Riviera Camp Makes Tennis Fun

A few years ago, Huntington Palisades resident Kurt Hiete drove to Compton with fellow Riviera Tennis Club members to watch a tennis clinic for local kids. They arrived to find one instructor drilling over 40 children on courts that had not been resurfaced in 20 years at a park that had no drinking fountains and no bathrooms. Since then, Hiete and his friends formed a board of nine members, established charitable corporation status and began raising money for the inner-city youth. As a result of The Riviera Tennis Foundation’s efforts, kids can now actually hit tennis balls at their neighborhood clinics. The board also arranges busing for kids and parents who want to train at the Riviera every few months. This week, with the help of Marla Matthias and Mary Hiete, the Foundation held its annual summer camp, replete with on-court coaching and daily clinics, at the historic Riviera courts–and kids came in droves. “It’s amazing, when we first started this they couldn’t even hit balls, now we have kids who are ranked in SoCal,” Hiete said. “Their accomplishments are noteworthy given the environment they live in. What particularly inspires me is that these kids are so polite and appreciative and they have, in spite of their circumstances, such great spirits.” In order to come to Riviera, kids were required to read a tennis article and write a report. Savings bonds and prizes were handed out the best entries. Even the kids who did not win were happy for those who won a prize or certificate of achievement. “Six of our Compton kids are now playing in junior tournaments and one, who was only 4 when we started, is now ranked 10th in Southern California in the girls’ 10-and-unders,” Hiete said. Other programs The Riviera Foundation, Inc. supports include the Neighborhood Junior Tennis Program in Sylmar (with about 200 participants) and the Harvard Tennis Club on Harvard Street in South Central Los Angeles. “On the way one day when he was told he was going to the Riviera Country Club, one boy asked ‘What’s a country club?” Another little girl showed up in flip flops,. We happened to have a new pair of tennis shoes one of our board members donated and when we gave them to her she wanted to know who to give them back to at the end of the day.” This week’s camp has been a huge success. On Monday, over 100 kids flooded the courts to get personal and group lessons. Among the instructors were Julie Takakijian, a freshman going to Palisades High and trying out for the tennis team and Harvard-Westlake High junior (and Brentwood resident) Kei Goldberg. After the tennis camp, kids and parents were invited to a barbecue at a board member’s house. To make a donation, call (310) 230-2490 or send a check to: The Riviera Foundation, c/o Kurt Hiete, Riviera Tennis Club, 1250 Capri Drive, Pacific Palisades, CA. 90272.