Bishop England senior creates Beyond the Baseline tennis camp for children

Twenty-three children lined up on Bishop England’s tennis courts, racquets in hand, with parents watching from the sidelines. 

Most had never played tennis before that week. Now, they had one last assignment: Hit the “perfect” forehand. 

Every camper made contact. About 90% sent the ball over the net. 

Not bad for a free tennis camp dreamed up by a 17-year-old after her summer plans fell apart. 

Mary Bennett Anderson was supposed to travel with her mother on a medical mission trip to Uganda last June. Days before their departure, conflict in the Middle East abruptly canceled the trip. 

“In the disappointment of this news, I was determined to find another way to serve others,” Anderson said. “So I decided to create my own local service project.” 

The Bishop England rising senior began thinking about what she loved, what she had learned, and what she could offer. Tennis checked every box. 

Anderson has played with her parents since she was five. The game taught her discipline, athleticism, and sportsmanship. But as one of four children, it also taught her how expensive a sport can be. 

“I realized that tennis lessons, especially camps, could be cost prohibitive,” she said. 

Her family loved attending Vacation Bible School because it was free and all four children could participate. Anderson wanted her camp to work the same way: “No cost, no barrier, everyone welcome.” 

That idea became Beyond the Baseline, a free camp this summer that brought 23 children ages 6 to 11 to Bishop England’s courts from July 6 to July 10. 

Getting them there took more than a good serve. 

Anderson reached out to feeder schools, including Divine Redeemer, where a Spanish liaison helped connect her with interested families. Then she went searching for courts, only to find most suitable facilities already occupied by fee-based camps. Bishop England’s athletic director found a single open week on the summer calendar. 

Once the children arrived, they learned serves, forehands, backhands, volleys, and footwork in small groups with a roughly 4-to-1 camper-to-coach ratio. Coaches followed USTA junior guidelines, using smaller courts, lower nets, low-pressure balls, and child-sized racquets. Anderson’s mother, pediatrician Dr. Cameron Anderson, served as camp doctor. 

Beyond the Baseline was hardly three straight hours of hitting balls. The campers watched skits, made crafts, and participated in daily devotionals centered on 1 Corinthians 9:24: “Run in such a way as to win the prize.” 

Each day connected a Bible story to sportsmanship: peace through Jesus calming the storm; joy through Paul and Silas; courage through David and Goliath; unity through Jesus washing his disciples’ feet; and, finally, the meaning of “the prize” through John 3:16. Campers built boats, made puppets and slingshots, decorated picture frames, and created gospel bracelets. 

“My goal was for the devotionals to be meaningful and applicable to every camper regardless of their own faith background, while still giving me the chance to share what I believe,” Anderson said. 

Turning the idea into a free camp took a community. A GoFundMe brought in $1,955, the Church of the Holy Spirit contributed, and grants came from the Lowcountry Youth Tennis Association, the Rotary Club of Daniel Island, and the Random Acts of Kindness Club of the Lowcountry. Altogether, Anderson secured about $4,000 – plus a long list of donated equipment, supplies, and services. 

Donations covered everything from shade tents and snacks to cooling equipment, racquets, and balls. USTA South Carolina and College of Charleston tennis also loaned gear, while volunteer Brooke Olsen’s nonprofit, Books for Brighter Futures, gave each camper a book about a famous tennis player. 

And the giveaways didn’t stop there. 

Each child left with a racquet, three tennis balls, a camp T-shirt, and a reusable water bottle. Some parents received racquets so they could play alongside their children.Families also took home packets listing free or low-cost tennis programs, food assistance, medical and dental clinics, legal help, and English classes. 

“We didn't want this to be a week that just ended and then was over,” Anderson said. “We wanted the kids to be able to keep doing what they loved after camp was done.” 

Anderson’s parents and sister helped run the camp alongside volunteers Cooper Bondo, Frankie Carter, Bryce Clayton, Charlotte Good, Joslyn Leaf, Anika Martin, Blaise Martin, Idoia Oiarbide, Brooke Olsen, Derek Olsen, Luca Paone, Emmy Poole, and John Rosato. Most attended Bishop England, with Academic Magnet, Oceanside, and Ashley Hall also represented. Anderson’s Spanish teacher, neighbors, and Random Acts of Kindness members pitched in, too. 

By the night before the final showcase, Anderson had watched the campers grow enough that she stayed awake past midnight creating an individual character trait award for each one. 

The next day, they demonstrated ready positions, split steps, volleys, and groundstrokes in front of their families. Then came those “perfect” forehands. 

“It was after the award ceremony was completed and we were taking down the last parts of the camp that I realized that we had accomplished every single goal we set out to complete better than we thought we could,” Anderson said. 

By Friday, some campers were wishing one week could stretch into a month, and their parents were already asking about next summer. Anderson hopes this was only the first serve. 

“I hope to see it grow and that more good work could be done, more people could be involved, and more lives could be changed.”