What is KOURT?
KOURT is a non profit organization that was founded in Toronto Ontario in 2019. It is dedicated to providing affordable tennis and pickleball lessons exclusively to kids. In fact, we are first kids only tennis/pickleball club which is why we like to say that we put the "K" in court. We believe in building the future of tennis/pickleball by starting with the youngest players, fostering their love for the game, and helping them develop essential skills. Our coaches are passionate about these sports and committed to passing this on to the next generation. We tailor our program to different skill levels, ensuring that every child can find the right fit and thrive. Unlike other clubs which typically cycle through different kids every week in order to maximize profit, we focus on building a community of kids who continually progress and develop lasting relationships with one another. As a community we not only play tennis/pickleball, but celebrate holidays and special events. Its all about creating positive memories for our kids that they will then associate with their involvement in sport. So if you are just coming out for some great lessons that is fine, but don't be surprised if you stay.
Our Guiding Beliefs
While we certainly do not subscribe to the idea that sport is inherently moral, we do believe that it provides an ideal vehicle for instilling virtues such as discipline, honestly, sportsmanship, kindness and generosity. We also believe that kids have unique perspectives and emotional needs that have to be taken into consideration in planning and delivering an effective and enjoyable tennis/pickleball program. Finally, and most importantly, we believe that every child should have an opportunity to play a sport such as tennis/pickleball, irrespective of family income. For this reason affordability was a founding principle of KOURT. We charge the lowest fees for kids' tennis/pickleball classes in Toronto, direct all of those fees toward covering basic program costs, and incorporate no profit margin whatsoever. We also creatively incorporate volunteers, including the parents of our kids
Our Origin Story
KOURT grew out of a desire to make tennis/pickleball a community, rather than an individual sport. When teaching his own kids tennis one of the founders began asking himself a number of important questions like: “Is it really a good thing to be pulling my kids away from their friends who are playing in the park? Wouldn’t they be more likely to enjoy tennis and stay involved in the sport if they grew up playing with their friends and if they were pushing each other to become better and better? And wouldn't playing with their friends provide an opportunity for them to develop important social skills and to work on positive personal traits such as sportsmanship. While he realized that he might forgo some of their early tennis progress by not coaching his kids individually, he ultimately decided that this would be outweighed by the many long term benefits that they and their friends could gain from a kids only club. And with that, KOURT was born.