GREENTOWN — For many outdoor sports in the Midwest, the coming of fall and winter weather brings an end to the season.
Despite the cold, wet winters in Indiana, tennis players can enjoy the sport year-round in Howard County.
Area tennis players can spend the cold months honing their skills in the Howard County Indoor Tennis Center at the 4-H Fairgrounds.
The facility opened in 2003 and features four hard surface courts.
The center is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from noon to 7 p.m. on Sunday.
Gene and Cheryl Miles own the building, but the property is owned by the fair board.
The center operates 10 months of the year, closed in June and July because of the county fair.
Club manager Eric Nelson said Gene Miles saw a need for an indoor tennis facility, and the fair board wanted a permanent structure to use during fair week.
During the annual 4-H fair, the courts are covered with plywood and carpeting to prevent damage.
Nelson has worked at the facility since August 2007 and learned about the tennis center while working for the U.S. Tennis Association in Indianapolis.
“I was surprised and impressed with the facility,” he said. “I was impressed with the quality of the center and the way it is maintained.”
Nelson said there are numerous indoor tennis centers in Indiana, but the Greentown facility is the only one in the region.
“This is a huge resource for the surrounding area,” he said. “Larger cities have two or three indoor facilities in their areas. People in Kokomo can play tennis year-round and not have to drive an hour to Fort Wayne or South Bend.”
The Howard County Indoor Tennis Center also draws players from Wabash and Gas City.
Nelson, 36, started playing tennis 22 years ago while growing up in Kansas.
“I picked up a racquet at 13 or 14 and fell in love with it,” he said. “I started teaching in Kansas in exchange for my own lessons.”
Nelson has been competing in tournaments for two decades, but never played as a professional.
Lessons and leagues are scheduled for players — who range in age from 5 to 80 — throughout the day.
“A lot of our junior program players are high school and middle school students,” Nelson said. “We start as young as 5 to build them into high school players.”
Most of the area high school tennis players come to the center and many of the local players have taught or still teach at the center.
The Taylor and Indiana Wesleyan university tennis teams practice at the center and high school matches are sometimes held there.
Shawn Flanary, the tennis coach at Kokomo High School, was the first director of the indoor tennis center and continues to be an instructor.
“This is huge for the kids,” he said. “Like any sport, you can’t progress participating only two months a year. This gives them the opportunity to stay active and improve their tennis skills.”
Flanary said before the Greentown facility opened, he would drive to Indianapolis once a week to play.
“We’re fortunate to have the facility,” he said. “It attracts people from a large area.”
A flat fee of $10 per hour for each court is charged to local schools.
Tournaments are conducted at the center about every six weeks.
Adult memberships are $200 with a one-time fee of $100; junior memberships cost $100; and family membership plans are also available. There is a guest fee of $5, which allows people to play on a daily basis without being a member.
There are approximately 100 adult members, 50 junior members and another 100 people that use the facility.
It costs between $6 and $20 per hour to use a court, depending on the time of day.
There is a full-service pro shop on site that sells Prince, Head-Penn and Yonex equipment.
Ken de la Bastide can be reached at (765) 454-8580 or via e-mail at ken.delabastide@kokomotribune.com
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