Hobart TAS 7000, Australia, 18 June 2018 | Tennis Tasmania

Paralympic champion Dylan Alcott made a special visit to the Southern Support School in the Hobart suburb of Howrah this week.

Alcott, a five-time Grand Slam champion and former Newcombe Medal winner, hit with some lucky students and presented a $10,000 cheque to the school as part of the ANZ Tennis Hot Shots Community Grants program on Monday morning. He also let students wear his Paralympic gold medals – won in basketball at Beijing in 2008 and tennis in Rio in 2016.

“I played ANZ Tennis Hot Shots when I started in a school similar to this, so to be able to come here and hopefully inspire other kids is such a good opportunity,” Alcott said.

“It was great to see all the smiling faces of the students here today – they were pretty good at tennis too!”

Massive forehand here, keeping @DylanAlcott on point at the @ANZ_AU Tennis hotshots grant presentation at Southern Support School Howrah @TennisTasmania @TennisAustralia #nextchamp #RoleModel pic.twitter.com/8uvTMhlmBV

— Jim Giles (@Gilesjr1) June 18, 2018

> Find out more about ANZ Tennis Hot Shots

Southern Support School principal Simon Ellaby said the ANZ Tennis Hot Shots program had social, emotional and developmental benefits for their students.

“Engaging in a program like this (ANZ Tennis Hot Shots) is really good for them, it makes them full of life,” he said.

The school, which delivers the ANZ Tennis Hot Shots as part of the National School Partnership, plans to use the grant to construct an enclosed hitting wall for students to use.

“It’s going to be a great asset to the school,” Ellaby said. “We’re already very proud of our students involved and this will provide more opportunities for others to play.”

> Learn more about ANZ Tennis Hot Shots Community Grants

Alcott believes it is important to provide disabled students the chance to play sports such as tennis.

“It is a great way to make friends, get fit and have a good time. I think sometimes able-bodied children take that granted,” Alcott said.

“There might be some barriers in the way – but there is always a way to figure it out and ANZ Tennis Hot Shots is a fantastic program that everyone can enjoy.”