Ten seven and eight-year-old girls and boys had an hour of free tennis lessons on the B.M.C. Durfee High School tennis courts led by Fall River Mayor Samuel Sutter on August 1, 2015. Similar lessons were also offered to nine and ten-year-olds and eleven and twelve-year-olds that same morning. "I'm here to teach you how to play tennis, some of the basics," began Sutter before covering the terminology of the game and starting the children off by learning how to dribble the ball and to begin an underhand stroke. The event was offered by Greater Fall River Re-Creation with support from the Fall River Community Development Agency. Children were offered free racquets and tennis balls to take home to practice on their own. Re-Creation also offers tennis lessons three days a week in July in collaboration with the Fall River Community Tennis Association. Click here for a twelve-minute video of the session. Click here and here for photos of previous tennis clinics offered by Mayor Sutter. For more information about what Re-Creation has to offer, go to www.GFRRec.org or call 508-837-9029.

(Top row, left) Community Development Agency Executive Director Mike Dion offers a free tennis ball to two-and-a-half year-old Sadie Tallman as well as to the other children. (Top row, center and right) Fall River Mayor and former varsity intercollegiate tennis player for Brown University Sam Sutter has the children introduce themselves before starting the lesson. (Rows three and four) Mayor Sutter and his volunteer assistant, Private Investigator Jeff King, has the children spread out on the base line to practice some dribbling. (Bottom row. left) Dartmouth Guidance Counselor Jay Sullivan works with Kacey Curran to practice dribbling the ball. (Bottom row, center) Mayor Sutter works with Faith Cronister while Sarah Raposa watches. (Bottom row, right) Mayoral Assistant Rob Bentlyewski chases a ball with eight-year-old Olivea Pereira.