Austin Athletic Scholarship Foundation

Austin Athletic Scholarship Foundation (AASF) was created by the Austin Tennis Academy as a way to give back to the community.

The AASF provides tennis training and travel grants to deserving junior tennis players who would ordinarily not be able to afford such opportunities.

Ashley Weinhold winning a SuperNationals Gold Ball

The AASF has made it possible for local junior tennis phenom and ATA player, Ashley Weinhold, to travel to national tournaments, which she would ordinarily not be able to afford to travel to. Ashley has been ranked #1 in the US in Girls 14s and is quickly moving up the ranks in Girls 16s. At 15, Ashley is now ranked #17 in the US in Girls 16s.

Travel and training grants are not only for ATA players, but are awarded to other deserving junior tennis players. For example, in 2004, AASF has provided travel grants to Meghan Alexander from Tyler and Hillary Davis from Lubbock, two top-level nationally-ranked players, who have difficulty paying for the necessary travel to national tournaments required of players at their level. Meghan is in ranked in the top 5 in the US in Girls 18s and Hillary is ranked #4 in Texas in Girls 16s.

ATA has also chosen to develop alliances with proven organizations, such as the Boys and Girls Club of Austin and A Glimmer of Hope Foundation to fund some of their worthwhile projects involving underserved youth. ATA students are expected to perform mentoring and community service through charity tournaments, volunteering at the Boys & Girls Club of Austin and Camp Glimmer, and other projects.

The AASF is the vehicle through which we fund these outreach efforts to benefit underprivileged and/or underserved children in the Austin community and beyond. By assisting with the efforts of these organizations, the ATA coaches and players learn the joy and privilege of giving back to the community.

The AASF is recognized by the IRS as a 501c3 organization. Our tax ID # is 20-0477609.

Boys and Girls Club of Austin

The Austin Tennis Academy has a contract to provide services free of charge to the Boys and Girls Club of Austin and Travis County, whereby the ATA provides professional coaching for Boys and Girls Club participants and awards scholarships to a few of its members to our grass roots Junior Development (JD) program. The JD program is held Tuesday and Thursday evening from 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. from September through May.

Coach Kevin Clark coaching the Capital area Boys & Girls Club kids at a summer session.

The ATA started a relationship with the Boys and Girls Club in the Spring of 2004 to teach life lessons through the sport of tennis, using its proven, positive and fun-filled methods. The AASF is currently funding 5 Boys and Girls Club members to participate it its Junior Development program.

Last summer, AASF also assisted Boys and Girls Club members to attend its high quality summer camps. It is the goal of the ATA and the AASF to one day to develop one of the Boys and Girls Club members into a nationally-ranked player, ideally receiving a Division 1 college scholarship. This is a lofty, but realistic goal. In fact, ATA has a proven track record in this regard by developing scholarship player, Santiago Montoya, and seeing him  receive a Division 1 tennis scholarship to Notre Dame.

Camp Glimmer

A Glimmer of Hope's Camp Glimmer is a seven week summer camp, which this past summer served 250 at-risk children in East and South Austin. Two-thirds of the children were from the Boys & Girls Club of Austin and one-third of the children were from Lifeworks, an organization which serves severely at-risk children from abusive homes.

Former University of Texas star quarterback Major Applewhite spends an afternoon connecting with the Camp Glimmer kids.

The mission of Camp Glimmer is to build a bridge across I-35 by exposing at-risk, underprivileged children to positive life enhancing experiences through sports, team building, activities, and motivational speakers, such as former University of Texas Quarterback, Major Applewhite.

The camp is held on the property of the Philip and Donna Berber family’s 30 acre estate on Lake Travis. Children participate in such activities as tennis, basketball, soccer, volleyball, pottery making, arts and crafts, and reading. The children also enjoy trips to such places as Sea World and Schlitterbahn. All Camp Glimmer activities are geared toward fostering self esteem and respect.

This past summer, A Glimmer of Hope spent approximately $40,000 to cover Camp Glimmer meals, transportation and professional staffing by the Boys & Girls Club of Austin and Lifeworks. ATA provides volunteer assistants, including coaches and players, for the tennis activities; however, professional staffing is also always required for the children, especially the severely at-risk and abused children.

In addition to volunteering to help staff Camp Glimmer, the AASF has increased its level of commitment to Camp Glimmer by contributing $25,000 in support of Camp Glimmer’s summer 2005 camp experience.