Alpharetta teen holds tennis camp for visually impaired

The idea for the camp came after Dange, a rising sophomore at a New Jersey boarding school, experienced playing tennis blindfolded while in the sixth grade.

“That is what made me think of the visually impaired aspect,” she said. “I have always played tennis since the third grade. Tennis requires a lot of hand-eye coordination and I wondered what would happen if you took away the eye part.”

Before the camp, Dange observed the students, in grades K-12, engaging in after school activities. Some are completely blind, others are partially blind and some are going blind.

“I first thought that they live with such great difficulty,” she said. “When I visited the Center for the Visually Impaired, I saw that they offer classes where they are learning how to cook and learning skills for them to live on their own.”

The students had a laser focus and sense of will to hit the ball over the net. Volunteer Satya Jella was pleasantly suprised to see how quickly they learned.

“While I was working with one of girls she knew exactly how to position herself so that she could hit the ball,” said Jella. “I was just really impressed at how she was able to use the sound to navigate.”

The sport has become more adaptive because of the various technologies and equipment being designed in Japan, including foam balls that contains plastic and lightweight ball bearings.

The camp was sponsored by LeagueTennis.com, which provided special rackets and balls.

“Before my camp started I wanted to make sure I was running the drills properly,” said Dange, who plays for her school’s tennis team.

“My brother Neil and I took turns being blindfolded while running the drills. At first we struggled a bit, but once we adjusted we began to pick it up,” she said.

As the camp continues to grow, she hopes to offer it in other places in metro Atlanta.

“I just want kids to love tennis as much as I do.”