enthusiastic. Several privately raised funds for him.
``They didn't want their names on anything or any public credit for what they were doing,'' he said. ``They just wanted to share tennis with the whole community.''
Benjumea said he hopes his Half-Mile students were watching the Wimbledon finals last Sunday. Not because they might someday play on Centre Court, but because Washington is a good role model.
Like Benjumea himself. MEMO: Ms. Dougherty is an editorial writer for The Virginian-Pilot. by CNB