This year's Premier League 4 Sport National Tennis Competition gave young people representing 19 Premier League and Football League clubs the chance to show the skills they had learnt in the programme.
Nicole Littleton, 14, was part of the Tottenham Hotspur team at the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton and her PL4Sport story highlights how the initiative, which began in 2009 and delivers 12 Olympic sports, helps young people develop a sporting habit.
Nicole had not played tennis before joining Tottenham Hotspur Foundation's PL4Sport Tennis programme last year.
"I got involved because my neighbour asked me along," she said. "In that first session with Spurs, I was introduced to tennis and I did forehands and backhands. It was intriguing. It made me want to carry on.
"At the sessions we are taught tennis techniques. We play games and we improve. It's really fun."
That initial contact with tennis sparked an interest that pushed Nicole to play more regularly and inspired her to become a member of Bush Hill Tennis Club, in Enfield.
"I wouldn't have thought about joining a tennis club beforehand," she said. "I play there twice a week but if I have spare time, I will go up there more often.
"The scheme has helped me improve my tennis, I have made new friends. I have got more confident.
"If anyone was thinking about joining PL4Sport I would tell them to do it. It's a good new experience and it's a good thing to have in your life."
The coaches who have worked with Nicole have seen how she has grown over the last year and speak of someone who has come out of her shell.
"When she first joined the club she was very shy but as she has continued to attend the sessions, she's a lot more confident," said Danny Mitchell, a Tottenham Hotspur Foundation Development Officer. "She's started bringing a couple of her friends along because she is enjoying it so much.
"It's great to see Nicole along with the rest of our participants on the programme developing their skills on and off the tennis courts."
And for the Foundation, for Nicole to volunteer as an umpire for the National Tennis Competition is evidence of how much her confidence has improved.
"She threw herself into the umpiring and has been fantastic," Mitchell said. "Nicole is a great example of how sport can have a positive impact on the lives of young people, particularly those who are not currently engaged in sport.
"By having the opportunity to play in the National Tennis Competition and with British professionals like Andy Murray winning Wimbledon is a huge inspiration to young people to play sport."
Premier League 4 Sport Tennis
- Run in partnership between the Premier League and British Tennis.
- Introduced as one of the 12 sports that make up the PL4Sport programme in 2013
- More than 5,600 young people have been engaged
- Programme delivered by 21 Premier League and Football League clubs
