Kids 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 Tennis allows youngsters to train and compete with courts and equipment that are better suited for their size.
A mini-revolution is brewing in North America. The approach is called “Kids Tennis.” It is imported from European countries such as France and Belgium where it was used to successfully develop players like Justine Henin-Hardenne and Olivier Rochus. Kids Tennis uses a systematic progression of court sizes, balls, and racquets, to scale the game down to an appropriate level for 5-10 years old.
Modified racquets and balls are not new. The equipment has been around for a while, as has the ‘graduated length’ concept. Coaches have used bits and pieces for years seeing the advantage from the perspective of success, fun and safety. The difference this time is that all these elements have been brought together in a much more systematic way than ever before. Tennis companies now carry the full line of half-court and ¾-court progressive equipment including graduated, balls, racquets, lay down lines and nets.
The power of the Kids Tennis system is that it allows players to play quickly and successfully. In Kids Tennis, the philosophy is that tennis is a great and fun game to play and the quicker and more skillfully a player can play the more fun it is. Each stage not only has specific equipment to aid success, but particular skills to develop as well. It is recommended a Game-Based Approach be used. The coach’s job is to get them to play, and help them learn to play better.
Simply put, “Kids 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.