OUR PURPOSE:
A's & Aces is a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit organization founded in 2008 with a mission to provide academic assistance, life skills and tennis to New Orleans public school children. A sport-based youth development model is used to engage and retain under-served youth and others who have lacked access to quality academic assistance and tennis, and help them succeed on a pathway to college and beyond.
A's & Aces is a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit organization founded in 2008 with a mission to provide academic assistance, life skills and tennis to New Orleans public school children. A sport-based youth development model is used to engage and retain under-served youth and others who have lacked access to quality academic assistance and tennis, and help them succeed on a pathway to college and beyond.
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2008-2018
A's & Aces was incorporated as a nonprofit organization in January 2008, and hosted the first outreach event in May at Tulane's Goldring Tennis Center. 
A's & Aces
Tennis Industry 2017 National Junior Tennis & Learning Organization of the Year 
A's & Aces was honored as 2017 National Junior Tennis & Learning Organization of the Year by Tennis Industry magazine. The publication’s January 2018 issue is the magazine’s 17th annual “Champions of Tennis Awards,” which honors people, businesses and organizations dedicated to improving the sport and business of tennis. The Award was presented at a banquet held at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans ballroom. Click here to read the article about A's & Aces in Tennis Industry, on p.37.
A's & Aces Receives
2017 Zurich Classic Community Impact Award 
If you are an Amazon Shopper, you can select A's & Aces and AmazonSmile Foundation will donate to help our kids every time you shop!!
AmazonSmile is a simple and automatic way for you to help support A's & Aces every time you shop, at no cost to you. AmazonSmile is a website operated by Amazon that lets customers enjoy the same experience of shopping on Amazon.com—but the difference is that when customers shop on AmazonSmile (smile.amazon.com,) the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the price of your purchases to the charitable organization you select.
Click here to learn how easy it is to select A's & Aces and help put smiles on our kids' faces! 
USTA
From over 600 NJTL chapter organizations across the country, the United States Tennis Association honored A's & Aces as the National Junior Tennis & Learning "Chapter of the Year" for 2012-13 and produced the video below as part of the award.
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4 Summer Camps are in Full Swing
Click here for a pictorial description of our 3 Summer Literacy and Tennis Camps for our young campers, and our Tournament Training Camp for high-performance competitors. Soles4Souls partners with K-Swiss for a promotion
at Second Serve Tennis Center benefiting A's & Aces Second Serve Tennis Center is the only retailer in Louisiana selected to participate in a K-Swiss promotion for its UltraShot shoe. For every pair of the new K-Swiss shoe sold, the nonprofit, Soles4Souls, receives a percentage and donates shoes to a nonprofit chosen by Second Serve - - A's & Aces!
Everyone who donates a pair of shoes will receive either a T-shirt or a shoe bag, while supplies last. Though the promotion ends June 1st, the drop box will stay in Second Serve indefinitely so you can always drop shoes off at Second Serve, and that they will be donated to A's & Aces.
PARENTS - LEARN MORE ABOUT TENNIS
Getting good at tennis takes practice. It means mastering the basics and finding your own style. The United States Tennis Association (USTA) Player Development videos are a great way for parents to learn many of the skills that we are teaching the children. Interested to learn? Check out our "Parent Training Info" page. Excellence Team Travel Provides
Valuable Tennis & Learning DC Cup - 10 & U Teams Competition
Six members of the A's & Aces Tournament Training Team traveled to College Park, MD, July 27-30, 2017 with two A's & Aces coaches, Tennis Director, A.J. Varnado, and Coach Eddie Garcia, for the USTA National Excellence Teams 10 & under competition.
A's & Aces is one of 12 USTA National Junior Tennis & Learning designated "Excellence Teams" across the nation. Each team adopts the name of a tennis personality. The A's & Aces Team is the "Mike McNulty Excellence Team." Mr. McNulty has served as President of the Louisiana and Southern Tennis Associations, and is on the national board of the USTA. Mike is committed strengthening and growing tennis at all levels. In addition to tennis, they also shared birthday cake with famed coach Nick Bollettieri, toured Washington, DC monuments, and enjoyed the opportunity to attend the Washington Kastles, one of six teams currently competing in World Team Tennis. A's & Aces Teens Attend STA Tennis & Leadership Camp
Attendees and coaches at Ga Tech Tennis Stadium
Three of our Tournament Training campers (Michael Griffin, Ethan Morgan, and Jahlil Cambrice) traveled to Atlanta for the Southern Tennis Association NJTL Leadership Camp at Georgia Tech. In additional to tennis and workshops on the college campus, they attended the BB&T Atlanta Open pro tournament, toured CNN and the APEX Museum ( African-American Panoramic Experience).
William Bostick Wins NJTL Essay Trip to Winston-Salem
Over 140 campers ages 7-16 learned on the courts and in the classrooms during our 2017 Summer Literacy & Tennis Camps. Campers drafted, edited, and submitted compositions to the USTA NJTL Essay Contest. Starting in 2011, an A's & Aces student-athlete has won a trip to New York or Winston-Salem to attend an ATP professional tennis tournament each year. 2017 was no exception; A's & Aces' William Bostick, the 2017 LA winner, joined 7 others from each of the Southern Tennis Association states for an all-expense paid trip for the winner and a parent to the Winston-Salem Open at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C., Aug 19-21.
Teah Johnson Earns Southern Teams Challenge Invite
Melanie Oudin (R) & Teah Johnson (L)
USTA Southern invited top 10&U players to the Southern Teams Challenge held June 24-25 in Chattanooga, TN. Selection was based on results from the three Southern Regional Championships held earlier that month. A's & Aces' Teah Johnson, one of our Tolmas Scholars, earned an invitation based on finishing 5th in the Southern Closed 10s Championship West (LA, ARK, MS). Invitees were divided into 4 teams, each with a coach able to coach during match play. (Among the coaches was former US Open quarter-finalist and mixed doubles champion Melanie Oudin.) Teah won 4 of her 6 matches!
12s & 14s Teams Train at USTA Orange Bowl Event
Coach AJ with Excellence Team
As one of the USTA NJTL Chapters to earn the Excellence Team designation, A's & Aces was selected to participate in the age 11-14 Excellence Teams Jr. Orange Bowl Workout in Key Biscayne, Florida. Four of our top players meeting all Excellence Teams goals and criteria, Chris Brown, Nick Crockens, Jude Edwards and Troy Houston, traveled with Coach A.J. Varnado and participated in this special “Earned Advancement” opportunity on Dec 8-10.
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Tennis Life Skills Academics
Some may, initially, think that tennis is "just a game" and is the least important component of A's & Aces' tripartite mission. Actually, tennis is the key. It unlocks barriers. Sports-Based Youth Development is recognized as an unparalleled way to engage underserved, disadvantaged, and minority populations. While character developing life-skills and academic support are critical to having successful, productive lives, the sport of tennis also provides the ability to build social, academic and career networks through playing a fun, life-long, global, non-contact, co-ed, team and individual sport. This provides incredible benefits to our participants - and for society.
“Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope where once there was only despair. It is more powerful than government in breaking down racial barriers. It laughs in the face of all kinds of discrimination.”
– Nelson Mandela, May 25, 2000
– Nelson Mandela, May 25, 2000
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