Mini-tennis is a perfect way for younger children to develop gross motor skills and athleticism through the sport of tennis in a fun, yet structured environment. Your child will learn teamwork and how to cooperate and succeed in a small group dynamic.
Highlights of Mini Tennis • Students develop motor skills and coordination • Structured lesson plans taught in a fun environment • Low student-to-staff ratio • Basic ball skills and introduction to tennis strokes • Teaching techniques were developed in collaboration with child development specialists
Mini Tennis Explained
Simply put, mini-tennis is used as a developmental tool to allow young children to improve their overall tennis skills faster so they can transition to the regular court with more ease.
Kids who are just starting the game will require a period to develop motor skills, basic coordination and cooperative activities and will lead to the development of the basic strokes and fundamentals. As your child becomes more experienced in tennis we will instruct them on some basic exchanging ability and begin competing and training on the mini courts.
According to the USTA’s book Learn to Rally and Play, “Two children of the same age can be up to three years apart in developmental terms”. Because the coaches at KGTA understand that all kids develop differently and learn in different ways, they implement a variety of teaching techniques for your child. The coaches at KGTA understand that listening to and following instructions is extremely difficult for a young child and therefore use the technique of imitating and copying actions to teach their students. In our mini tennis program your child will develop confidence through his or her success in the game of tennis.
Because a young child’s muscles have not yet fully developed it is important for them to use modified equipment. In our mini tennis programs children use lighter racquets (17”-21”) and use either foam balls or extremely light tennis balls. It is difficult for a young child to hit a ball over regulation nets on a full size court. In our mini tennis program children will use a smaller court and a lower net – this allows for positive reinforcement as they see immediate success in their tennis.
At Kim Grant Tennis Academy we regularly seek the advice of child developmental specialists to evaluate our curriculum for our minis. These specialists not only have shared their expertise, but have trained our staff to guarantee compliance and consistency across the board. The result is that our staff teaches your children in the most effective way possible. Your children are not only receiving instruction for tennis, but they are also learning how to interact with other children and learning how to be successful in a group environment.