A's and Aces addresses the lack of out-of-school time opportunities for 75% of the Orleans Parish public school population; children who are overwhelmingly at-risk and significantly underperforming. In a city devastated by Hurricane Katrina and one of the most violent, programming focuses on literacy support and character development (behavior, sportsmanship, self-discipline, etc). Tennis is the tool used to motivate academic participation and teach important life skills in after-school programming and summer reading/tennis camps. We promote the "student-athlete" concept by splitting time between scholastic support and emphasizing good conduct while teaching a healthy, life-long, global, non-contact sport to enrich their lives.

“The mission of A's & Aces is to provide academic assistance, life skills and tennis to New Orleans public school children and others who seek access to high-quality academic assistance and tennis. This 501 (c) 3 nonprofit organization was founded in 2008 with a tennis-based youth development outreach model that seeks to expose and engage many young children to our sport, while retaining those with high interest in competing to be the best they can be in the classroom and on the courts, and to use these skills to assist their pathway to college and throughout life.”