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<p>SOUTH ABINGTON TWP. &#8212; High fives and fist bumps. Approving smiles. Words of encouragement.</p><p>This is the atmosphere young athletes experience when they participate in Buddy Up Tennis at Birchwood Tennis and Fitness Club.</p><p>Coordinated with Geisinger Health System, the program is an ongoing, high-energy adaptive tennis and fitness clinic for children and young adults with Down syndrome.</p><p>Founded in 2008 in Columbus, Ohio, the non-profit incorporation now holds weekly 90-minute clinics throughout the United States. Birchwood became the first Northeastern Pennsylvania location to host the program, when it started its first session at the beginning of April.</p><p>According to Michele Reese, coordinator, the organization hopes to soon expand into Luzerne County as well.</p><p>Reese, who is also a mother of one of the participating athletes, described the atmosphere as &#8220;very positive.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;The athletes almost immediately have a relationship with their buddies,&#8221; she said. &#8220;And I think it&#8217;s wonderful what they are doing.&#8221;</p><p>When he or she enters the program, each athlete is paired up with a volunteer, who serves as his or her &#8220;buddy&#8221; during the clinic, providing the constant one-on-one attention coaches aren&#8217;t always able to give in a group setting.</p><p>Reese&#8217;s 10-year-old daughter Olivia confirmed every part of the program is fun &#8211; from &#8220;throwing the ball&#8221; to &#8220;swinging the racket.&#8221; When asked if she likes her buddy, Isabel Hou, she gave an enthusiastic &#8220;yes!&#8221;</p><p>Hou, a Clarks Summit resident, has been playing tennis at Birchwood for about three years now. She said she enjoys volunteering in the new Buddy Up Tennis program.</p><p>&#8220;These kids don&#8217;t normally get to play tennis, so it&#8217;s great that they can come play tennis, socialize with their friends and learn,&#8221; she said. &#8220;And they really enjoy it.&#8221;</p><p>According to coordinator Dr. Murugu Manickam, clinical geneticist at Geisinger Health System&#8217;s Genomic Medicine Institute Precision Health Center, Buddy Up Tennis can benefit the athletes in similar ways to physical therapy.</p><p>&#8220;But because they are thinking about it like that (having fun and learning a new sport), it doesn&#8217;t seem like a chore,&#8221; he said.</p><p>The program also helps bring out the best in each athlete and improve his or her social skills.</p><p>Manickam said one of his favorite success stories from Buddy Up Tennis comes from Ohio, where a young boy with both Down syndrome and autism went from refusing to hold a racket at the beginning of his session, to playing the full game, through several small steps and a lot of patience from the boy&#8217;s family members, coaches and buddies.</p><p>He said stories like that are not unusual.</p><p>Manickam added he is grateful for the volunteer buddies at Birchwood who strive to build trust relationships with their athletes, and for Coach Bill Steege, co-owner of the club, for hosting the program.</p><p>&#8220;Everybody here was so enthusiastic about doing it,&#8221; he said.</p><p>Reese said as a mother, to her, the program means everything.</p><p>&#8220;My daughter fully enjoys this,&#8221; she said. &#8220;She looks forward to coming every week &#8211; and this is coming from a girl who has never played tennis before.&#8221;</p><p>No experience is required to participate in the program, and each athlete is provided with a T-shirt and racket.</p><p>The cost is $15 per single day or $115 for the entire spring session, which will run through June 11, followed by a summer break. A new session will then begin in September.</p><p>For more information about the local program, email scranton@buddyuptennis.com. For more information about Buddy Up Tennis, Inc., visit buddyuptennis.com.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Young athletes practice their new-found tennis skills with their &#8216;buddies&#8217; during the Buddy Up Tennis program at Birchwood Tennis and Fitness Club in Clarks Summit. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/web1_ABJ-Buddy-Up-1-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Young athletes practice their new-found tennis skills with their &#8216;buddies&#8217; during the Buddy Up Tennis program at Birchwood Tennis and Fitness Club in Clarks Summit. </caption0><photoCredit0>Elizabeth Baumeister | Abington Journal </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/web1_ABJ-Buddy-Up-2-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Olivia Reese and her buddy Isabel Hou keep their eyes on a tennis ball as Olivia prepares to send it back over the net. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/web1_ABJ-Buddy-Up-2-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Olivia Reese and her buddy Isabel Hou keep their eyes on a tennis ball as Olivia prepares to send it back over the net. </caption1><photoCredit1>Elizabeth Baumeister | Abington Journal </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/web1_ABJ-Buddy-Up-3-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Alea Granville prepares to return the ball over the net. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/web1_ABJ-Buddy-Up-3-1.jpg</photo2><caption2>Alea Granville prepares to return the ball over the net. </caption2><photoCredit2>Elizabeth Baumeister | Abington Journal </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/web1_ABJ-Buddy-Up-4-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">From left, athletes Rosey Holmes, Kayla Morgan and Norah Carey engage in a round of tug o&#8217; war during the Buddy Up Tennis program at Birchwood Tennis and Fitness Club. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/web1_ABJ-Buddy-Up-4-1.jpg</photo3><caption3>From left, athletes Rosey Holmes, Kayla Morgan and Norah Carey engage in a round of tug o&#8217; war during the Buddy Up Tennis program at Birchwood Tennis and Fitness Club. </caption3><photoCredit3>Elizabeth Baumeister | Abington Journal </photoCredit3></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Program provides a fun fitness opportunity for children, young adults with Down syndrome</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Elizabeth Baumeister</p><p>ebaumeister@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Elizabeth Baumeister at 570-704-3943 or on Twitter @AbingtonJournal.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Buddy Up Tennis program provides a fun fitness opportunity for children and young adults with Down syndrome