Kriese’s clinic will include five full days of training and a student/instructor ratio of four to one. Kriese is present with students all day, every day.  Participants will be broken into four groups: Challenger, for beginning tennis players; Aces, for those who have already participated in some competitive tennis; Champions, for serious tournament players looking to take their game to the next level, possibly to college play; and Elite, for a handful of the most skilled participants, who will be selected for an exclusive level of rigorous training.

“It’s open to anyone,” Davenort said of the clinic. “We’ve got kids coming from all over.”

Davenport’s own Carolina Junior Tennis Clinics offer similar training, but for ages 4 through 18, and throughout the year at O.P. Earle Elementary,  New Prospect Elementary School in Inman, and several private facilities. It offers the following programs: beginners, advanced beginners, academy and high performance.

Davenport’s sports competition began early – when he was 5 or 6. He played hard at both swimming and tennis. When Davenport was in his teens, he was coached by Jerry Evert, father of former World No. 1 tennis pro Chris Evert.

“I’ve had some outstanding coaches,” said Davenport. Possibly as a result, “I decided at an early age I enjoyed coaching very much.”

Along the way, Davenport, who lives in Campobello, became a member of the U.S. Professional Tennis Association. During that time, he and his wife owned tennis clubs in Chicago, to which they brought in top players including Billie Jean King and Arthur Ashe. Davenport has 40 years’ experience in teaching and training athletes.

Both Vargas and Rodriguez teach at the Carolina Junior Tennis Clinics, as well.

“I get them (students) up to a certain level,” says Davenort, who says that Rodriguez and Vargas take them the rest of the way.

To register for Carolina Junior Tennis Clinics,  call Davenport at 864-415-8715, visit www.carolinajunior tennis.com, or e-mail davenportcb@windstream.net.