Tennis is a great sport for both children and adults, but it’s more than just a fun time on the court. There are physical, as well as mental, emotional and social benefits of playing tennis. Both tennis lessons and camps for kids have exploded in popularity. Most kids love tennis once they give it a try, but there are many benefits to tennis beyond the enjoyment factor.
If you are considering tennis lessons in Toronto for your children, here are the top five benefits of tennis for kids that you can expect.
Tennis Builds Muscular and Bone Strength in Children
Muscular strength and bone strength are both important for a kid’s health, allowing them to grow healthily and stay active. However, many of the physical activities that kids play, such as baseball or track and field, only focus on cardio. Tennis is great for building both muscular and bone strength. Tennis involves a wide range of movements and requires a combination of agility, speed, strength, and precision. With tennis, your kid gets a great workout for every aspect of their health.
Tennis Develops Coordination Skills
One skill that children need to develop is their motor control and hand-eye coordination skills. If you have kids, then you already know that they can be very clumsy at times. Tennis is great for developing hand-eye coordination skills. Tennis players have to use a high degree of judgement and precision to lobby balls, hitting their racket at the precise angle, height, and position to send it back to their opponent. With tennis, kids are constantly developing their motor control skills, which helps them in other parts of their life.
Tennis Gets Your Kid Sweating
If you thought jogging was a good workout for your kids, then wait until they try tennis. Tennis involves constant movement, with sudden stops, side-to-side movements, and constant changes in direction. It is one of the most strenuous workouts for your cardio health, yet it’s so much fun that plenty of kids don’t even notice. Unlike other sports, like baseball or volleyball, there is little waiting involved in tennis. Once you’re in the game, you’re constantly moving.
Tennis Teaches Discipline
For anyone to become good at tennis, there are two crucial things to remember: they need to listen and they need to learn. Kids naturally understand an activity like jogging, and they can become better just doing it on their own. With tennis, the same isn’t true. Lobbying balls, serving, and working with teammates require learning and instruction. Kids cannot just jump on the court and become an expert player. They need to listen to instructors, work with their teammates, and focus on the game. This is why tennis is a great way to teach discipline and problem-solving skills.
Tennis Teaches Sportsmanship
With tennis, kids learn how to rely on themselves and how to work together with partners. Often, in many other sports, shy children can become lost, overlooked, or neglected when part of a bigger team. It can be hard for kids to get involved in the game when their teammates are all more skilled or advanced. With tennis, you are always a part of the game. Kids have to be a part of the game, and when they’re working with a partner, they need to work together if they want to win. Tennis is great for giving kids the confidence they need.
Aerobic and Cardiovascular Exercise
Kids who participate in tennis lessons in the summer get a serious work out! Without realizing, they burn calories, improve their heart health, and get aerobic exercise, which works multiple muscles in the body. Tennis helps kids stay focused to maintain a high energy level throughout the game, which in the end, helps them get a good night’s rest.
Builds Muscles and Bones
Kids have the ability and freedom to be more active than adults, but nowadays, kids are spending more time indoors, watching television or playing video games. If kids are inactive growing up, they will not develop good muscle strength. Muscle strength is important for the support of their growing bone structure, and tennis builds all the muscles in the body. Sending your child to tennis camp is an investment in their future.
Psychological Benefits
Tennis teaches children to take responsibility for every action they make. The game shows them the direct cause and effect of every move they make. This a positive learning experience for kids, as they can learn which actions produce favourable results. They also learn how to deal with making mistakes, and how to stay motivated to practice until they get it right.
Discipline & Problem-Solving Skills
Joining any sport requires discipline to be on time for practices and matches, wearing the right attire, and learning to persevere even after failing. The discipline and problem-solving learned through the sport of tennis takes time to learn, but is extremely valuable to the growth of children.
Improves Flexibility
Tennis camps are a great place for kids to learn how to get into the habit of stretching before and after physical activity. They will also be stretching during the games as they run and maneuver their bodies to hit the ball, which improves their flexibility.
Help Your Kids Develop at Our Court in Toronto
Camp environments and tennis can help kids grow in numerous ways. They help them learn how to work as a team, how to focus and be disciplined, how to respect others and play fair, and so much more. The physical benefits of tennis are also something to consider—hand-eye coordination, balance, agility, speed, and strength are just a few of the ways tennis can strengthen their bodies.
At our tennis camps in North York and Toronto, your child can make new friends and learn from trained instructors while developing into talented and skilled tennis players. Bayview Village Tennis Camp is the top tennis camp in the GTA. Our Tennis Canada-certified instructors work to teach kids not only how to have fun with tennis, but also how to play smart and safe. More information about the junior and advanced summer tennis programs can be found by calling us at (905) 889-7293 or e-mailing pnielsen889@rogers.com.