DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — Organizers of the Delray Beach Open allowed young tennis fans to learn the tools of the trade from rising stars at Florida Atlantic University.
The FAU women's tennis team partnered with the ACEing Autism program to give free lessons to children with autism.
Senior captain Amber McGinnis was among the first to jump at the chance Sunday morning to teach tennis lessons to ACEing Autism athletes.
"I really enjoy just being able to go out into our community and helping a bunch of kids," McGinnis said.
ACEing Autism is a nonprofit organization that works with children with autism to develop social connections and fitness through affordable tennis lessons. The lead trainer and founder, Richard Spurling, played tennis at FAU from 1992-1996.
Spurling has teamed up with his alma mater and his nonprofit for years. But this year, as part of the lead-up to the Delray Beach Open, ACEing Autism leaders have used the event to allow children with autism to learn the game from tennis pros and FAU players.
McGinnis said she feels the honor of being able to teach the kids the game she grew up loving and admits the event has helped her find a career path post-graduation.
"Before I came to FAU, I was a special education major," McGinnis said. "Personally, when I graduate, I'd like to form an academy where I can help kids in tennis who have disabilities and group those kids together and just make them all feel some form of special."
Third-year head coach Ricardo Gonzalez said that while the kids are filled with smiles while they play with pros and the women on his team, he hopes the kids understand how important they are to his team.
"It's a special group of kids for us, and I think we learn from them, and they learn from us, and if we can help out in the community for these kids, it's great," Gonzalez said.
WPTV contacted ACEing Autism for this story, but we didn't hear back in time for this story.
However, Gonzalez said they sent him and his team a friendly message after Sunday.
"He told me the girls did awesome, and they're just so much fun," Gonzalez said. "The kids really listened to them."