Comet tennis coach believes indoor courts could add value to city

By John Burbridge sports@charlescitypress.com

CHARLES CITY — Brian Parrott has seen first hand how far they will come if you not only build a venue but promote interest in the venue’s purpose.

“During RAGBRAI, they had people coming in from as far as Arizona to play on the court,” Parrott said of the Alex J. Kuhn Court of Dreams, a homemade grass-surface tennis court on the farm of Alex’s surviving parents, Mark and Denise Kuhn.

Recently, Parrott helped organize the Alex J. Kuhn Memorial Invitational on the said court that brought in several top youth players from Iowa and Minnesota. The event was covered by multiple news organizations, including CBS News.

“Since then, they’ve been getting all kinds of reservations from people wanting to play on it,” Parrott said. “And that’s good for tennis around here … more people are starting to associate tennis with Charles City.”

Parrott believes more regional interest in the sport can be generated — not necessarily by building another court, but by resurfacing several existing ones, placing a shelter over them … and getting rid of the graffiti.

“I drive by here often and I never see anyone using it,” Parrott said of the dilapidated skate park at Lions Park.

Arranged over the park’s tennis courts a decade ago, the ramps and other skating apparatuses made of plywood and welded steel have deteriorated over the years, and have been tagged with graffiti. Though the skate park was used and maintained by a group of skaters who petitioned for it, it was suggested at a recent park board meeting that the skaters have either moved out of the area or have lost interest.

“As it is right now, it’s just an eyesore,” said Parrott, who is campaigning to remove the apparatuses and restore the tennis courts while placing a fabric building over them for indoor year-round play.

Parrott said the extra courts could accomodate an expanding high school tennis program that looks to add a boys team in the near future.

“When they built the new middle school, we lost four home courts to make room for the construction,” said Parrott, whose girls team uses the four courts at Sportsmen’s Park for home matches. “We wanted to add two more at Sportsmen’s, but there are two here (at Lions Park) that can be resurfaced.”

Parrott is trying to drum up support for his proposed project from various civic organizations.

“It can only add to the quality of life,” Parrott said. “Tennis is a lifelong sport … it’s a social activity. Having a year-round tennis court right here could only add to the value of the surrounding homes.”

It may also increase the quality of play for youths taking up the sport.

“More high school students are going out for tennis,” Parrott said. “But many of them never played seriously until their freshman year.

“You spend a lot of time showing them how to keep score and going over the basics. Some end up becoming good players, but then you say, ‘If only they picked up the sport a little earlier’.”

Such a project would likely reach six-figures.

“But when you proposed something like this to a board, you’ll more likely have someone stand up and say ‘I could do that for only this amount’ or they might know somebody who can which can bring the cost down,” Parrott said. “Hourly court rental fees, like $5 for singles or $2.50 for doubles, can help pay it off.”