Karen Causey’s foray into tennis began 13 years ago.
When she moved to Kosciusko with her husband Kelly Causey in 2017, it was not long until she started to seek out ways to drum up interest in the sport in her new community.
So last August, she began to offer lessons.
“I am a big tennis player,” Causey said. “I played in the Delta for 11 years, and then when we moved here, there was no tennis… There was no adult tennis going on. Through USTA I was able to start getting people interested in lessons by offering them 10 lessons. You got a free racket and a free USTA membership.”
It is safe to say she has been well-received.
“I keep adding (people),” Causey said. “I have kids now; I’ve had teenagers and adults. I’m very busy. I give lessons every afternoon when I get off work — I do that from 4 to 7 p.m. On weekends, I try to do it from 8 to 12 p.m. On Sundays, I start around 2 p.m. and go all the way to 7 p.m.”
Causey’s lessons have also led to the creation of a new tennis league in Kosciusko.
The Kosciusko Delta 25 Tennis League began its season last month, and it runs through mid-December. The league is composed of two teams, and each team features seven players.
Causey implemented her tennis lessons in the Kosciusko community with the help of the United States Tennis Association. And while many of the players were just beginning their tennis journeys, Causey said they were eager to take on the competition.
“These ladies were not like, ‘We just want to take tennis lessons. We don’t want to play in the league,’” Causey said. “Once they got those initial lessons in and everything, they were like, ‘OK, we want to play some people.’ And it went on from there.”
Currently, the two teams of Kosciusko Delta 25 compete against each other at 6:30 p.m. on Thursdays at Jason Niles Park. In the spring, however, players will face competition from different leagues.
“Each team has a captain, so they have to see who’s going to play on Thursdays,” Causey said. “Another captain picks their people and then they just go play on Court 1, Court 2 and Court 3. There are two doubles (teams) and one singles (team). When spring comes, they’ll start playing other teams.”
Kosciusko Delta 25 players range in ages from 30 to the mid-50s, and Causey said the team also includes a player who is in her mid-60s. Causey hopes to continue to grow the league as it prepares for its spring schedule. Judging by the league’s popularity, Causey might want to order more rackets.
“They love it,” Causey said. “They love the competition. All they want to do is drill and play. We’re getting more women involved as word of mouth gets around. I’m picking up more women who are interested in playing tennis, even if it’s not for a team yet — maybe they just want to start learning how to play tennis.”
