On a football field, his father had a knack for slicing through opposing defenses as a talented running back and return specialist, but Burrell Daniel Shields prefers to see slices executed on a tennis court as president of the Motor City Tennis Club.
And Shields expects to see an abundance of slices and other tennis maneuvers on Saturday during a free Juneteenth Tennis Celebration at the Palmer Park Tennis Courts, located at 17999 Woodward Ave. in Detroit.
Hosted by the Motor City Tennis Club, People for Palmer Park and the Midwest Section of the American Tennis Association, the fourth annual event will feature a United States Tennis Association Level 6 Junior Tournament from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; and Family Fun Day events from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
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The Family Fun Day activities will include tennis drills for kids and adults; a tennis demonstration conducted by lifelong Detroiter Jeff Collins, who made the Northwestern University varsity traveling tennis team in 1977 as a non-scholarship walk-on; displays highlighting the history of the Motor City Tennis Club founded in 1929 and the origin and evolution of the Juneteenth holiday, which will be formally observed this year on June 19; and lunch.
“Our ultimate goal is to celebrate Juneteenth, but it’s also a part of our objective to get people to participate in the game of tennis,” said Shields, whose late father, Burrell Alfred Shields, while playing football for John Carroll University, returned a punt 92 yards for a touchdown on Oct. 21, 1949 against his son’s future alma mater, Marshall University, before playing professionally with the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers during the 1954 and 1955 seasons. “Tennis is important to our community because it’s a sport that promotes dedication and discipline, and tennis can be played for a lifetime.”
Speaking on Friday evening, Shields, a mathematics tutor at the Mathnasium math learning center in Northville who has served on the MCTC board since 1994, said Saturday’s event at Palmer Park calls further attention to a busy outdoor tennis season in Detroit. The season will include a summer tennis program conducted by MCTC for juniors and adults from June 17 through Aug. 12 on the McNichols Campus of the University of Detroit Mercy, located at 4001 W. McNichols.
“Our programs have much to offer for our youth and adults,” said Shields, who also is excited about tennis events that will be presented this summer by Come Play Detroit. “For our younger people, there are scholarship opportunities, so we want to give them as many opportunities to play, so that they can get their ratings up and qualify for scholarships. For our adults, it’s a way to keep them physically active and tennis is a great social activity. And for everyone, tennis is a wonderful way to make new friends.”
