At SRQ Tennis, we have a passion for tennis and there is something special about sharing that passion with kids. My goal is to have your child playing tennis as quick as possible. Tennis has to be fun for kids and for it to be fun, they need to be able to play. It's amazing to see how excited children get once they can begin to rally and I think that is what differentiates me from your traditional tennis classes.
We have tennis programs for juniors aged 4-18! We provide lessons, equipment, and team leagues for a variety of ages and skill levels. Kids love to be active, hit the ball, and play games, and we use a games-based approach in all of our lessons
Our Beginner Junior Program is for players ages all ages. The foundation for working on stroke technique begins here. With this group we are not focused so much on technical terms. Instead, they are given clear, simple commands to avoid confusion and frustration. The main element of this group is to encourage fun and excitement of the game.
Stage 3 - players learn the four basic strokes of tennis:
Forehand
Backhand
Volley
Serve
Focus is on hand-eye coordination, sending and receiving skills, racquet handling, and making contact with the ball.
Stage 2 - players can rally with each other. They develop more consistency with their strokes, aim their shots, and play matches against each other, and optionally against other players in local leagues and tournaments. Players learn to rally and play right away following USTA’s Quick Start guidelines. Focus is on the basic skills, rules, & strategy of the game. Goals are to develop sports skills, physical, & mental fitness. ***Players must pass a skills test to move up to the next class.
Stage 1 - Players use spins and placement of their shots to be able to play offensively or defensively. More emphasis is placed on movement, footwork, and recovery.
Junior Intermediate Program
Tuesday, Thursday, & Friday - 5:30 - 7:00 pm
The Intermediate program is junior tennis for players ages 8-15. When our players move to this stage of the tennis program, our players have been sharpening their strokes, their agility, balance and coordination. Now, they learn how to place the ball intentionally and position themselves properly in the court.
General Objectives They're ready to develop more dynamic movement. Drills/controls can become more challenging. They should start rallying with a partner, and they're encouraged to play at least 1 tournament per month. They should know how to keep score and the basic rules of tennis. At the second part of this stage, they start executing different shots, and they are introduced to all different areas of the court. They start learning to play points with a purpose, building and closing the point.
Technical Focus : Learn topspin and body position. Learn to serve with the right grip, develop consistency when rallying. Learn how to hit volleys, overheads, lobs, and transition shots.
Athletic Skills: Understand the importance of warm up, injury prevention exercises for the shoulder, better understanding of foot placement.
Mental: Play games with rules, reinforce lessons, ask questions, introduce basic mental toughness skills.
Advanced Junior Program
Monday, Wednesday, & Friday 4:30 - 6:30 pm
At this point, players should become consistent, have good technique and know how to place the ball successfully in all areas of the court. This stage also requires a significant amount of competition. Players learn how to incorporate tactics and strategies into their game.
GENERAL OBJECTIVES Players learn the importance of mental toughness and the need to set their own realistic goals in order to enhance performance on the tennis court. At the end of the stage, they should play at least 2 tournaments per month.
Technical & Tactical Focus: Players are introduced to the importance of changing directions on both the forehand and backhand to build points and set up strategic plans. At the end of the stage, they should be able to compete using all shots.
Stage 1: Players work on how to use different spins, speed and depth in all kinds of shots. They learn to vary the distance of shots on both forehand and backhand sides, and how to generate power from their legs.
Stage 2: The players are introduced to live ball drills, control with movements, distance and depth of the shots along with match play strategies.
Athletic Skills: Introduce more advanced hand-eye coordination drills , proper techniques in push-ups, pull-ups, squats, and posterior (pulling exercise) chain. Students must work on their aerobic capacity with different rest-to-work ratios.
Mental Skills: Have students work in a motivational task-oriented climate. Exercise routines must be created. Coaches have to reinforce and motivate players, understand them and know how to inspire improvement. They must practice basic routines on and off court, and work on positive body language as well.