MONTGOMERY—The Auburn University at Montgomery tennis teams hosted the Community Based Integration (CBI) class from Brewbaker Tech Junior High School for a free tennis clinic. The CBI class is made up of students with special needs.

The clinic turned out to be more than just another tennis clinic the AUM teams conduct throughout the season.

“Out of all the clinics we have done at AUM this was the most rewarding,” Head coach Anuk Christiansz said. “To see my guys emotional and working with these special young people made it even more special.”

“The AUM women’s tennis team had the privilege of working with the Brew Tech students,” Women’s head coach Scott Kidd said. “This was one of the most rewarding moments for our tennis program. We enjoyed watching the kids have a wonderful time on the courts with our student-athletes. Even though the clinic was for them, they will never know the impact they had on our ladies yesterday. We look forward to doing this again in the future.”

Susan Goldthwaite is one of the teachers of the program and thought the tennis player’s relationship with the students grew as the event went on.

“The tennis players were wonderful with the students,” Goldthwaite said. “Once the ice was broken, the tennis players just took over with the students and you could see the relationships grow between them.”

“Part of our curriculum for CBI is to integrate these students into the community in many ways and one of our favorite is recreation and leisure. A lot of these students had never held a tennis racket before and it was good for their motor skills and their hand-eye coordination. The coaches have already invited us back next year and we are looking forward to coming back.”