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TGA Premier Youth Tennis Launches in Fairfield County, CT

By: TGA Premier Tennis |  0 Shares     228 Reads

USPTA professional tennis player invests in youth sports business to grow the sport.

September 13, 2016 // Franchising.com // Fairfield County, CT – Schools across the country are back in session this month with youngsters nationwide participating in the leading after-school and community based tennis enrichment program, TGA Premier Youth Tennis, which has added yet another franchise.

Bernard Balagula, a former professional tennis player and current tennis academy operator and USPTA member, is the latest entrepreneur to invest in the TGA (Teach Grow Achieve) franchise model to grow participation in the sport at the introductory and recreational level. His franchise will serve Southwest Fairfield County, Conn., and include the communities of Cos Cob, Old Greenwich, Greenwich, Stamford, Darien, and Norwalk.

“TGA brings exciting tools to the table, which allows everyone the opportunity to play tennis,” Balagula said. “With my knowledge of tennis and passion for sports along with the TGA business infrastructure and curriculums, I believe I can bring something unique that enriches the lives of youth while giving back to the community through enrichment programs, summer camps, and family activities.”

Balagula spent two years playing tennis professionally before being sidelined with an injury. That allowed him to discover his passion for coaching and teaching the sport of tennis for the past nine-years. While currently operating the DoWell Tennis Academy for the past six years, he discovered TGA and recognized the great opportunity to develop and grow a business while impacting and enriching the lives of youth.

“For a long time tennis has needed a grassroots pathway for youth to get introduced to the sport and I can’t think of a better way to get kids involved than by starting them at schools,” Balagula explained. 

TGA partnered with the USTA in 2012 to create an activation and delivery model that has already activated 55,000 youth tennis players across the country.

The success of the model is two-fold: First, introductory tennis programs are brought directly into schools and community centers as a before- or after-school program which puts tennis on a level playing field with other mainstream sports. Second, TGA ushers students and their families to recreational programs at tennis facilities that include USTA, JTT, tournaments, and the Play Day Series. This increases access points into tennis for youth, grows the base of tennis players and presents the sport with a new avenue to cultivate elite talent for the future.

About TGA Premier Youth Tennis

TGA Premier Youth Tennis (TGA) is the leading school-based youth development model, and is in partnership with the United States Tennis Association (USTA) to create new players and increase participation in the sport of tennis. Its innovative franchise model is the only one of its kind in the tennis industry empowering entrepreneurs and tennis professionals nationwide at the grass roots level to activate new players.

TGA introduces youth to tennis at elementary and middle schools, child care centers and community organizations through a multi-level enrichment program that includes physical fitness, health and nutrition, STEM core academics, and character building before transitioning them to tennis facilities and USTA programs nationwide. The company has grown to 32 chapters across the nation serving more than 600 schools and introducing 55,000 youth (ages 5-13) to the sport.

TGA is a national partner with the United States Tennis Association, The President’s Challenge on Physical Fitness and the National Council of Youth Sports. TGA is also a national supporter of the Afterschool Alliance and Lights on Afterschool. 

For more information on TGA, visit www.playtga.com or follow @tgayouthtennis on Twitter. 

For high-resolution images of the program for future stories, click on the link below:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/jn8scmmmjjzpod7/AAAnKgI4V06JbaQH9zmCZKi3a?dl=0

SOURCE TGA Premier Youth Tennis

Media Contacts:

Bernard Balagula
TGA of Southwest Fairfield County
Chapter Director
(201) 566-4310
bbalagula@playtga.com

Kevin Frisch
TGA Premier Youth Tennis
Public Relations
(989) 614-0241
kevin@playtga.com

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