What is AdvantageCLE?
Advantage Cleveland Tennis and Education, Inc. (AdvantageCLE) is a National Junior Tennis and Learning (NJTL) program that is funded in part by the United States Tennis Association Foundation (USTAF), the USTA Midwest Foundation, and USTA Northeastern Ohio, as well as many local foundations, corporate sponsors and generous individuals. The main goal is to provide tennis and learning opportunities to children in urban areas, prevent the summer learning slide, and enhance the student's educational experience year-round. We currently offer multiple areas of programming year-round for students: our Summer Enrichment Camp, ACE After-School Program, Weekend Tennis Clinics, Middle School Club Tennis, PE Teacher Support and our GRIT: Girls Rising in Tennis Program. Please see below for more details on each program!
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Summer Camp- ​AdvantageCLE offers a free camp each summer in Cleveland's Hough neighborhood. The camp focuses on tennis, fitness, wellness, literacy, STEM, and creative expression. Our staff is comprised of high school and college students who act as mentors, many of whom are former campers themselves.​
ACE After-School Program- ACE stands for Athletics, Creativity and Enrichment- all themes for our after-school program. Students in ACE receive tennis, literacy, wellness, and robotics instruction with teachers and local college tutors.​​
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Middle School Club Tennis Team- Through our Middle School Club Tennis Program, five different middle schools train together every week to learn tennis from the Cleveland State University Men and Women's D-1 Tennis Team. This program provides students with instruction in tennis, while building team-building, confidence and community.
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Weekend Tennis Clinics- AdvantageCLE is proud to offer weekend tennis clinics at Cleveland State University in seasonal 8-12 week sessions. These clinics provide tennis instruction to the children across Cleveland looking to further strengthen their skills and passion for the game in free group lessons.
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PE Teacher Support Program- AdvantageCLE is thrilled to partner with Cleveland Schools to train Physical Education teachers and offer free equipment through USTA Midwest. Our tennis coaches have since visited various CMSD schools during their PE classes and we have been able to reach 560 students in 2024 alone.
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GRIT Program- GRIT, or Girls Rising in Tennis, is an initiative dedicated to empowering young girls through the sport of tennis. This program is designed to enhance the way girls learn and play tennis while building resilience, ambition, and confidence in our girls through workshops, speakers, and activities.
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Mission
Advantage Cleveland Tennis and Education’s mission is to provide Cleveland's youth with tennis, wellness, fitness, literacy, STEM, and poetry slam programs to promote hope, healthy living and productive futures.
Vision
Advantage Cleveland Tennis and Education will become a leader in urban youth development to build a foundation for lifetime achievement, academic success, and healthier children. We hope to transform the game of tennis to provide opportunities for youth in Cleveland.
Our Core Values
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Passion for teaching and learning
We strive to provide innovative, relevant and interactive education and sports activities that motivate and engage students so they might choose to live healthy, productive lives.
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Caring
We hold high regard for all involved in our organization. We are committed to one another, our staff, our students, our partners and the neighborhoods and communities we serve.
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Commitment to diversity
We teach and display behaviors that are respectful to all people regardless of age, race, gender, sexual orientation or economic status.
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Integrity in all we do
We strive to make every effort to maintain and uphold moral, ethical and honest principals in all our interactions.
The City of Cleveland and the Cleveland Clinic made our launch possible in 2010. Since then a number of committed individuals and companies have worked to grow and expand our services for the children in the Cleveland area by donating their time, talents and resources.
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Tennis was once a major part of the Cleveland community
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Cleveland hosted over 40 professional and amateur championships, four Davis Cup matches, and a professional Tennis team.
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Once over 120 public courts spanned the city, now fewer than 40 playable courts exist citywide.
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AdvantageCLE has grown to reach over 4,000 students in thirteen years.
We are on a mission to help build the future of tennis here in Cleveland. Please join us in our mission & donate today!
