W. Tennis to Speak at Doral Middle School
BySteven Bennett
CORALGABLES, Fla. – Despite being in the middle of paradise,there are some schools and communities very close to the University of Miamithat have fallen on much harder times because of the faltering economy. One ofthese schools is nearby Doral Middle School.
On Friday, the women’s tennis team will be atDoral Middle to speak to students about staying positive and motivated despitegoing through hardships. Coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews and the team will also speakabout the importance of doing well in school and staying on a path towardcollegiate success.
Located just nine miles away from the Universityof Miami campus, the most prestigious in the state of Florida and one of thetop 50 universities in the nation, Doral Middle School is currently in its lastyear of existence. The school will close next year due to a lack of funding.
This lack of funding has presented moreimmediate problems and issues then the eminent extinction of the school. Theschool is not offering elective courses for students this year due to budgetlimitations. Clubs have been cut, too, severely limiting the student’sscholastic experience.
Doral Middle School currently does not have alibrary or computer labs. At a time whentechnology is evolving and impacting every aspect of life, the students do noteven have access to outdated forms of information. The school recently also hadto cut morning announcements because of a lack of funding.
One of the worst parts of this whole issue isthat Doral Middle no longer has an athletic program. Sports can be an excellentway for young people to learn the importance of teamwork and responsibility onand off the playing field.
With student-athletes representing sixcountries, including several players from the Miami area, the women’s tennisteam has a lot of varied and invaluable experience when it comes to balancing alife of rigorous academics with strenuous athletic expectations.
A week after giving back to the community, the12th-ranked Miami Hurricanes women’s tennis team will look to finish the monthof February with a victory over nemesis Florida State at the Neil Schiff TennisCenter on Feb. 23 at 11 a.m.
