CROW AGENCY, Mont. — Standing Tall Tennis conducted free tennis clinics
for hundreds of American Indians at 22 different Western sites during May,
June and July.

“We conducted six training clinics where we taught elders to teach tennis
in order to ensure continuation of the program,” said David Dantzer,
president of Standing Tall Tennis, who just completed his 10th summer of
outreach clinics.

Dantzer drove over 8,000 miles while conducting clinics within six sections
of the United States Tennis Association. He taught on grass, dirt, wood and
parking lots, but seldom on tennis courts.

“The most rewarding experience to me was to see the smiles of the children
as they enjoyed tennis for perhaps the first time,” Dantzer said. “We were
warmly received at several new sites, in particular the Boys and Girls
clubs at the Crow Agency in Montana and at the Nez Perce in Lapwai, Idaho.
Because of the interest and enthusiasm at those locations, the game of
tennis will certainly grow through our NJTL chapter,” he added.

Once again Standing Tall Tennis conducted a tennis clinic at the United
National Indian Tribal Youth convention in San Diego, Calif. on July 9. In
addition, STT had a presence at the Native Vision Sports and Life Skills
Camp in Bernalillo, N.M. on July 17 and will be a presenter at the camp in
2006 to be held in Oklahoma. Traditionally, STT conducts clinics at the
North American Indian Tennis Championships over the Memorial Day weekend.
This year, the championships were held in Sunnyvale, Calif.

The Standing Tall Tennis Summer Tour 2005 was made possible through a grant
from the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians. Wilson Sporting Goods Inc. is
a major sponsor, annually donating many tennis items and equipment. Other
sponsors included grants from the Northern, Intermountain and Southwest
sections of the U.S. Tennis Association.

Standing Tall Tennis, a 501(c)3 organization, is endorsed by the Native
American Sports Council and by the North American Indian Tennis
Association. For more information, call (805) 937-0213, e-mail
stt@pronet.net or visit www.standingtalltennis.org.