A Sterling High School assistant tennis coach is seeking donations for his initiative that aims to ensure financial barriers don’t stand in the way of a player’s success.

Bob Orta’s scholarship fund supports tennis players at SHS, Dixon High School and Newman Central Catholic High School. All donations are used to cover the cost of lessons with Sterling Park District tennis professional Chris Dudley.

Orta said donations kicked off during a celebration for his 80th birthday on Feb. 28. Since then, Orta’s been giving out flyers to anyone he finds out is interested, including his eye doctor during an appointment, he said.

So far, Orta said the fund has raised about $2,000 and provided five hours’ worth of lessons to three SHS tennis players.

“It made me feel good,” Orta said about seeing those players practicing with Dudley recently. “I never guessed I would have been doing something like this, ever. I feel fortunate. I really do. I’m lucky.”

Tennis is “fun and it’s kind of tough to do things right. It’s easier to do things wrong,” Orta said, explaining that a lot of times players will get used to doing something one way and it’s difficult to break that habit.

For high school players, “that’s why taking lessons...is important to help them build their skills,” Orta said.

“I really enjoy working with the kids at the high school. It’s a kick for me. I walk around the courts for two and a half hours during practice...and it makes me feel good to see them get better,” Orta said. “They’re not going to become professional players, probably, but if they’re good enough to have fun, that’s the bottom line.”

Orta said he always tells the SHS players he coaches, “I want to see some smiles, too.”

Orta first tried tennis around 1973 when he and a friend decided to go out and play, he said.

“We never really picked up a racket or hit a ball before, and I’m sure it was quite a sight for someone to see,” Orta said.

He returned to it about 14 years ago and began taking regular lessons.

“I said, ‘I want to get better, because it feels cool when you hit the ball correctly,’ ” Orta said.

Today, in addition to coaching, Orta goes to the gym every day and takes lessons with Dudley to maintain his skills.

“I’m not a natural athlete. I just work really hard because I have to, if I want to play,” Orta said. “What are you going to do when you’re 80 anyway, you know?”

Orta credited his wife for coming up with the idea for the scholarship fund and said that she suggested it after he donated lessons for one tennis player separately.

Orta recalled his wife asking him, “What about more people than just that?”

After that, Orta talked to Dudley, who was on board with the idea, and together they worked it out with the park district, which already had its own foundation set up.

“The hardest part about it is to figure out who needs help. I mean, you don’t walk up to somebody and say, ‘Hey, do you need help?’ You have to be kind of gentle,” Orta said.

Orta said there’s no official application process for scholarship recipients yet, and as of now, they’re chosen based on the conversations that Dudley, Orta and other coaches have with students.

Orta said he and Dudley are “kind of working out how we’re going to screen people” because it’s “a sensitive area and I don’t want to make kids feel bad or other kids to make fun of them.”

For information, call the Sterling Park District at 815-622-6200 or speak to the athletic director at any of the three schools.