A team of Southcoast area volunteers that travels to the Ron Burton Training Village in Hubbardston to teach underprivileged inner city youth the game of tennis, will expand their program to the Boys and Girls Club of Wareham.

Coordinated by Wareham resident Joanne Byron, the six-week program will provide basic tennis training from 2 to 4 p.m. on Wednesdays and Fridays beginning July 14.  The program will be free, and all boys and girls ages 9 to 13 are eligible to join.

"We expect to continue the same program that we created at the Ron Burton Training Village for the past nine years," said Byron. "It worked, and the kids developed the joy and interest in learning the game of tennis. Our passion for the sport spilled over into a highly successful tennis clinic."

The clinic will culminate in a tournament with a prize of a new Prince tennis racquet.

The camp known as the Ron Burton Training Village was founded by the late New England Patriot and All-American, Ron Burton and focuses on self-esteem, self-reliance, respect for others and racial harmony.

The camp is dependent on many volunteers, and the group is looking for more local residents to get involved with the tennis camp by donating money, racquets, balls or their time to the camp.

For more information, please contact Barbara Sullivan, Unit Director of the Boys & Girls Club of Wareham at (508) 295-5400 or Joanne Byron, Tennis Director at (508) 295-1157.

"The volunteers find the teaching experiences with the campers very rewarding," Byron said. "We hope that the children in Wareham will enjoy their new life long sport!"