Vicky Lee from Slamin’ Tennis and Fitness has been formally acknowledged for her contribution to the disability space during the Victorian Disability Sport and Recreation awards night.
Lee was awarded with the coveted Coach of the Year accolade, an award with a rich history of incredible people from a number of sports. She was acknowledge for her tireless efforts and commitment to providing a positive environment for individuals with a disability.
This award is presented to someone that over the past 12 months has: made a significant impact to their club, local community, organisation or school, achieved success in their chosen sport or recreation, had a positive and encouraging attitude that has inspired others and shown commitment to providing the highest standard of coaching to their team players or individuals.
The awards night also saw two other Victorian named finalists in two prestigious categories. Carla Lenarduzzi (Female Athlete of the Year) and Tony Warland (Official of the Year).
Lee was thrilled to receive the award and was quick to recognise others for the accolade.
“It is beyond amazing to be acknowledged as a coach in a community club make real changes for the local community,” Lee said.
“All my participants, their families and support workers are so thankful for the inclusive pathways we offer and create, but to be recognised by DSR is a true honour and I hope more clubs, and more sports create more opportunities for all to be involved in sports, in particular tennis.
“I would like to thank Tennis Victoria and Tennis Australia who constantly support me, and my vision to make the tennis world more accessible, so more people, can play tennis at their local club,” she said.
Lee has for a long time now dedicated a lot of her time to the disability and inclusion space with many programs and offerings to many groups.
“When a player comes to me I spend time to learn about their particular needs, and recommend or create a new program to help them participate,” Lee said.
“In particular, the success of our Advantage Autism Tennis program, which caters for players all along the spectrum from non-verbal autism to Asperger’s players who attend development schools, autism-specific schools, mainstream schools and a mixture of both.
“We focus greatly on mental health, and include a variety of players with various intellectual, social and behavioural disabilities, tennis is just the perfect sport for everyone, of all ages, and all abilities,” she said.
To find out more about the wonderful work Vicky Lee and her team does, visit her website: www.slamin.com.au
The Victorian Disability Sport and Recreation awards aim to acknowledge people with a disability, those who support them and the inclusion sector across the state.
For more information, including the list of winners from the event: click here
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