Our Story

The GTP Foundation really began when Coach Mike Belangia decided to give tennis lessons to a few kids who couldn’t afford to pay. Under his coaching, they became engaged in tennis. As his pupils progressed, more came to him and he was running junior clinics at the city courts.

As his junior program grew, Mike realized how many youngsters couldn’t afford tennis lessons, but he believed that all kids could benefit from the game of tennis—not only for the fun, but also for the health benefits, the valuable life lessons and the desire to become more engaged at school. Hence, the Greensboro Tennis Foundation was born to provide low-income area youth the opportunity to play tennis.

This year, through clinics, summer camps, outreach and Tennis Around Town, the Foundation has grown to reach over 500 kids, about 75% of whom are on free and reduced lunch programs. It is a diverse group from various races, economic backgrounds and life experiences. In 2017 we had our first two graduates from the full-time academy, Greensboro Tennis Program School. As of our class of 2022, we have now had 19 total graduates! All receiving scholarships to play college tennis.

GTP Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization committed to creating opportunities for young people to pursue excellence in academics, tennis, service and life.

We believe:

Every child should have the opportunity to develop a passion for something. We believe that tennis can be a gateway for our area youth to discover their best selves.

Tennis teaches life skills such as hard work, fair play, dedication, how to win, how to lose, and how to set and achieve goals.

Youth who are dedicated to achieving learn how to be successful in life. Those who choose to be part of our program can achieve outstanding results on the court, in the classroom and in life.

The GTP Foundation is proud to be a USTA National Junior Tennis and Learning Chapter (NJTL) and an Excellence Team. NJTLs embody the USTA Foundation mission to bring tennis and education together to change lives. Excellence Team events integrate tennis on-court activities and educational off-court activities. Athletes in these programs are identified and selected due to their hard work, talent, perseverance and grit.

These Excellence Teams are provided additional resources designed to provide coaching, equipment and tournament travel at no cost to under-served junior tennis players from under-resourced populations who would otherwise never have the chance to even play.