CHARLESTON, S.C. ? The College of Charleston tennis program hosted a Win4Life clinic this past weekend at the CofC Tennis Center at Patriots Point in Mt. Pleasant.  This year's hosting of the event marked the eighth consecutive year that the Cougar program has welcomed a Win4Life Clinic.

Both the men's and women's tennis teams conducted a question and answer session for the Win4Life participants to help them learn about College classes, life away from home and about the responsibilities they have as student athletes.  It also enabled the participants and players to develop relationships and get to know each other.  The players conducted instructional drills and played many games in the two and a half hour program. 

The Win4Life program came to be in 2001, when former tennis pro Leslie Allen envisioned a program designed to give inner city kids an opportunity to explore new frontiers that could help them create and pursue goals. This 10-year WTA Tour veteran's vision became a reality in 2002 when she founded the Leslie Allen Foundation.

The mission of the Leslie Allen Foundation (LAF) is to help inner city youth develop life skills through tennis so they can be productive citizens of the world.

The goal of the LAF is not to produce professional tennis players but to mentor and expose youth who would otherwise not have the access to the 100+ careers behind the scenes in professional tennis. The WIN4LIFE mentoring program includes public speaking, writing, learning tennis history, and social etiquette. The LAF motto is “Tennis is more than just hitting a ball.” The program focuses on the 4D's?desire, dedication, determination, and discipline.