'Tennis Anyone' Coming to Eaton

“Tennis boomed in the seventies, but since then, the sport has all but died off in terms of interest in the United States. Steve Hinton is trying to change that, however - at least locally. Hinton has recently established ‘Tennis Anyone,’ a program dedicated to teaching local youths the sport through personal camp instruction from Hinton himself. ‘I wanted kids to have an opportunity to play (tennis),’ Hinton said, ‘and you gotta start somewhere. This is kind of trying to regenerate tennis programs in the area. I'm trying to create some momentum for the sport locally. It's growing in bigger schools and I'm just trying to get it to grow in places like Eaton.’ Hinton is a 1983 graduate of Brookville and had 90 career wins on the tennis court for the Blue Devils. He also earned a trip to the state tournament. Collegiately, he was a two-time regional finalist for Sinclair. He also partnered in tournaments with players from The University of Illinois and Eastern Michigan University to win county and YMCA doubles titles. Hinton started his career as a tennis coach at Dayton Center Courts in 1985. He's been a certified USPTA tennis coach since 1986, and has worked with all age groups and levels, including nationally ranked juniors from the Dayton area. He's also the past tennis director at the Celina Racket and Health Club, and has traveled with players to Junior Ranking Tournaments. Along with founding ‘Tennis Anyone,’ he also founded the North Dayton Tennis Association for junior players. ‘The point is that because I played in a local schools and parks program, I was afforded an opportunity just like kids from Eaton can achieve (with 'Tennis Anyone'),"’ Hinton said. "My immediate goal is to get the high school kids out who want to have match play and learn to be proud to play for Eaton. All kids wanting to play against kids from other schools will have that opportunity.’”

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