When you create the right environment for child to learn tennis, as with any sport, you can impart a lifelong passion. However, if you don't carefully seek out the right mix of lesson, support and instructor, you can turn tennis into a burden and your child won't want to play anymore.
Types
Kids' tennis is typically taught in group lessons, clinics or private lessons. Group lessons can be less expensive and also more fun for kids. Kids play sports primarily to have fun and be with their friends. Arranging a group lesson with some of your child's friends also ensures that you can carpool and switch off watching the lesson. However, some children thrive on individual attention, especially if they are shy or feel that they need to catch up to friends who have been playing for a few years.
Considerations
Evaluate what you want your child to learn as a result of playing tennis. Very few children will enter Wimbledon or the U.S. Open. Keep your expectations focused on what your child will realistically learn from the lesson---sportsmanship and basic technique. Find an instructor who can balance the boredom of repetition that refines the basic strokes with the fun of the game itself.
In addition, if you're setting up group lessons, set them up with parents who share the same approach to tennis and sports that your family has. If a parent is very driven on their child's behalf, it can make for awkwardness and overly competitive play in the lesson, removing the fun from your child's time on the court.
Some junior clinics are taught by younger staff. If this is the case, check that the instructor knows how to manage children of your child's developmental age. Stay to observe the lesson and provide input should the instructor or coach know tennis better than they understand kids' behavior.
Significance
Tennis is a game kids can play throughout their lives. It is a social game as well as a competitive one. Similar to golf, tennis provides a leisure sport that connects players around the world. By providing tennis instruction to your child, you help your child connect with other players, regardless of geographic location. If, for example, your family moves, your young tennis player can use tennis to make new friends quickly in your new home town.
Benefits
In addition, tennis aids kids in developing hand-eye coordination, sportsmanship and etiquette. Tennis has strict rules for play, and many courts emphasize a dress code. Kids who play tennis learn to understand and obey the rules, not only in terms of play, but also in terms of conduct.
Time Frame
Kids can learn to play tennis at any age. Don't force your child, however. If you play tennis, take your child out on the court with you for a few weeks. Once she asks for lessons, arrange with friends to try a few group lessons at a mutually convenient time. Most tennis clubs offer junior clinics or group lessons on a regular basis.
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