Tennis brings smiles on Really Missing Sleep blog
As the days lengthen for summer and the weather turns fine, we get the wonderful British spectacle of Wimbledon, with all its action and excitement. And when that excitement inspires kids to pick up a racket themselves, there?s the brilliant Tennis for Kids programme, through which children can enjoy FREE lessons and get their own racket to boot.
The ambition of the Lawn Tennis Association?s ClubSpark Tennis for Kids programme is to get kids excited and involved in tennis. It provides a six-week course for 20,000 children aged 5 to 8 to start playing tennis. And it?s completely free. Yes, we just had to say that again. BritMums worked with the LTA in a paid relationship to help spread the word!
?I am very excited to share the news of these FREE sessions and hope you join me in spreading the word!? says Karen from Really Missing Sleep. But it gets better: ?The club will provide all the equipment they need,? says Mum Dad Plus 4. ?The only thing they ask is that your child wears a pair of trainers to allow them to run around.?
Picture: Coffee, Cake, Kids
Still need convincing?
?There?s no catch at all,? writes Jenny of Midwife and Life. ?Plus, if they complete the course of lessons, they get to keep a tennis racket free of charge too!?
So, a completely free opportunity to get your child learning a new sport and burning off some energy. (Great to see Ethan from ethannevelyn.com really putting his back into it, by the way!) Enrolling is incredibly straightforward, according to Laura of the Bratrace: ?Go to the ClubSpark website, enter your postcode into the search bar and voila, you get a list of local venues which offer the free lessons?
And as Rachel notes in her blog Coffee, Cake, Kids, ?I?m particularly keen to encourage [tennis lessons] because the skills that are used can be used across many other sports.?
Heidi has a go, on the Northeast Family Fun blog
What the Lessons Are Like
So how do the lessons work? Each session is led by a qualified tennis coach, of course, but the sport has been adapted for novice children.
?There [are] lots of games to develop hand-eye co-ordination, softer balls which have been designed for children and games will be played on smaller courts with specially trained coaches,? explains Sam in Northeast Family Fun. Her daughter, Heidi, is going great guns if her photos are anything to go by. And Zoe Holland?s daughter Daisy on Juggling on Roller Skates seems to be making impressive progress with her serve.
Taking a swing at tennis, on Juggling on Roller Skates
As Jenny from The Gingerbread House puts it, it?s always a great idea to get your children doing something new as, sadly, ?there aren?t so many opportunities when you get older?.
So, fresh air, free lessons, new opportunities plus exercise? but were the lessons any good? No question, from one who has experienced them. Ethan says: ?[the] verdict was 20 out of 10!?
Homepage image: Juggling on Roller Skates
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