Game, set and match as students are challenged to plan for tennis event
Global Arts (Youth Initiatives) Foundation hosted The XL 5th Annual Youth Harvesting Conference “Putting the YOU in University” at the XL offices.Sixty students took part, representing Warwick Academy, Bermuda Institute, CedarBridge Academy, Berkeley Institute, Bermuda High School, and Mount St Agnes.The students were split into five teams based upon their career interest. The teams were education, health, hospitality, business and international player recruitment.This year the conference centred on a live project that Global Arts (Youth Initiatives) is working on for Easter next year, a tennis tournament called ‘Little Mo’ Internationals — Bermuda.It is the first time the ‘Little Mo’ Internationals have been held outside of the US.Carol Weyman, executive director of the tournament, said: “We are thrilled to be taking the ‘Little Mo’ Internationals to Bermuda in April 2014. What a beautiful site to host our ‘Little Mo’ players and parents. It will be the first time the tournament has been held outside of the USA.“Youngsters will have a chance to meet players from other countries and cultures, gauge their skills against players their age, learn good sportsmanship, and enjoy the game without the pressure of rankings.“We also want to introduce the name Maureen ‘Little Mo’ Connolly and her accomplishments to junior players worldwide.”Once the students were separated into five teams they were given a specific task related to the ‘Little Mo’ Internationals — Bermuda event. Each of the teams was made up of students from all of the senior schools present at the conference. The teams had just over eight hours to prepare a 10-minute business plan for the 12-strong panel of judges.The winning team was the ‘international player recruitment team’ lead by Darren Woods. In addition the management picked an ‘A’ team. The ‘A’ team winners were: Cocy Lynne Simmons (Warwick Academy), Ava Mayer (BHS), Kiera Whited (MSA), Deisha Tucker (Berkeley), Rosemary Swain (BHS). This group of students will be working with the ‘Little Mo’ management team and assisting them to host the ‘Little Mo’ in Bermuda next year.The students were also given an individual challenge which included scoring on interviews, resume writing, personal statement writing and overall professionalism and etiquette.The individual winner was Jesse Tucker, of CedarBridge Academy. In a personal statement he said: “The dictionary definition of happiness is good fortune, pleasure, contentment and joy. Now ask yourselves what is happiness? This is the question that became highly important to me at the age of 14 when I began high school. Going through primary and middle school I could see that I was not the most popular or the best athlete, but the problem was that I thought that those things were what made people happy ... but I was wrong.“The question is what is happiness judged by? It is judged by how much money you have, how many things you have. Well, yes, these things can bring you temporary joy but is it really true happiness?“I would say that happiness is the warm feeling of completeness that you get. But how do you attain this feeling? I say having friends and family that love you, and enjoying life as you go through it is what gives you that feeling of happiness.“That is why I want to be a trade worker, because life is not all about money, and as a trade worker I would be doing what I love. I am also a people person, in other words I love to be around people and make them smile. So as a trade worker I would also be around people. Throughout my statement I never clearly said my definition of happiness. Well, my definition of happiness is enjoying life by doing what you love and doing it with people that you love.”The ‘Little Mo’ Internationals — Bermuda will be hosted from Saturday, April 12 to Thursday, April 17 (Good Friday, April 18, is a rain date).The ‘Little Mo’ Internationals tournament is open to all players and is to take place at four locations, namely:1. The Coral Beach Tennis Club — clay courts — Under 8/9 events.2. Pomander Gate — hard courts — Under 11 events.3. The Elbow Beach Hotel & Tennis Resort — hard courts — Under 10 events.4. The WER Joell Tennis Stadium — hard courts — Under 12 events
Named after Maureen ‘Little Mo’ Connolly, the ‘Little Mo’ tennis tournament began as one of the programmes of the Maureen Connolly Brinker Tennis Foundation in 1977. She was the first woman to win the Grand Slam in 1953 — winning all four major tournaments (Australian, French, Wimbledon, and US Open) in a calendar year. She is still the only American woman and the youngest (age 18) to have accomplished this magnificent feat.
In honour of Maureen’s legacy, the ‘Little Mo’ tennis tournament was created in 1977 to give local Dallas youngsters ages 10 and under the opportunity to play in a tennis tournament. For many, the ‘Little Mo’ would be their first tournament experience, so the emphasis was on having fun, building their game through quality competition, learning good sportsmanship, and meeting new friends.
The unique format of the ‘Little Mo’ continues on today whereby players compete against others who are born in the same calendar year ages eight, nine, 10 and 11. This format gives players the opportunity to be seeded, the chance to win a trophy, and to play players who are of similar ability, size, and age.
The other continuing aspect of the ‘Little Mo’ is that no ranking points are given for tournament results. We want to avoid putting pressure on young players and feel rankings will come naturally as a result of a solid foundation and enjoyment of the game. It is the excitement of holding a big trophy at the end of a fun weekend with family and friends that should be the motivation. The ‘Little Mo’ is known for giving the largest trophies!
In 1997, Carol Weyman (executive vice-president of MCB) saw the popularity of the ‘Little Mo’ for boys and girls in Texas and thought it would be beneficial if players from other states had the opportunity to play in an event like the ‘Little Mo’. The planning began, and a national, yearlong circuit was created for boys and girls ages 8-11 from all over the US and was renamed ‘The Road to the Little Mo Nationals’.
In 2006, Ms Weyman saw the need for top American junior players to compete against those from other countries since players need to experience international competition in order to improve their game. The ‘Little Mo’ Internationals for players 8-12 was created and has been successful for the last seven years.
The most famous ‘Little Mo’ alum is Andy Roddick, winner of the 2003 US Open. Some other former ‘Little Mo’ players making a name in the tennis world are Ryan Harrison, Donald Young, Taylor Townsend, Ana Konjuh, Borna Coric, Denis Kudla, and Gianluigi Quinzi.
The ‘Little Mo’ tournaments have had an exciting 35-year history so far and there is more to come. It continues to be a wonderful tribute to a remarkable champion and its namesake, Maureen Connolly, affectionately remembered as ‘Little Mo’.
