OFFICE OF THE MAYOR
CITY OF CHICAGO
RAHM EMANUEL
MAYOR
November 15, 2017
TO THE HONORABLE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CHICAGO
Ladies and Gentlemen:
I transmit herewith, together with Alderman Dowell, a congratulatory resolution regarding Kamau Murray, the founder of XS Tennis.
Your favorable consideration of this resolution will be appreciated.
Mayor
Very truly yours,
Alderman Pat Dowel), and
resented by Mayor Rnhm Emanuel Qft November 15. 2017
^QliBTBClS , The Members of this Chamber are pleased to congratulate Kamau Murray, trie founder of XS Tennis; for his tireless efforts on behalf of children, especially disadvantaged children on the south side of Chicago; and
WHEREAS, A Chicago native who grew up in the' South Shore neighborhood, Mr. Murray started playing tennis .at the age of\seven,... and .continued-playing the game throughout his years with the After-School Program of the Chicago Public Schools; and
: WHEREAS, A top player at highly regarded Whitney young Magnet High School, ~Mr. Murray tedrhed .a'tennis^^ graduation,, he was.hired by -the university as"a cb.dch'ihgygs'sist.dht'wn'jle^'he''pursued a master's degree in;finance; and ' • " ' ';;; ', .• ' 'ir;;^';"r:;:V:, '■."'■',
, • WHEREAS, After graduate school, jMr. Murray worked in marketing with pharmaceutical giant Pfizer in Manhattan before.transferring to Chicago in 2005; and
WHEREAS, To earn extra mohey and stay involved in the. sport he had grown up with, Mr:< Murray devoted a few evenirigs a Week to teaching tennis to a handful of South Side children; and ':,-
, WHEREAS, Realizing thatjoyer one thousand college tennis scholarships go unused every year because of a lack bf -taiehted high school tennis players, Mr. Murray saw an opportunity to provide a way for underserved,. low-income youth to attend college; and
WHEREAS, In .2005, Mr. Murray founded XS tennis, a South Side not-for-profit tennis facility that offered tennis training and academic tutoring to the City's underserved youth. .He began recruiting children with tennis potential ds g way for them to attain tennis scholarships for college. To date, approximately 50 of his students have received tennis scholarships; and
WHEREAS, By 2008, Mr. Murray had a growing number of children eager to learn tennis. He convinced his father to provide the capital necessary to buy out the contract of the tennis operator at the Bally fitness center at 47th Street and Lake Park Avenue in the Kenwood neighborhood, where he expanded the capacity of XS Tennis; and
WHEREAS, Also in 2008, XS Tennis formed XS Tennis and Education Foundation ("XSTEF") in order to reach and support a greater number of Chicago's underserved urban youth. Through its in-school program,'XSTEF brings tennis into ten CPS elementary schools on the South Side in at-risk communities, introducing a pathway that continues through the XSTEF after school and summer camp programs. XSTEF now benefits nearly 3,000 students; and
WHEREAS, On November 1, 2017, XS Tennis moved into XS Tennis Village, a brand new state-of-the-art $16 million dollar facility at 5336 South State'Street. The XS Tennis Village boasts 12 indoor courts, 15 outdoor.courts (four of them clay), and classrooms to serve 5,000 students a year. The facility covers 13 acres and is anchored by a 116,000 square-foot building. X$ Tennis Village includes a .fitness centerghd multipurpose space f.pr dgiice and other activities. The University of, Chicago provides academic tutoring and'Tts 'tehhis tedm practices at the fd'cilityT th'e'pTa^ attracting major national junior tournaments; and , >.-
WHEREAS, XS Tennis is justifiably proud to have sent more; minority students to
'Division 1 schools with tennis scholarships than any other tennisgrganization in the Nation;
and ; !.';;%.,.;'"' -:' X. X- ■ ■
WHEREAS, Mr. Murray, has coached several nationally renowned tennis players,-
including Slpdne Stephens;-and ^ X}\ •' • . ■ ',... "
• '^WHE;/?|AS;^SIoane'.:stephens won ;the,,U. S. Open in 2017 dKthe age of 24, She
began playing tennis at the age of nine dn;d has |barticipgted in every Grand Slam
.tournament since 2008. Her path to the U'. S. Open title was q difficult one. She had to
withdraw from tennis tournaments' in August of 2016 because' of a right-foot stress
fracture. Following surgery in January of 2017, she was unable to walk for a month.
Coach Murray was there to provide moral support, for her during, this difficult time. Nine
months later she wds;the women's U. S, Open winner. Sloqne Ste]oRe.ns.was the lowest
'ranked, player '(83rd) e^er to win the U. S?;.O.pen,J.defe^ seven highly-regarded players •
'jnclydihg one of the'spqft';s'legehd,s, Venus'Williams. '■':M^.MuVrg^J.ref-begg^h coaching Ms,
Stephens in 20T5; now, therefore • "/•'"' _ Xj/_ ' \ Xi': ;"
BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the Mayor and Members of the City Council of the City of Chicago, assembled, this fifteenth day of November, 2017, do hereby congratulate Kamau Murray for establishing XS Tennis and bringing so much hope to disadvantaged children; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Kamau Murray as a token of our esteem and good wishes for his continued success in improving the lives and prospects of thousands of Chicago's teenagers.