Did you know that May is Tennis Month? I didn’t know it either but how cool, right? As someone who enjoyed playing tennis as a gym credit in high school, I love to pass along a sport to my children that we as a family can play together and there’s no better time than now to start! The USTA Jr. Team Tennis (United States Tennis Association) has an excellent way to bring communities, families, and kids together to learn and play tennis.
About the USTA Jr. Team:
USTA Jr. Team Tennis brings kids together in teams to play singles, doubles and mixed doubles against other teams. It promotes social skills and important values by fostering a spirit of cooperation and unity, as well as individual self-growth. Also, it’s a fun environment for kids in which they learn that succeeding is really more about how they play the game – win or lose.
How does it work?
USTA Jr. Team Tennis is designed for kids ages 6-18. They are immediately placed on teams. All you need to start a league are two teams. Matches can be held anywhere from a local park or school to a commercial or private club. Teams are preferably co-ed but can also be single gender (boys only or girls only). They are divided by the following age and play levels:
Age Groups: U18, U16, U14, U12, U10 and U8
Play Levels: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced
Through the Mom Trials: My family received tennis equipment for our family that included a raquet for each child, one adult raquet, tennis balls, and the USTA Quickstart Tennis Practice Sessions Guides for ages 5-10. My kids were raring to learn the first moment I took this equipment out of the package and I had to burst their bubble and let them know we had to go over the Practice Sessions first so they would know all the ground rules before we get started. I read the guidelines out loud to them and made sure they grasped what I was reading so they would be prepared for their first lessons.
The Practice Sessions are easy to read and very well laid out and are written for each age group separately. The instructions were clear and easy to understand and I loved how they broke it up to help kids master their coordination first and gets them started according to their physical development for their age range. They made it fun and easy to learn by teaching them the basics within a smaller court and equipment so it doesn’t overwhelm kids and they are able to use the equipment comfortably.
My kids enjoyed learning how to play tennis with each other and although my two almost three year old can’t quite play along, she does her best and her older brother and sister makes her feel good by including her anyways. This has been a great way to build their coordination and tennis skills as the practice sessions were easy to follow. Although we haven’t had a chance to play in an actual tennis court yet, they’ve had fun playing in the make shift court we made in our yard and once they’ve mastered a few more skills, we’ll take our whole family to the court and see how well they’ll do. It’s been a wonderful family activity and bonding experience for our whole family!
Giveaway Time: A lucky Blessings Abound winner will win tennis equipment for their family (2 adult raquets, children raquets, tennis balls, and practice session guides)! All you have to do in order to be qualified for a chance to win is to visit The USTA Jr. Team’s website and leave a fact you haven’t learned about already from this post!
5 Extra Entries: Blog about this Giveaway!
1 Extra Entry Each:
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Please leave a separate comment for each item that you have completed stating that you have done so.Winners who I am unable to contact and who doesn’t claim their prize within 72 hours of me posting the winner of the prize will forfeit their prize and I will redraw a new winner. Please follow directions or you will be disqualified! This Blessing is open to bloggers and nonbloggers alike. You have from now until May 14th at 11:59 PM (Alaska time) to comment and be entered for a chance to win. I will randomly pick a winner and announce it here on my blog shortly after May 15th! Blessing open to the USA!