On a hot June morning, children ranging from kindergarten to high school age gathered at the Halls Ferry Park tennis courts Wednesday.

The first group to take in a lesson where 5, 6 and 7 year olds with the willingness and eagerness to learn a sport they’ve never played before.

“It takes a lot of time to master a sport like this,” camp instructor Leroy Johnson said to his campers with a playful attitude. “It’s not something you’re good at right away.”

The Vicksburg summer tennis program, led by program director Rick Shields and Johnson, is in the second week of a two-month run. It’s held at the Halls Ferry courts every weekday from 8 a.m. to noon. The first two hours of each day are reserved for beginners, and then more advanced players take the court from 10 a.m. to noon.

The focus this week for Shields and his campers is to practice their forehand and backhand swings, and hone their skills in doubles matches.

Shields played tennis for 43 years. He learned to love the sport after a close family friend introduced him to it after his dad wanted to get away from playing football and basketball. Shields went on to play tennis at Vicksburg High School, which led him to play in college at Alcorn State.

“I just had a lot of fun playing the game of tennis. It’s something that brings great joy to me,” Shields said. “Me and my best friend liked it, so we just gravitated towards it. It’s just something about hitting the ball.”

The defining moment of Shields’ tennis career came during his second year at Alcorn State. He didn’t play singles, but played No. 1 doubles for the varsity team, which was a rare feat.

“Usually if you didn’t play on the varsity squad, you didn’t play at all,” Shields said. “My game was well suited for doubles. The coaches saw that and I ended up playing doubles.”

Ever since his college days, Shields has many memories coming back to Vicksburg and beating players he used to lose to in his early days.

“That’s what was more defining than anything else,” Shields said. “I knew at that point when everybody found out I beat a certain person, they would say ‘You got to be kidding me.’”

Both Shields and Johnson find great joy in teaching younger kids the sport they both love.

“Rick is a very good friend of mine and I enjoy teaching kids the great game of tennis with him,” Johnson said.

Shields said tennis is a game people can play well into their older years. Teaching them now will provide a foundation to do that.

“I realize what these kids are getting right now, they can take with them a long time,” Shields said. “You have people that played tennis in their 80s that still play tennis and play well. It’s a sport that can help you for a lifetime.

“We want to elevate tennis in Vicksburg.”