Teaching Meaningful Work in Youth Tennis: A Contemplation

Kids finding meaning in their work is a life long skill. We try to help kids cultivate meaningful practice so they can see a connection between effort and reward. In effort, it is important to teach the students to make it look good, regardless of the outcome. Teach them to "be friends with the ball" or see how little muscle they can use and still get the ball over the net. We are teaching the student to be effortless and to be aware of their movements. When a student knows they look good regardless of the outcome, they build confidence. Repeated movements that look good over time build strong neuro pathways. Strong neuro pathways build success. The more time spent being aware of "looking good", which is our mantra for the kids to check their follow through and other stroke dynamics, the child will have more and more growth. As the child shows growth and improvement their confidence grows and they see a relationship between effort and reward. They also start to develop a new attitude. An attitude where it is not how many matches I win or how many times I hit the ball over the net, but one where they develop a love for the feel of the movement and the practice itself. The work becomes fulfilling and work that is fulfilling is meaningful. That is the real goal, to create a meaningful practice for kids. One where they begin to find joy in the effort and time put in regardless of how hard it is. They still do it because they have developed a love and they can make it look good so they can inspire themselves. When they inspire themselves, they become contagious and that inspiration spreads to others.