At 8 a.m. last Friday, tennis coach Maurica Katz was full of energy, running around the court about as fast as the children she and her husband, Steve, were teaching at Poinsettia Park.

A child participates in the National Junior Tennis League and Learning Program at Poinsettia Park last Friday. (photo by Aaron Blevins)

Her energy proved infectious, as some children couldn’t put their smiles away as they learned how to volley and return serves. Their mistakes were met with encouragement, and successes were followed by praise.

“Who’s the best tennis player in the world? Say, ‘I am! I am!’” Katz said to the children when it was their turn to complete a drill.

While the couple teaches tennis year-round, last Friday was the final day of the National Junior Tennis and Learning Program at the Poinsettia Tennis Center. The program is operated by the Southern California Tennis Association, a division of the U.S. Tennis Association.

Primarily funded through LA84, which uses proceeds from the 1984 Summer Olympic Games to benefit youth programs in Southern California, the program offers 24 hours of tennis training over a six-week period to children ages 8 to 17 at a cost of $10.

At the Poinsettia Tennis Center, the children learn how to hit forehands, serve, volley and return serves. Maurica and Steve Katz also offer team-building exercises at the end of each session.

“It changes their lives,” Maurica Katz said. “It really does.”

Nikki Dunlop, of Hollywood, agreed. Her daughter, 4-year-old Dani, received her first exposure to sport during the camp.

“It’s a great opportunity for them to come out and learn the game,” Dunlop said. “She likes it. They do a lot of great drills with them.”

She said the cost of the camp was an added benefit.

“They get twenty-four hours for $10. You can’t beat that,” Dunlop said, adding that the team-building exercises were especially good for Dani. “It was really nice to get her out there. It’s really good for the little ones.”

Maurica and Steve Katz have been teaching tennis for at least 25 years. She started out giving private lessons in Beverly Hills, and he worked in Cheviot Hills after playing tennis on a scholarship at Texas A&M University.

“You just have to make it fun, and you have to keep their attention,” Maurica Katz said of teaching little ones. “You have to be sharp on your toes. …What you put into it is what you get out of it.”

She said the Poinsettia Tennis Center has taught several children who later went on to play in college and professionally.

“Without this program … they would have never discovered tennis,” Maurica Katz added.

That is the idea behind the program, said Melanie Bischoff, community development coordinator for the Southern California Tennis Association. She said it is held at facilities that serve low-income or under-served communities.

“We’re very happy to have this program because it serves in areas that normally wouldn’t get the chance,” Bischoff said.

In its 28th year, the National Junior Tennis League and Learning Program is held at 130 sites in the summer and 40 sites year-round. Approximately 9,000 children participate per year, and roughly 155,000 have participated since the program’s inception, Bischoff said.

“It’s a great opportunity for the kids to get a tennis racket in their hands and have fun with their friends and learn the great sport of tennis,” she said, adding that the instructors are essentially giving back to the community because they don’t make “a lot” of money by hosting the camps.

Bischoff said the majority of the program’s funding comes from LA84, but Westcoast Sports Associates, the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks and the Southern California Tennis Association also sponsor the program.

Patrick Escobar, LA84’s vice president of grants and programs, said the organization gives $150,000 to the program each year on average. He said the organization is pleased to help.

“It’s fantastic,” Escobar said. “It’s a great opportunity for these kids. … It’s just one of the programs that we support through the year. It’s one of the more successful ones because many of the coaches have participated year after year, so there’s continuity at the park sites and the kids keep coming back.”

The funding comes from an endowment created with the $93-million surplus from the 1984 Olympics. Since 1985, LA84 has allocated approximately $214 million from the endowment, and still has a $145 million foundation, Escobar said.

For information regarding the Poinsettia Tennis Center, call (323)512-8234. For information on the program, call (310)208-3838 and ask for Melanie.