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The Maroon Tiger
Frida
Tennis Academy seeks to make stars
An in depth look at Match Point Academy
Christian Nwachukwu
Copy Editor
Ron Salter, founder of the
Match Point Tennis Academy, en
visions the growth of more Afri
can American tennis greats, with
out the historical waiting period.
"Our job is to make sure
we don't have another 20-year or
30-year gap between now and
another Afro American cham
pion," Salter said.
Developed in Dallas,
Texas in 1997, the Match Point
Academy began as the Match
Point Foundation. Salter ran the
tennis camps for North Lake Col
lege for four years and had only
one African American student
during that time.
"I saw the void, but I did
not see it the way that I see it now,"
Saltersaid. "When you start some
thing, you start raw."
Salter expanded the
Foundation into Georgia and Ala
bama in 1998, but after struggling
with summer tennis programs, he
decided that he could have more
success with the implementation
of a year-round system.
"So, in 2001 I created
what is called the Match Point Ten
nis Academy, which gives us a
year round system," Salter said.
"Once we go into a city, we never
leave. (Also), by having a consis
tent system there, you never have
to worry about recreating the
wheel." The first system was
implemented in Selma, Alabama.
Students age six to 14 stay in the
system until they graduate from
high school.
"We have over 50 kids in
the tennis system in one of the
most deprived areas of the coun
try, which is the Black Belt of Ala
bama," Salter said. "If you can
create something like that and
make tennis a priority, especially
with the parents, you pretty much
know that you can take that kind
of system and make it successful
with the addition of someone like
Mr. (Richard) Williams."
Salter made "a connec
tion" with Williams last year and
he agreed to come to Selma this
past May 3. Williams agreed to
be the advisor for Match Point and
invited Salter to be apart of his
Smash Beverages kick-off in
Montgomery, AL.
"As we grow,
we take Smash along
with us, and the kids
drink Smash," Salter
said. "Smash is a com
munity-based com
pany that is investing
back into the commu
nity."
Match Point
Academy has opened
up its newest market in
Greensboro, North
Carolina on the cam
pus of North Carolina
A & T University.
"Chancellor (James)
Renick opened the courts there at
NC A & T and in the fall we'll be
(installing) our tutorial system for
the academy," Salter said.
Renick is now looking at
setting up an internship program
for tennis players.
"Any time Match Point
would need a tennis player to
work in one of our systems, they
can get college credit and get paid
for working in that system," Salter
said.
According to Richard
Makerson, a senior tennis player,
Morehouse is an exception among
the top Southern Intercollegiate
Athletic Conference schools,
where most of the players for the
Historically Black Colleges and
Universities are international stu
dents.
"I would say 80 percent
of your players are going to be
made up of (international) stu
dents," Salter said. "What that tells
you, is that there is no form of de
velopmental system in this coun
try for kids for college coaches to
come and recruit them."
Salter did a study on
SIAC schools, and says that "many
of those schools get 8 full scholar
ships for women and 4.5 full schol
arships for men. Of those scholar
ships, that equates to $120,000 per
year for just one of those particu
lar schools," said Salter.
"If you take all ten SIAC
schools and combine them, that 7 s
$1.2 million for a four year ride,
and then it translates into 8 times
10 and 4.5 times 10. There are a lot
of scholarships that go unclaimed.
"We just had to figure out
a way to fulfill that void and we
still have a ways to go." So Salter
is operating and attaching the
academy system to HBCU
schools.
Match Point is also imple
mented in Huntsville, AL (Ala
bama A & M University) and Prai
rie View, TX (Prairie View A & M
University)
Along with working
closely with colleges and univer
sities, Salter plans to
scout young players
for the professional
circuit, as well.
"We're now
talking to Mr. Will
iams about develop
ing a professional di
vision," Salter said.
"(We) may find
someone and say,
'Where do we take
them?'
"We have
the number one ten
nis coach in the
world who has the
number one and number two
players in the world—thaL s where
you take them."
Salter is looking to ex
pand into two or three new mar
kets.
"We want to set up shop
in Atlanta, we're just looking for
the right opportunity," Salter said.
"We would love to set up our
academy on Morehouse's or
Clark's campus for 2003."
Ron Salter (back) with kids
Maroon Tigers gear up for new season
Demetrius Smith
Sports Editor
Expectations are ex
tremely high for the
Morehouse College Maroon
Tigers. After a 2001 season that
showcased a stingy defense
and the electrifying play of
quarterback and SIAC Offen
sive Player of the Year
Chivalrik Daughtry, the Ma
roon Tigers are looking to take
their game to the next level and
win the Southern Intercolle
giate Athletic Conference.
The Maroon Tigers are
returning 14 starters from last
year's 8-2 team. Of the return
ing starters offensive guard
Fabrice Aime, place kicker
Byron Archibald, linebacker
John Grant, tight end Earnest
Hunter, wide receiver Kenneth
Rodgers, corner back Ronald
Smalls and offensive lineman
Ronald Richards were all se
lected to the preseason All-
S I A C
team.
"We
have a lot
of self-in-
d u c e d
pressure
to win.
The situa
tion was
made for
us to
win," said
first-year
c o a c h
Willard
Scissum.
The Maroon Tigers look
to be a much more balanced
team this year. The usually de
fense-minded Maroon Tigers
will enter the 2002 season with
offense as the team's strong
suit.
"Right now our
strength is on offense where we
have most of our returning
players," said Coach Scissum.
The focus on offense can
also be attributed to Coach
Scissum's past experience
on the offensive side of the
ball.
Scissum was a four-
year starter as an offensive
lineman under Paul "Bear"
Bryant at Alabama and
played professionally in the
NFL and CFL with the Den
ver Broncos, Washington
Redskins, Calgary Stam
pede and the British Colum
bia Lions.
Scissum coached on
offense at Alabama A&M
University from 1991
through 1994 and at the Uni
versity of Alabama from 1994
tol997. Scissum was also the
Player receives instruction from coach
offensive line coach for
Morehouse College for 1998
through 2000 and was recently
the co-offensive coordinator at
Morris Brown College.
The defense will round
out the Maroon Tiger balanced
attack. With the return of Black
College All-American
cornerback Ronald Smalls and
SIAC Defensive Player of the
Year linebacker John Grant, the
defense will possess a lot of
firepower.
Overall, the Maroon Ti
gers are looking to establish
themselves as a perennial pow
erhouse in Division II football.
"Our major focus is to
try to keep this program to
gether and keep moving to
wards that Division II football
championship," said coach
Scissum.