Tennis Appreciation For Children

Most people have this misconception that tennis is a sport for the rich and famous, because, well almost all tennis matches are attended and flocked to by usually the affluent and the royal. However, tennis can be the sport of choice for many Americans out there. There really is nothing to the game that would restrict its patronage to only those with born with silver spoons in their mouths.

Yes. You, too, can enjoy tennis as much as they do. In fact, since the present culture promotes and cultivates active participation and interest in different kinds of sport, tennis just might be the one to strike your fancy.

But if you feel that you're too old and busy to learn a new sport (not that there's anything about being old that will hinder you from playing a good game), you might want your kids to have an early start if they are to become the next Pete Sampras, Andre Agassis, Martina Hinggis and Serena Williamses in the future.

Tennis is not an easy sport for kids to master, that's for sure. But starting them off at a young age will likely get them into the program more. Of course, the main thing is to allow them to have fun with the game. After all, sports, aside from being beneficial physiologically, should also be a lot of fun, otherwise, you should try something else.

There are two kinds of strokes in tennis. It will do children well to learn these two things at the onset: the groundstroke and the overhead.

The groundstroke

Teach him to begin with a short backswing accompanied with a follow-through using the normal stance. Or he can start with a drop feed, then proceed to a short toss toward his opponent, who will then feed from his racket. Another starting point to a groundstroke is allowing the child to begin inside the service line and then move back slowly. The kid may hit while running, as this will get him more into the sport.

The overhead

You can have the child begin with his racket poised where the point of contact will be, after which a bigger swing is to follow. Or he can commence with an ultra-light feed right into the racket, to be followed shortly with higher practice feeds.

It is important that the child gets a good understanding of the different hits and strokes first before he brought into a game. Naturally, he needs to be taught the proper stance, otherwise he might injure himself.

Also, in keeping with the goal of having fun, try to limit the practice session to a few hours. Hey, the kid is being taught how to have fun while playing tennis. It's still too early to have him playing all day and perfecting his swings, don't you think so?

If you're playing tennis with your kid, you can keep his interest alive by getting excited about the game, as well. If you keep letting him win, he might have enough confidence and interest to go through another round. Keep it healthy and keep it alive. And most of all, enjoy!