Our Tennis Program

Our main group lessons teach kids the basics of tennis in a fun and  supportive team based environment.  Kids progress through groups that are organized according to age and skill level in a manner which continually builds upon what they have  learned.   Smaller groups (up to 4 kids) and one on one instruction may also  used to focus on further refining techniques, improving consistency, and preparing them for competitive play; such approaches may also be used for shyer players or  to accelerate learning for players at all levels.

Core Competencies

As hand eye coordination, proprioception and efficient  footwork are essential to tennis they are also a key focus within our program.  In fact,  our younger beginner groups often do drills  that focus solely on  these areas and  do not even require a tennis racquet.   While we always make such drills fun for the kids it is  amusing when they sometimes ask "aren't we supposed to play tennis?".  As we have learned the failure to build this foundation of basic competencies often places a ceiling on their ability to later acquire tennis specific skills.  Moreover, these basic competencies can clearly  benefit kids in other sports and domains of life.    Interestingly, there are also specific ages at which children are best able to acquire these competencies making it all the more important that our  training captures  those windows of opportunity.

Progressive Tennis

If you are from my generation you likely started playing tennis as a kid with a standard adult racquet and balls on a full size tennis court.  If you were lucky you survived that stage and ultimately grew into the equipment.  If you weren’t lucky you likely quit as you grew frustrated with a racquet that was too long and heavy, a ball that bounced too quickly, and a court that was way too big for you to reasonably navigate as a child.

Well fortunately things have changed.  About 20 years ago the concept of progressive was first introduced and has now become a mainstay of kids tennis programs.   Kids are initially provided with smaller racquets, larger balls that do not bounce as much, nets that are lower and courts that are smaller in size.  As the child progresses each of these dimensions gradually get closer and closer to the adult standard.  In this way difficulty is increased at pace that corresponds with the child’s physical development and acquisition of skill.    

More specifically, there is an initial red ball  stage followed by an orange ball stage, a green ball stage and finally a yellow ball stage which is simply standard adult tennis.  We incorporate the core aspects of  these stages at Kourt and the specific characteristics are described below.  While we indicate an age range for these stages, please keep in mind that it is highly individual specific and different organizations will actually have different suggested age ranges.   A child will be at a different stage depending upon a number of factors including their physique and experience with tennis and other sports.  In fact, the progressive tennis approach is even employed with adult beginners.  In short, we have found that it is best to make a determination as to stage on a case by case basis and  we will advise as to what is most appropriate after meeting with your child.   

Red Ball Stage (4-7 years)

Red balls are the slowest and easiest to use balls in the progression.  They contain only  25% of the compression that is present in standard balls and are noticeably larger and lighter. As they move more slowly through the air and have a lower bounce they are easier to track and to hit.