When senior varsity tennis player Leijun Chou was a Manhasset High School sophomore, his passion for volunteering inspired him to start the Aces Adaptive Tennis Program in which teen volunteers teach the sport to children with autism.
“I see that our community is becoming more unified through this,” Chou said.
The program is named after a tennis “ace,” which is when a player scores after their opponent doesn’t touch the ball. Chou said the program meets weekly and has doubled in size in the last two years.
Chou said he first started playing tennis with a family friend and soon after “fell in love with the sport.”
“I started practicing, getting a coach…and I absolutely loved it,” he said.
Chou said that due to his love for tennis and its popularity in the community, he wanted to help others through the sport.
He said that he volunteered with Acing Autism at Great Neck North for two years before he decided to bring a similar program to Manhasset. He said he approached Athletic Director Christine Raffo and Tennis Coach Elaine Cuneo, who helped make his idea a reality.
Chou said tennis is a great sport to teach because it has a lot of movement, but doesn’t require intense training or contact, like soccer or football.
From the first to the second year, Chou said the program has doubled, expanding from 20 volunteers to 40, and from seven participants to 14. He said the group does not yet have its participation numbers settled for the upcoming school year.
The Manhasset Parents Association for Special Education and the Police Activity League now sponsor the program, and the district is considering turning it into an afterschool club, Chou said.
“The most important thing about this program is that our community is coming together,” he said.
Chou said he has received feedback from the program’s parents that demonstrates the program’s impact.
“I’ve been told by many of the participants and their parents that they really enjoy it,” he said. He said some of the participants have told him that they want to get involved on the other side of the organization and begin volunteering.
“That’s exactly the impact that we want,” he said.
Chou said the program will continue even after he graduates, and that he is currently training someone to take it over next year.
“There’s a lot of support, and I see a lot of potential in this program going forward and growing even more,” he said.
For more information, visit the organization’s Instagram page, @manhasset_maat.
