Some kids think summer camp is all about fun and games. Other kids think summer camp is anything but fun.
But that’s what makes a kids tennis camp different.
At a summer tennis camp, kids actually have fun while learning skills that they can apply to their everyday lives. They also learn strategic concepts and ways of thinking both offensively and defensively when they come to an actual game day. At Bayview Village Tennis Camp in Toronto, there are a lot of specific strategies and tactics our instructors cover in depth with all our young attendees.
Here are some key ones:
Consistency Is Vital
As players build up skills, they also have to be consistent in their approach to playing game-to-game. Technique, approaching opponents, and handling the racket and ball need to be developed so that a young player has a strategy each time they step on the court. Often musicians, athletes, and gamers are hit-and-miss when it comes to days of play or performance. But solid tennis camp instruction stresses the need for consistent playing and strategy development right from the first day on the court.
Play to Your Strengths
Some kids taking junior tennis lessons think that really good tennis players are just all-round naturally great at playing tennis. But this usually isn’t the case. Every player—whether they are junior tennis camp attendees or seasoned pros—have flaws in their playing style. But they overcome that by playing to their strengths and focusing on what they do really well in every game.
Probe Your Opponent for Weaknesses
It sounds malicious, but strong players have to be able to focus on their opponent if they wish to be successful. Like chess or martial arts, a well-rounded tennis player can see characteristics in their opponent that may be a weakness and then work to use those observations in trying to win the match. It’s just part of competition in general and tennis camp players get this tactic added to their playing arsenal as they play more and more.
Be a Hacker
“Hacker” used to be a negative word, reflecting people sitting behind computers and accessing information that wasn’t meant for them and often illegal. But over time, a hacker has gained credibility as someone that can think on their feet, solve problems, and are ethical in overcoming adversity to become champions. It’s also now part of kids tennis camp lexicon and players are taught that they can hack, or problem solve on their two feet in trying to come off the court victorious.
Bring Your Opponents to the Net
If you learn tennis playing at a kids summer camp, they often teach that there are hard-and-fast positions to quality playing. If you stand in such-and-such a place, often further back from the center of the court, you’ll have a better chance of winning games. There might be merit to some of this general advice, but it’s only part of a comprehensive tennis playing strategy that will see players winning consistently. Knowing how to bring opponents to the net and different ways to move across the court during hard playing action helps make a player that much better.
Get Aggressive
Once kids at tennis summer camp get the basic skills down, the camp will often send them on their way, confident enough that the young players will figure the game out on their own. But there needs to be a motivating factor, a “push” from the instructors to get young players engaged in the game and put their full effort forth. Aggression is seen as a negative aspect of sports and games, and many parents fear that their children might get overly competitive and obsessed with winning, all while being rude with officials and other players. But a good kids tennis camp teaches young players how to channel aggression into a mature, competitive playing style.
Cross Court Shots Are Easier to Play Than Down the Line
Adding certain techniques to a player’s repertoire is all part of a great summer tennis camp program for kids. Once they have the basics down, a good instructor can add certain tips and information that can refine a young person’s playing even more. From this, they’ll see that certain ways of tennis play are easier, such as cross court shots and hitting the ball diagonally, rather than playing forward or down the line. It might not seem significant, but these smaller pieces of coaching and player development help solidify a player, and they can practice on camp time to see that the techniques really work in game situations.
Open Up the Court
Some novice tennis players think it’s all about how fast or even how much you move on the tennis court. But time and again this has proven incorrect. Moving too much usually leads to exhaustion and, ultimately, a losing game for the player transferring position so much on the court. One of the key strategies taught at tennis camp is that children learn how to open up the court and hit from certain positions at angles across the court. This is one of the most crucial skills young players can learn, as opening up the court allows for more possibilities of game strategy and challenges one’s opponent to a high level in trying to anticipate what plays are going to happen. Tennis has a lot of misconceptions when it comes to playing skills, but when young players learn about opening up the court, they master a key fundamental that they will utilize repeatedly in their playing lifetime.
Is your child keen on learning great tennis playing strategy at a great junior Toronto summer camp? Bayview Village Tennis Camp is the top junior tennis camp in the GTA. At our kids tennis camp, we employ experienced instructors that know the tips and tricks to help your child learn how to play their best with their mind and body.
To learn more about our various tennis programs, call us at (905) 889-7293 or email pnielsen889@rogers.com.