10 and Under Tennis

While 10 and Under Tennis has been growing over the past few years, I feel there is more growth in store. There are a few coaches on Long Island who are starting to realize how important the 10 and Under format is for tennis, in general, but we still find a lot of resistance among parents and coaches who say that this is not “real tennis.”

I would love to invite these parents and coaches to watch an Orange Ball Level 1 or Green Dot Level 1 tournament. These players are having long rallies, hitting balls at different angles, heights and speeds. They are hitting slices, drop shots and every ball that a complete tennis player can possibly hit. We are one of the last countries in the world to adopt this method. In Europe, they have been using this format for a long time which, to me, explains why they turn out some of the top players in the world.

The result of kids developing these skills and being able to compete and enjoy the game at such an early age will lead to having more complete tennis players in the United States. We are in desperate need of top professional players who our kids can look up to, especially on the men’s side.

Teaching young kids is not for everyone, and requires a great deal of skill and knowledge. I believe that it is much harder to teach a 10 and Under program than a High Performance program with older juniors.

The USTA has a tough job pleasing everyone who thinks they understand tennis. If we all work together supporting 10 and Under Tennis, we are going to have more young tennis players and more business for everyone. How many times does a young tennis player stop playing and opt instead to play soccer, basketball, baseball or other sports where they play on a smaller and more appropriate-sized court or field and can start to compete right away? It’s just so much easier … a no brainer.

The USTA has just created and launched a program called “Net Generation,” where they are trying to educate coaches and parents, and inform the media about 10 and Under Tennis. It’s a bunch of fun videos of kids doing tricks with rackets and tennis balls, wearing more hip and less traditional tennis clothes and shoes, and shows kids competing as a team and not individually. All of these things need to happen in order to keep kids interested in tennis as a sport.

I hope the coaches and parents realize that “10 and Under Tennis” is essential for all young players on the right path to become “real” tennis players in the future.