The Anguilla Tennis Academy is proud to announce that one of its long time students and coaches, Keithroy Proctor, recently left for the United States on a tennis scholarship. He arrived in Jackson, Tennessee to attend Lambuth University; one of the nation’s finest small private universities.

Keithroy enters his college dormitory, where he will live for the next four years

The Anguilla Tennis Academy invested in Keithroy years ago when it was clear that he had a great deal of tennis with the sport along with an even keeled demeanor and good attitude. He was Anguilla’s top junior for many years and will certainly become one of the best players Anguilla has ever had after his four years of varsity tennis at the university level. Keithroy plans to specialize in business and marketing while at university as well as concentrating on a solid tennis career.
This success story makes the eleven year history of the ATA worthwhile.

The ATA is committed to providing opportunities to children and empowering them through the sport of tennis. Through the years, because of the ATA’s pioneering efforts in the Caribbean, many people have joined in this shared vision therefore proving the ATA’s administrators with various contacts in the world. These contacts have provided the ATA a network of many people in the tennis industry that can provide participants in the ATA’s programs with jobs, tennis vacation, exchange opportunities, and tennis scholarships. Other players have gone through the ATA’s programs and have benefited from them such as Samik Benjamin and Iston Benjamin. Currently, there are four players that will soon go to college as well on scholarships if they work hard; Marvin Hazell, Denny Derrick, Vallan Hodge, and Melissa Mussington.
Keithroy’s full scholarship is for USD $15,000 per semester.

Keithroy and Melissa Mussington listen attentively to their coach

There are 8 semesters in a college student’s career, therefore he and his family have saved USD $120,000. The ATA would like to take this opportunity to thank all the sponsors and supporters who have contributed to making these types of priceless opportunities for Anguilla’s children. Mitchelle Lake, founder and president of the ATA said, “I am proud of Keithroy and this remarkable achievement this is also a proud moment for the Anguilla Tennis Academy as we endeavor to provide opportunities for our children through the sport of tennis.” The ATA’s director, Jason Allen mentioned, “I wish Keithroy much success in his educational odyssey. He will have some struggles attempting to manage his time between studying and playing a sport at a professional level, but this opportunity will make him a stronger student and athlete. Anguillians should be proud of this young man and encourage all to follow his career over the next few years. We will look forward to seeing Keithroy during the holidays and the summers as a returning coach as he can certainly be a role model for adolescents who wish to achieve the same as him.”
Keithroy was asked various questions about this great feat and his responses are below:

How do you feel about this opportunity?

First of all, I’m hounored to be on a college tennis team playing tennis and getting an education at the same time. I feel that an opportunity like this only comes around once in a lifetime and I’m extremely happy that I put in the work and that it came my way and I didn’t let it pass me by.
What would you say to Anguillans who would like to do what you did? How can they achieve what you have done?
First of all, you have to go to school and try your best. You can have all the talent in the world but if you are getting C’s and D’s or even not turning up for school, no college will accept you and your talent would just go to waste. On the other hand, you have to practise, practise, and even practise some more. You need to be at a certain level to be even considered for recruitment into a college, so when that time comes around, when you’re going to be watched by a scout you need to be the best that you can be.
Explain to the readers how you came up in the ATA’s programs and how you benefited from the contacts you have through the ATA.
I started playing in the ATA when I was nine years old. From the first summer I loved it and went back to the tennis camp every year. It really was good for my game because every year I would strive to be better than the last. The others would say I wanted to ‘show off,’ but you had to do that in order for you to get noticed. What really motivated me in my later years around the ages of 16-17 was that most of the international coaches that came down every summer were all saying that I had a good chance of getting a tennis scholarship if I continued playing year round. One coach in particular Bill Riddle had already started talking to colleges about me and got me very excited about continuing playing the sport and having an opportunity of playing in college.
Around the time that I turned seventeen, the ATA started it’s year round program, which I signed up for. I played tennis 4 times a week and had some intense training because the ATA hired a full time coach from the USA ,Joey Hall, who ran that program for a while. He was one of main coaches who made me start thinking of going to college, because that time was coming around soon. Then after about 4 months with the after school program I got offered a full tuition scholarship to attend Lambuth University in the spring of 2006. I was overwhelmed at first about moving to a new country and not knowing any body and I was just 17 years old, but then that’s another good thing about the ATA it enabled me to meet a ton of new and friendly people who lived right around the area. Through the ATA I met Greg Travis and his family who have been good friends of mine since the day we met, in fact Greg was the one who got me from the airport when I arrived in Tennessee and took me to my new school. He also helped me moved in. The ATA has done a lot to help me get into college and I take this opportunity to give them a big THANK YOU. I couldn’t have done it without them.

