ACEing Autism
Tenafly teens launch local chapter of tennis program for neurodivergent kids
Sam Zausner, a 16-year-old junior at Tenafly High School, has been playing tennis since he was 5. He plays at the Tenafly Racquet Club, is on his school team, participates in tournaments, and also volunteers as a coach in a tennis program for local kids.
His brother Eli, a 15-year-old freshman at Tenafly High School, also has been playing tennis most of his life. Eli also competes at the Tenafly Racquet Club and in tournaments, and he hopes to join the school team in the spring.
Eli volunteered at a program for neurodivergent children at the Kaplen JCC on the Palisades in Tenafly. “It originally started as my bar mitzvah project,” he said. He chose that opportunity because “my mom once shared a quote with me that ‘no man is as tall as when he bends down to help a child.’ I really wanted to incorporate that into my project, and I couldn’t think of a better way than by helping kids who might have trouble doing things that an average kid could do.
“That was my mindset going into it,” Eli continued. “I felt great doing it. I felt that I was really doing something good.” He continued to volunteer in the program after his bar mitzvah.
Last spring, Tenafly Racquet Club hosted an ACEing Autism chapter. ACEing Autism is a national organization whose mission is to “help children with autism to grow, develop and benefit from social connections and fitness through the sport of tennis,” according to its website, aceingautism.org. The organization aims to fill a “national void for this growing and worthy population.” During the last school year, it had 150 program locations in 30 states.
When Sam heard about the program at the Tenafly Racquet Club, he “really loved the idea,” he said, and he joined the clinic as a volunteer. He saw it as an opportunity to use the skills he had developed coaching tennis and volunteering as an assistant teacher at Hebrew school to give back to the community.
When Sam and his mother, Susan Marenoff-Zausner, learned that ACEing Autism was looking to expand to new locations, they approached Steve Rogers, the CEO of the Kaplen JCC. The family has strong connections to the JCC, Ms. Marenoff-Zausner said. “Both boys went to the preschool, my mother currently goes to their senior dementia programs, and I was on the board for several years, so we’ve been very involved in our community in that regard. And we’ve known Steve forever — he’s a dear family friend.”
Mr. Rogers was happy to help. The Kaplen JCC “is welcoming to all and deeply values its strong commitment to inclusion,” he wrote. He described ACEing Autism as “perfectly aligned with” the JCC’s mission and was “thrilled that Sam brought it to our attention.”
Sam and Eli took the reins as program directors for the new chapter. “We felt that by working together, we could really combine the skills we had each gained in our previous volunteer work,” Sam said.
Ms. Marenoff-Zausner is “the parent program director, because they have to have an adult, but it’s really Sam and Eli,” she said.
Ms. Marenoff-Zausner does have some experience in the inclusion arena. She’s the president of the Intrepid Museum in Manhattan, which offers “a very robust access program,” she said. “We work with neurodiverse kids, we do sensory sensitive programming, we work with families with dementia, we work with blind and deaf and partially sighted and hard-of-hearing people and their families. And we work with veterans with post-traumatic stress and their families. We’re one of the leaders in the cultural institutions in New York City in these programs.
“It’s really a lot of watching and learning, and I think having just some compassion and feeling,” she added. “I feel very fortunate for what our family has. I think the worst thing my boys had is seasonal allergies, so there’s just definitely a lot of gratitude. We have no personal history with autism in our family. ACEing Autism just seems to be a really beautiful thing. And the fact is, New Jersey has quite a dense population of youth with autism, and particularly boys, so it just seems like an area to make an impact.”
The new JCC chapter recently finished its first series of tennis clinics. “This fall we had five sessions,” Sam said. Sessions ran from 1 to 2 p.m. on Sundays. “We’re trying to incorporate six in the spring.”
Before the semester started, Ms. Marenoff-Zausner, Sam, and Eli participated in ACEing Autism online training sessions for program directors. For the other volunteers, a coach from the national organization ran an hour of in-person training about interacting with neurodivergent children.
