U8 Tennis Tournament

Play with Your Peers

So I have been learning a lot of new concepts over the past two years. The concepts I have been learning are ways to make our lessons more engaging and allow the students to use cooperative learning strategies.  It has not been easy, trying to make shifts from one way of teaching to another, but slowly it is coming together. One of the concepts that I have learned about in the past year are opportunities for children to play outside of their lessons. I have always looked for ways our students can play in cooperative over competitive environments. It is so important that our students play with their peers from around the valley. They might meet someone they really connect with and develop a life long playing partner. I want our students to have chances to use their skills and learn to play within themselves.  The USTA Central Arizona offers team challenges for children to play. The student is placed with a group of four to six children and they come up with a team name.  The matches can be modified or not depending on the ability of the child.  There is an up coming Team Challenge in April.  

junior-team-challenge

Be in the moment.

Mindfulness. 


Be present.

Be in the moment.

Watch the ball.

Play the ball.

Watch your strings.

Be present.

Be in the moment.

Serve Faster, Serve Harder

If you want to make your serve faster, try this tip: toss the ball first and then take your racket back in the back swing. By doing this you have to swing faster to catch up to the ball before it drops.  One way to practice this is with the LAG SERVE. 

1. Start with your racket arm behind your right foot, relaxed and pointed straight down. (Make sure your knuckles are facing out and you have your serve grip.)

2. Toss the ball with your left hand

3. Raise your racket up by airing the armpits and swing fast to catch up to the ball.

I wish I had known

This has been a really great start to 2018 for many of our students.  We have launched two students to tournament coaches and we have had 5 students play in the East Valley Non-Elimination Tournaments. These are tournaments that are designed for beginners or players who want to get extra practice. They have all ability levels and for the novice division they have someone who is there to help the players if they have questions. I wish I had known about NET five years ago instead of this past spring.  They are three hour round robin tournaments, so they do not take up all of your day or weekend like the USTA L5 or above tournaments. They are just a great way for you to go play with others from around the valley. The NET staff, from what parents have told me, are really passionate and caring. They create an environment where kids can play to master their skills and meet some new friends or hitting partners. They have one tournament a month. Stay connected for the event in March.

Why YOU Should Play Tennis!

You Know You are Winning at Tennis When....

You know you are winning at tennis when
                           you love the feel of the ball on on the strings
You know you are winning at tennis when 
                           you keep the ball in play
You know you are winning at tennis when 
                           you are friends with the ball during a rally
You know you are winning at tennis when 
                           you can miss a shot and you looked good doing it
You know you are winning at tennis when 
                           you make the game look easy enough for anyone to play
You know you are winning at tennis when
                           you realize it is not the score that matters, but how many times you hit the                             ball over the net
You know you are winning at tennis when 
                            you know why you are playing
You know you are winning at tennis when 
                            you love the feel of the ball on the strings