Chase Harding combines athletic excellence with service, embodying Cheshire Academy's mission of "Individual Growth. Global Purpose."
When Chase Harding returned to his hometown of Kingston, Jamaica this summer, he didn’t just visit — he created opportunity. The Cheshire Academy 12th grader brought donated rackets and equipment to the neighborhood of Payne Land, where he hosted a tennis clinic for kids who may have never held a racket before.
“In Jamaica, tennis is not one of the sports that is very exposed,” Chase explained. “Jamaica is known for track and field.” He recognized that tennis requires resources that often cost money many families on the island don’t have, so he decided to change that.
With donated equipment from his tennis coach in Jamaica, Chase and his team set up portable nets on gravel and spent the day teaching basic tennis skills to local youth.
“Just to know that I was the one to physically place a racket in their hands, that’s just a great feeling,” he shared.
At Cheshire Academy, Chase is refining his game under the guidance of Coach Chip Boyd, working toward ambitious goals of representing Jamaica on the national level and playing college tennis. But his vision extends far beyond personal achievement.
“It’s great to see what he’s doing,” said Coach Boyd. “I think there’s a lot of good to be developed through tennis in Jamaica.”
Chase is already planning additional clinics during his winter and spring breaks, with plans to expand to other parishes across Jamaica that have even less access to the sport.
His work exemplifies the Academy’s motto “Ich Dien” — “I Serve” — and mission of cultivating purposeful global citizens who understand that individual growth and global purpose go hand in hand.
Watch Chase’s story as featured on NBC Connecticut’s “Connecticut in Color”:
