A New First for ATANC
In August of 2023 , Justin Hunsucker began coaching an Abilities Tennis clinic with his dad, Charles. This is not the first time these two have teamed up for tennis – but in the past, they had been a Unified Doubles team, with Justin as the athlete with an intellectual disability, and Charles as his unified partner. Justin is the first Abilities athlete to serve as a tennis coach with the Abilities Tennis Association of North Carolina (ATANC).
According to ATANC Executive Director Lou Welch, Abilities Tennis hosts adaptive tennis clinics in about 30 locations across the state. His Path, an adult daycare program operated by Mt. Jubilee Ministries in Forsyth County, hosts the tennis clinic where Justin is a coach. “We knew we needed a dynamic coaching team to work with the growing number of participants at the His Path clinic,” explains Ms. Welch. “I immediately thought of Justin. He is well qualified to be a coach, and I knew he would be a great addition to our coaching team. When I asked Charles if he would like to be a father-son coaching team with Justin, they talked it over and jumped at the chance.”
Justin has competed in the top division of Special Olympics tennis for Forsyth County since 2009. He is a gold medalist in singles for the state of North Carolina and won the gold medal at the North American Special Olympics Tennis Championships in Hilton Head, South Carolina. Of coaching, Justin says: “I was a little nervous [at first], but not too much. I was really comfortable around the athletes from the beginning though. That helped a lot. I was actually just really excited.”
Charles adds, “We work together to create a plan for each clinic. Justin will usually say, ‘Dad, let’s talk about what we’re going to do this week.’ We’ll bounce ideas off each other, and he’s good at remembering what we’ve done each week. We decide what drills we want to do, what skills we want to work on, and then what game we want to end the clinic with. We always like to end with a fun game.”
On the court, Justin is especially helpful in demonstrating technique and how a drill is going to work. When Justin shows the athletes how to hit a proper forehand, for example, they get to see a fellow Abilities athlete who has worked hard to master the skill himself. Justin usually works with the top players on the court. “He can hit with them and keep the ball in play.” says Charles.
Justin adds, “Just being able to tell them what I’ve done in the past, about the tournaments I’ve played in and some I’ve won–that really seems to help them out. It lets them see what they can do with tennis. I’ve also demonstrated how hard I serve. They were pretty impressed by that!” Off the court, Charles and Justin point to the relationships with the athletes as being their biggest reward. “We’ve made about 20 new friends. That’s what we call it. It’s not just that we’re going to a clinic or a job; we’ve really made a lot of good friends.” Charles said.
Charles said the new coaching role is a natural extension of their tennis family. The Hunsuckers won the 2017 NC Tennis Family of the Year. “ATANC is part of our tennis family. We’ve made so many friends, and the competition is so fun. We’re competing with friends and cheering our friends on. We try to be ambassadors for tennis and for Abilities Tennis. Not every state has what we have here in NC. We have half a dozen players who are at the top level and an organization to pull them together for competitions.”
What advice does Justin have for other coaches and volunteers who work with athletes with intellectual disabilities? “Just be patient. Just like everyone, the athletes are all trying to learn.” With hard work, some day maybe one of the athletes Justin is teaching can join him on the coaching staff.