“And we gave each volunteer a card with background information on the child they would be working with,” Ms. Marenoff-Zausner said. “We’re very informed by the parents. So it might say something like, ‘Sara doesn’t like to be touched. She takes two-step commands very well. Sara may sit down on the court. You can try to get her up by saying the following…’”
The new program took off quickly. “We were replete with participants and volunteers,” Ms. Marenoff-Zausner said. “ACEing Autism expects that the first time you run a program, you’ll have six participants and, hopefully, 10 volunteers. We had 12 participants and about 47 volunteers. And so we clearly had something going.”
Volunteers do not need a tennis background. “The qualities that you need are to be engaging and caring,” Ms. Marenoff-Zausner said.
Sam and Eli run the sessions. “So we’ll be the ones who are directing the group warmup, explaining what exercises we’re going to do, demonstrating those exercises, and operating the game that we all play as a group at the end,” Sam said. “The volunteers work with participants on the individual level, guiding them through the warmups and the volleys and the ground strokes that we’re directing.”
They try to incorporate a lot of interactive activities. “One warm-up exercise, for example, would be rolling a ball to the net,” Sam said. “Then we would incorporate the interactive aspect, where it’s roll the ball to another participant, so there’s that socialness on top of the fitness.”
“They start with drills — like jumping back and forth over a line — and then get to little skill sessions of, let’s say, how to hit a volley, how to rally the ball,” Ms. Marenoff-Zausner said. “The volunteers, who were all teens, were so passionate, and so engaging. Everyone was just in it. It was great.”
Participants get a lot of individual attention. The formula is to have two volunteers per player. “It’s all about doing what is going to be successful for the child,” Ms. Marenoff-Zausner said. “We want to set them up for success. However, they define success for themselves, whether that’s being social, being able to hold the racquet, being able to have fun with other people, being outside, being active, that was the parameter for success. The volunteers go with the flow, but within a structure.
“One of the parents said, ‘What you do here is not just giving the kids activity, but you’re giving them organization and structure, and that’s what they need.’ And that was really interesting because it was organized and it was structured, yet we went with the flow, because I think you just have to.”
“The prevalence rate of autism spectrum disorder in children in New Jersey is the third highest in the country,” Philip Milburn, ACEing Autism’s president, wrote. “Tennis is also popular in the state,” and he sees that as an opportunity to involve families in programs that provide “fun, gains in fitness and breakthroughs in socialization,” like the new program at the Kaplen JCC that’s “led by extraordinary volunteers.”
Keri Thoren, the JCC’s athletics director, also sees ACEing Autism as a vital program, and one that “aligns perfectly with our JCC mission of inclusivity and community building,” she wrote. “By integrating this program into our offerings, we enhance our commitment to promoting health, well-being, and connection among all members of our community. The initiative not only fosters a love for sports but also cultivates friendships and a sense of belonging, reflecting our core values of welcoming everyone.
“I’ve been present every week, and it has been one of the most heartwarming and fulfilling experiences of my life,” Ms. Thoren continued. “Witnessing the joy and progress of the participants is truly inspiring. As a passionate advocate for sports, I feel honored to share that enthusiasm with children who may not have had the same opportunities. The smiles, laughter, and newfound skills highlight the profound impact we’re making.
“Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive,” she added. “It’s incredibly rewarding to hear how ACEing Autism is making a difference in people’s lives.
“And working with the Zausners has been an exceptional experience. Their dedication and passion are evident. They tirelessly ensure that each participant is engaged and learning, adapt sessions to meet individual needs, and create an inclusive and enriching environment where every child can thrive.
“ACEing Autism is not just about teaching tennis,” Ms. Thoren concluded. “It’s about building a community where everyone feels valued and empowered.” She encourages everyone to get involved and “witness the magic for themselves.”
For Sam, ACEing Autism’s inaugural season at the Kaplen JCC was “an amazing set of sessions” and he feels privileged to be running the program there. “New Jersey has a high population of neurodiverse kids so it’s really awesome that I was able to combine my love for tennis with helping others,” he added. “We had a great group of participants and volunteers, it was a great venue, and everyone involved really cared about making an impact on the community.”
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