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An Anguilla Success Story: by Greg Travis

As I picked up Keithroy Proctor at the airport in Nashville, TN, he seemed to be a different than the young boy I have come to know over the last few years. He was more focused, a little anxious, and with a new agenda. The last time he visited us in Nashville a little over a year ago, he was very relaxed. He had come here to play in a charity tennis tournament organized in partnership with the Anguilla Tennis Academy. This time was different. He was a young man, entering a new world, and preparing for life in the United States and the university experience.

Keithroy is one of the best examples of how the Anguilla Tennis Academy is helping young Anguillians achieve their dreams of college scholarships. He was selected among thousands from the US and abroad to receive a full athletic scholarship to attend Lambuth University in Jackson, TN. Lambuth is a highly regarded small private University in both academics and athletics. It is also, as I learned… very expensive.

Fortunately for Keithroy, the university scholarship he obtained through the ATA covers over $15,000 US of his tuition per semester. Over the period of 4 years of college, the scholarship is worth more than $120,000 US. An achievement he is not taking for granted.

I always knew from all the times I had been to Anguilla and observed the progress of the kids from year to year at the Tennis Academy, that the program was truly beginning to accomplish many of the goals it had set for the children of the island. I had also heard Mitch Lake, Jason Allen & Millie Hodge, as well as other organizers and sponsors of the Anguilla Tennis Academy discuss how the program was a global effort. It wasn’t until the last few days, until I saw the results first-hand here in the US, that I realized the impact of these statements and this program.

It’s refreshing to see the excitement of a young person going off to college for the first time, especially in a new country. I had just moved my own daughter off to college the week before and knew the anxiety level of all involved. As I saw Keithroy standing alone in the airport with his suitcases, I could sense how he was feeling. My wife and children had prepared a nice dinner to welcome him and make him feel comfortable in his new transition. I asked him on the drive to our house if he was excited to go off to college, he said simply… “I am more nervous than excited.”

The next day we made the 2 hour drive from Nashville to Jackson. Luckily, he felt much more at ease when we checked him into the dorm and met the advisors and college personnel; they were all very nice and excited to meet Keithroy. I have no doubt his adjustment to this new environment will be fine, and his parents should be both very proud and relieved.

From watching his newfound excitement at the college check-in procedure… to experiencing his first shopping spree and self-checkout at a WalMart Supercenter… everything was a whole new world to him, and he approached it all with a sense of both wonderment and pride. It made me proud to know him… and to be associated with the ATA and see all the efforts of the last few years coming together first hand.

Everyone in Anguilla who has supported the Academy should be proud of these accomplishments. Keithroy’s involvement with the Tennis Academy has lead not only to a college scholarship, but the discipline and leadership he learned through the program has helped shape and develop him into an all-around outstanding young man.

While the Academy helped secure the athletic scholarship, there are many others who contributed to this success story as well. The government and the education system in Anguilla should be applauded for developing the academic skills necessary for collegiate acceptance. And of course, Keithroy’s parents, Linda and Merville Proctor, along with the rest of his family and friends who helped develop him into the person he is today.

The efforts of the Tennis Academy have afforded Keithroy a wonderful academic and athletic opportunity. However, this is only one example of what can be accomplished in the future as the Tennis Academy nears completion. Several other ATA participants have been offered scholarships as well. The government of Anguilla, sponsors, ATA organizers and all citizens of Anguilla should be very proud of this shared vision and these accomplishments.

As I left him in his dorm to begin his new adventure in life, I asked him if he needed anything else. He responded in his wonderful laid-back Anguillian style, “No, I Cool.” And from the smile in his eyes, I knew everything for him would be fine.

For the future of the children of Anguilla and the Tennis Academy… this is only the beginning.

Greg Travis / Travis TV Info:
Greg Travis and his family are frequent visitors to Anguilla. He is the president of Travis Television Productions based in Nashville, TN and the Executive Producer of America’s leading country music television news program, Country Music Across America. Over the past 4 years, he has worked with the Anguilla Tennis Academy to develop DVD presentations and music festivals to raise funds for the Academy and several other children’s charities around the island. To date, Travis Television has donated over $100,000 US in services and production work to the ATA. His family also hosts children from Anguilla to play in Tennis events in the states at their home in Nashville.

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