Summer time offers a myriad of options for youths to get some exercise and the city of Coral Springs Tennis Center has capitalized on this short period of time. The center’s summer program offers boys and girls ages 5 to 16 the opportunity to enjoy the South Florida outdoors on the tennis courts with high quality instruction.
“They get to learn the fundamentals of tennis and get the chance to play a lot of games,” said Kevin McCarthy, Tennis Director at the Tennis Center of Coral Springs.
The sessions span the entire summer, from June 9th to Aug. 15th, in which participants have several options to enjoy the lessons: 9:00am to noon or 9:00am to 3:00pm, Monday through Friday, with the option to cool off in the pool during lunchtime for the full time players.
And like most summer, more casual sports programs, the tennis camps have a variety of participants with players of all levels who are grouped together according to their age/ability. For the younger, less experienced players, the tennis coaches utilize a ‘quick start’ format, in which a lower compression ball is used to lessen bouncing as much as it normally would.
“This allows them to achieve success at a younger age because of the ball bouncing less makes it easier for them to concentrate more on learning,” McCarthy said. “In the summer we have a 3-tier method of teaching the kids- to be in a safe environment, to have fun while they’re here and to learn some tennis.”
And according to McCarthy, perhaps the laid back, yet still instructional, environment is the reason as to why approximately half of the kids come back from one summer to the next.
Coral Springs resident Heather Carmell falls into that category and has her daughter Ella, 10,coming back to this summer’s program.
“I love the instructors, she had a great experience last summer and I’m so comfortable dropping her off there every time,” said Carmell, of her daughter who began with the city’s tennis program at about age 6. “The whole experience is excellent and the summer camp offers her extra practice to help her for when she does her other lessons/clinics during other times of the year.”
This summer, in addition to Carmell’s participation, there are generally about 30 kids signed up on a given week. All lessons take place at the city’s tennis courts that are within the Sports/Aquatics Complex.
“They’re gonna learn more tennis the longer they’re here,” McCarthy added. “And if it happens to rain, we are a rain-or-shine camp and we don’t stop tennis if it storms; we keep them learning (about) the sport by participating in tennis trivia so they also have the opportunity to learn that aspect of the sport.”
Once the summer programs conclude, the Tennis Center resumes it’s more regimented, formal tennis instruction, picking up in the fall.
The Tennis Center can be reached at 954-344-1840.
