Sumter woman honors late aunt with ability-inclusive tennis program at Palmetto Tennis Center

Growing up, Palmetto Tennis Center staff professional Julia Sorrells' Aunt Ann was like a sister to her. Ann lived with Julia after the death of both of Julia's grandparents - Ann's parents - from the time she was born up until Julia was 11 years old.

Ann was Julia's "built-in best friend," and Julia remembers dragging Ann out of bed in the mornings to play with her. Ann may have had Down Syndrome, but Julia never saw a difference between her aunt and anyone else who she loved - something that has stuck with Julia her whole life.

"I look back, and she's [Ann is] probably the biggest foundation of my faith, which is just so cool to think about because, to her, she had so many life challenges, but she was the happiest human that I knew, and so that was just a really cool thing to wake up to every day," Julia Sorrells said.

Ann died three years ago at the age of 57, a tremendous life span for one with Down Syndrome, but Sorrells has created something unique to Sumter with her aunt and best friend in mind.

"She lived a great life, and we hated to see her go, but more than anything we all just felt this like huge hole in ourselves because we lost our connection to that community [the special needs community] of Sumter," Sorrells said.

After grieving her aunt, Sorrells found a way to reconnect with the community of those with different abilities by leading Accction Club with her parents post-COVID-19. The club is for adults with special needs who want to have a helping hand in the community.

"Through that [Accction Club], I was like, I need a way to have this be in every facet of my life. I need to be around these people. I need to expose them to the things that I love in life," Sorrells said.

Sorrells had only been working for Palmetto Tennis Center for a few months before she presented a new idea to them: a tennis program that would cater to those with conditions that may hinder them from playing tennis by the name of THRIVE.

Sorrells said the acronym THRIVE stands for "tennis teaches me to be Trustworthy, Hardworking, Resilient, Inclusive, Valuable and Empathetic, and overall, tennis teaches me to thrive."

Immediately, Palmetto Tennis Center was on board, and Sorrells put her heart and soul into the project, learning how to include those of all abilities.

"We open the doors to anyone and everyone whether it's a physical disability, a cognitive disability, whatever it looks like, we want you guys here," Sorrells said. "And so if you were to be just a bird overhead on court while we were going through it, it is such a broad group of people, which I think is the beauty of it."

So far, THRIVE has been a hit. The group meets once a month and is free to attend. The center only asks that those interested call ahead at (803) 774-3969 so it can get a head count and have the correct racket size available. Attendees may also go to the tennis center in person to register.

"One of the biggest reasons why I wanted to pitch this to begin this was just because I know that Ann had a lot of big things happen in her life because of her exposure to sport and her interest in special Olympics and the competitive spirit that she had and a lot of things that she did," Sorrells said.

Because of THRIVE, Ann's legacy gets to live on and touch the lives of others who may not have gotten this opportunity otherwise. Just as much as Sorrells teaches THRIVE members, the THRIVE members have taught her.

"I would say the most fun part to me is seeing their excitement when they accomplish something," Sorrells said. "They get very excited over what we think are such small things but to them are these really big accomplishments because they are, and teaching, I may show up with a plan, and I'll be the first to say I will change that 100 times before it's over just because, for one, they progressed a lot quicker than I expected. They're very talented."

THRIVE is by no means done growing, though. Palmetto Tennis Center is already trying to start a Special Olympics team - a process that will be a learning experience for everyone at the center but one that they are excited about nonetheless.

Around her neck, Julia still wears a symbol of Ann, a necklace with her writing and a drawing of a heart, a symbol that will soon come to represent THRIVE when they create their official emblem.

"I know that she doesn't necessarily mean anything to anyone involved, but she's the whole reason that I'm doing what I'm doing," Sorrells said.

Palmetto Tennis Center updates its official Facebook page regularly with information regarding upcoming meetings. To stay in the loop on all things THRIVE related, visit their page or call them at (803) 774-3969.