Brothers from Haiti find love for tennis in New York

Brothers Christian and Gaetan Georges grew up in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, where life was pretty typical for them.

“Our parents sheltered us and we were pretty well-insulated from the realities of growing up in Haiti in the 90s and early 2000s. We went to private school, played sports — though not tennis at the time — and played instruments,” said Gaetan Goerges.

Christian Georges said he’s grateful to have grown up with his brother, with both being protected from the poverty around them and the political turmoil.

The brothers came to the U.S. at the ages of 11 (Christian) and 14 (Gaetan). Christian Georges added that while he enjoys living here in NYC, he misses the community in Haiti. “Where we grew up, I definitely got a sense that people were welcoming to all, saying “hello,” to everyone who passed them. I hardly ever see that in New York,” he said.

The brothers went through New York Junior Tennis and Learning (NYJTL) programming, winning tennis tournaments and earning scholarship money for their efforts. Through NYJTL, they fell in love with the sport, and decided to go back to serve as coaches.

The brothers consider Scott Daly, the senior director at NYJTL as the person who has had the greatest influence on their life paths.

“He was one of our coaches when we started, and he helped us out a lot throughout high school and even afterwards,” said Christian Georges. “Scott helped us with letters of recommendation for college, he always made sure we were on track to succeed, and he played a huge role in the player and coach I am today,” added Gaetan Georges.

They witnessed many acts of kindness when they were young NYJTL participants.  According to Christian Georges, this included Daly driving them home on weekends after they attended the 6-8 am program, which took them over an hour to get there.

Some hobbies the brothers had in Haiti included soccer and basketball. Other than tennis, hobbies they had once coming here included doing taekwondo and playing violin.

Their involvement with NYJTL began when Christian saw a flier about tennis at his school. He then went home that day begging his mom to let him play. “My mom put me in a camp, and then put Gaetan in tennis that summer,” Christian Georges said.

Eventually Christian joined NYJTL, where he and Gaetan ended up playing all the time, falling in love with the sport. “Tennis is one of the sports where the more you play, the better you get, and the better you get, the more fun it gets,” added Christian Georges.

Gaetan Georges stated that in transitioning from players to coaches, he and his brother can look back, noticing the value in a program like NYJTL.

“The free programming opened doors for us in ways we never expected. It makes me so proud to have once been an inexperienced player, now getting the opportunity to make kids’ days just a little bit brighter by being their coach,” continued Gaetan Georges.

The brothers say their impact in the NYC community they live in has mainly been through NYJTL.

“One particular student, I remember she began as a six-year-old in one of my first years as a coach, playing until she was 17. Now, she’s well through medical school, doing a residency. She still plays tennis to this day, which is great to see,” Gaetan Georges said.

“It’s amazing to see NYJTL kids get scholarships, kids I’ve coached. They come back and thank us, which is so heartwarming to see, because we got scholarships back in the day when we played, so it’s full circle,” added Christian Georges.

A short term goal for the brothers is to get more people interested in learning to play tennis.

“It’s a really good sport that you can play for your entire life, and it’s good for you, both in maintaining physical and mental wellness. You get to learn things about yourself that you may have never known,” stated Christian Goerges.

A long-term goal for them is to help the sport grow in Haiti. “NYJTL has really taught me the value of free programming. I’d love to see kids in Haiti get those opportunities as well, since the sport has taught me so much, helped me grow as a person,” added Gaetan Georges.

This is how Gaetan Georges wants to be remembered as a coach: “Whenever I get in touch with people who grew up with me through NYJTL, regardless of if they trained with these coaches or not, they’ll mention these coaches and their legacy,” he stated.

Christian Georges wants to be remembered as someone who helped people improve, and also helped encourage them to have fun. “When students come back to visit me, it’s so awesome to see the way they’ve grown, the skills they’ve taken with them,” said Christian.