Okay, I admit it.  I was one of those kids.  You know, the kind who are always chosen last when it comes to picking teams in sports.  *sniff*  Needless to say, I was much more attracted to sports that did not require quite as much team interaction such as gymnastics, horseback riding and tennis.  Thankfully, I married a man who actually enjoys several team sports and is more than happy to help teach and encourage our girls in sports, especially tennis and basketball.

When I was contacted recently about the USTA (United States Tennis Association) and their Jr. Team Tennis Quickstart Tennis program, I was interested in what that had in mind. Brett had started teaching our two older girls Tennis last year and while P1 was picking it up well, P2 was struggling and getting frustrated although she really wanted to play.  I hoped that the Jr. Team Tennis Quickstart Tennis program might especially benefit her.

We were sent a whole box of tennis equipment courtesy of the USTA. We received 4 tennis racquets of various sizes, a bag of balls of different sizes for the Quickstart program, a package of traditional tennis balls, a USTA Quickstart Tennis Practice Session manual for ages 5-6, a USTA Quickstart Tennis Practice Session manual for ages 9-10, and a USTA notebook/journal. It was like Christmas in February!

I was thrilled to see that the Quickstart Tennis format is geared towards getting kids 10 and under playing tennis as quickly as possible. After all, isn’t that the fun part?  The goal of Jr. Team Tennis is to turn what is traditionally viewed as an individual sport into a team sport, making it fun and social as well as practical. Kids find it easy to learn, they have a great time with their friends and it is rewarding because they learn and play through team matches that allow them to apply what they have learned.

From the site:

QuickStart Tennis is an exciting new play format for learning tennis, designed to bring kids into the game by utilizing specialized equipment, shorter court dimensions and modified scoring, all tailored to age and size. It is divided into two different levels– ages 8 and under and ages 10 and under.

It’s the fast, fun way to get kids into tennis– and keep them playing.

The variables of Quickstart Tennis are as follows:
AGE
*8 and under
*10 and under

SCORING
Scoring is based upon a 7 point game, the first to score 7 points wins. Then depending upon age, they play a certain number of games per match. Overall games are shorter to keep their attention.

BALLS
*The 8 and under group uses a foam or very low-compression ball that moves slower, bounces lower and travels less distance.
*The 10 and under group uses a low-compression ball that moves faster than the younger group, but still slower than a regulation ball.

RACQUETS
*The 8 and under group uses 19?, 21? or 23? racquets.
*The 10 and under groups uses 23? or 25? racquets.

COURTS
*The 8 and under group plays on a 36-foot long court.
*The 10 and under group plays on a 60-foot long court.

Quickstart Tennis is essentially tennis, scaled down to a kid’s level. How cool is that?! In order to properly learn and play, everything from the court size to the movement of the ball needs to be modified to accommodate a child’s smaller size. Quickstart does that!

Another aspect of Jr. Team Tennis in general that is very important is that it encourages parental involvement. Jr. Team Tennis wants parents to become coaches and managers and even start their own teams or leagues if necessary. This is a benefit that many other youth sports just do not have.

Below is a video with Martina Navratilova that I thought was really interesting about the experience kids have when using adult sized equipment.

Needless to say, spring fever is breaking out all over around our house for Tennis Time!

On March 2nd, the USTA is holding the first ever national day of youth registration for Jr. Team Tennis and other local tennis activities. Almost 650 tennis programs across the USA are hosting events in their communities to encourage kids and parents to get into the game. If you are interested in finding a league near you, you can visit the Jr. Team Tennis website at http://jrteamtennis.usta.com/. And if you can’t make it on March 2nd, you can find contact information for your local league so you can still sign-up – it is never too late!