Tennis is an excellent, all-round sport that children can get good at quickly. It requires balancing, reflexes, hand-eye coordination, decision making and more. All of these skills are integral to other sports they may pursue in the future.
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Tennis involves all of the following key skills and attributes;
Footwork
Hand-eye coordination
High level of movement in all directions
Basic tactics
Not only is it good that kids are picking up these skills early on, but the skills they learn with this game will be useful when playing other games. Those lessons learned can even be applied to other aspects in life, such as working in a real-world setting.
So, how do you get your kids into tennis?
I believe that the key to getting kids into sports is to promote the general idea of running around and hitting a ball. So when they’re around 3-4 years of age or just starting out, buy them a little racket and a soft, sponge ball, and give it to them as their very own. If both of you enjoy the game, it will help encourage your kid. They will want to join in on something that parents do too.
If you don’t feel like playing right now, that is ok. You can tell them that you’re teaching them something new and we can all learn together.
First step – throwing and catching
The key to understanding how depth perception works is to grasp hand-eye coordination while throwing and catching. So, remember that sponge ball you bought? Getting your child to catch it is a quick, easy, and effective way of improving their throwing technique. Just encourage them by saying “catch” just before they throw the ball to themselves.
This game is easy to get into because it can be played anywhere and helps to develop a sense of achievement.
Second Step – Introducing the tennis Racket
You have been playing a game where your task was to catch the ball. However, for this round the goal is to hit the ball with a racket. Where you want to hit the ball really depends on a variety of factors, but technique should never be overlooked.
Before you let go of the ball, have your racket back in place. This will help you to get the timing right.
Reassure them that the side they’re hitting from will get better and to try hitting from forehand and backhand sides if only one seems to be working well.
Third Step – Junior tennis camps and lessons
Would you like to find out if your local tennis club offers children’s lessons. These are often group activities that are more about getting a feel of the game while playing than they are about giving kids lessons.
Summer Camps are a fantastic way to keep the kids entertained, exercise them & have some peace of mind that they are being well taken care of, while you work!
Ask your children if they would like to go to a group tennis lesson. If they’re not sure, make it fun and keep the focus on games instead of personal achievement. At least until they find out how much fun it is to play with their friends at the tennis club.
They will gradually get an interest in the sport by observing older children or professionals and seeing pictures, videos or posters that already exist. Something important to keep in mind is that if they show any interest, you should let them watch videos on YouTube of children playing with their toys or having lessons. This will encourage them to keep practicing.
Why tennis is a good game for children to take up
One skill that generally makes for a good tennis player is footwork; sprinting, sidestepping, and lunging are different types of footwork. And when you need to adapt various footwork skills for another sport, tennis can be a very useful example.
Playing sports is also fun because you get to move around, especially when you’re learning some new moves. What’s important for good game play is your footwork and positioning on the field.
To start playing tennis all you need is a racket and a sponge ball. So go ahead and introduce them to one of the world’s most popular sports today.