Developing Young Tennis Players
With the capacity to accommodate all kinds of player, we can help any junior improve no matter what their level. Most importantly, our experienced coaches will ensure an enjoyable tennis playing environment and teach juniors to play with good technique.
We have various programmes tailored to suit all players' needs:
- For juniors between 4 and 17 years of age
- For beginners, intermediate and experienced players
- For those who want to play just for fun
- For performance players who want to play more seriously
Please remember:
- There will be a suitable opportunity for every child / youth within our programme
- Our proven record in the development of junior tennis players stretches back over 20 years
Coaching Opportunities
Parent & Child: For children aged 4 & 5, this is the first stage of the ball and hand / eye coordination development stage. Parents join in to maintain focus and to allow the coach more flexibility to work with the children.
Mini Tennis Red: For players aged 8 & under, this is the first stage of tennis development and is important for building skills and confidence. The focus starts on improving movement and ball skills as well as an introduction to rallying and playing the game. Children are then developed technically and tactically so that they can play the game successfully within the smaller court.
Mini Tennis Orange: For players aged 8 / 9, this stage moves on to 3/4 length courts and starts to use balls that bounce slightly higher. Technical and tactical development continues at this stage as children become used to a larger court.
Mini Tennis Green: For players aged 10, the final stage before progressing to the full game is played with a green ball that bounces slightly lower than a normal tennis ball, allowing the children to improve their technique and rallying skills. The playing space is now the same size as a normal singles court.
Improver / Club Player: For players aged 11 & over and typically playing with either friends or family for fun, children usually attend a coaching group once per week. Although a great deal of technical guidance is offered, the emphasis becomes more about playing effective tennis and understanding tactics.
Performance: A talented and dedicated player who is aiming to develop their talent to its full potential. Pleased see our Section on Accessing an Enhanced Programme below.Performance players will be keen to compete regularlry in local / regional tournaments and represent the club's teams.
How much does it cost?
We ensure that all groups are priced affordably so as to make the quality coaching accessible to as many people as possible. The groups run for the duration of the school half-term and are payable in advance.
The following prices are for non-members and should act as a guideline only. Members will receive a reduction of around 10% on these prices.
Mini Tennis / Improvers - £5.50 per hour
Performance Squads - £8.25 per 1 1/2 hours
Accessing Enhanced Programmes
Our coaching groups are categorised as follows:
- Recreational - 1 group lesson per week
- Development - 2 group lessons per week (10% discount on second lesson)
- Progressive - 2 group lessons plus 1 hitting partner per week
- Performance - 2 group lessons, 1 hitting partner, 1 individual per week
The price of additional coaching would include progressive discounts for increased participation. To explain the difference between hitting partners and individuals, the former is usually for ½ hour with a trainee coach / high level junior and is aimed at increasing the number of balls the player hits in a tactically focussed environment. An individual is with a professional coach and although again for ½ hour, is much more technically focussed.
We think it is fantastic to have lots of recreational players in our programme, however, for those who wish to seek extra opportunities, there are a number of key reasons this might be conisdered:
- By attending 2 hours of group coaching per week instead of 1, contact time with the coach is doubled, allowing repetition of skills and therefore improving muscle memory
- It takes around 800 repetitions of the perfect technique to memorise the muscle movement
- Repetition of correct technique is the key to successfully "automating" tennis strokes. The longer the gap between repetitions, the less likely the brain is to make the movement autonomous
- The more sessions a player attends, the more chance there is to regularly incorporate match practice into the weekly programme
- Increased fitness levels and general improvement in a healthy lifestyle
- Social benefits, including making friends in a group setting, connecting with respected coaches / hitting partners and learning to compete in a constructive environment
What would you like to do next?
Contact Us for further information or to sign up.
Why not check out our Programme of Activities to see when your chosen groups are available? You can contact us from this page.
Click through if you would like to learn more about our highly successful Schools Programme.
Perhaps you would like to read about our Adult Coaching opportunities?
