All too often we see parents paying £100's if not £1,000's in tennis coaching. Children receiving coaching week after week, year after year, without ever playing a single tournament or Matchplay.  I even hear some parents saying; "my child loves tennis but don't want to play matches or play for points", our view is that tennis was designed to be a competitive sport 😄! Football, rugby, hockey matches aren't played without scoring goals so why play tennis without keeping the score?  Parents often say, "my child needs more coaching and experience before playing a tournament" or "he/she hates losing so won't play matches", our view is the complete opposite: get them playing as soon as possible, they will learn more in matchplay and learn to use naturally what they have been coached to do!

 

So why is tennis different?  It's not!  When all said and done tennis always has been and always will be a competitive sport. The more matches children play the more balls they hit. The more balls they hit, the better they become, its that simple!  They learn to use what they have been coached in a true competion environment.  This is completely different to just hitting and practising weekly in lessons with sympathetic coach-fed balls.  The best players in my local club are the ones that play regular tournaments, they are streets ahead of the players that don't play in tournaments, yet they attend a similar amount of lessons every week and have been playing for a similar time.  In fact I would even go as far as saying that some of these kids couldn't even play tennis until they started playing in tournaments.  As soon as they started playing tournaments rallies of 2's and 3's became rallies of 20's and 30's. 

 

Are these players going to make it to Wimbledon?  Who knows? Nevertheless, wherever they go with their tennis, they'll always be able to play a good standard and will fit into any local tennis club, anywhere in the world and maybe wherever their jobs take them playing in the tournaments gave them that!

 

What tournaments can they enter? It's just a matter of finding a tournament or Matchplay event that is relevant to your child's ability.  If in doubt just ask your club coach.  It's recommended to start with some internal Matchplay (usually organised by a good club coach), then move to a grade 6 external Matchplay at another local club before moving to an appropriate grade 5 or 4 knockout tournament.  Most LTA sanctioned events now run what are called compass draws that offer consolation matches for the losers, this usually ensure that your child has at least 2 competitive practice matches and will probably hit more tennis balls in these matches than several coaching sessions combined. Also view: What events? 

 

When do I introduce my child to playing for points? Children should be introduced to playing points and competing as early as possible in their coaching programme, in fact from the very first lesson. By introducing your young tennis players to points/matches from an early age they learn to cope with the nerves, the winning and the losing. By the time they reach serious competition level (if this is what they want), the tournament is simply just another tournament and they will not get themselves worked up, they'll just enjoy playing tennis.  The losing is just as important as the winning, and from a young age matchplay teaches the players that there has to be a winner and a loser in every tennis match.  In addition, a tennis match is a problem solving exercise e.g. a players opponent has a great serve, a great forehand, a great backhand but several points into the match your child discovers their opponent can't volley - problem solved, make him volley. But if they can't this time maybe next time, a challenge is on and a challenge is healthy. If they lose and your child learns to accept losing as just a stepping stone in their progress then they will inevitably become a better player at whatever level they chose to play tennis at.  They may even be better prepared for everything else life throws at them in the future!

 

And if this article still hasn't convinced you the ITF (International Tennis Federation) have 33 more reason why your child should play competitive tennis:

 

Tennis is a sport for kids to learn early in life, and there are numerous physical benefits from playing tennis regularly. Regular tennis play has been demonstrated to improve:

 

1 aerobic and cardiovascular fitness while maintaining higher energy levels

 

2. anaerobic fitness through short, intense bursts of activity during a point, followed by rest, which helps muscles use oxygen efficiently

 

3. acceleration by practicing sprinting, jumping and lunging in order to move quickly

 

4. powerful first steps, by requiring anticipation, quick reaction time and explosion into action

 

5. speed through a series of side-to-side and up and back sprints to chase the ball

 

6. leg strength, through hundreds of starts and stops which build stronger leg muscles

 

7. general body coordination since you have to move into position and then adjust your upper body to hit the ball successfully

 

8. gross motor control, through court movement and ball-striking skills, which require control of your large muscle groups

 

9. fine motor control by the use of touch shots like angled volleys, drop shots and lobs

 

10. agility by forcing you to change direction as many as 5 times in 10 seconds during a typical tennis point

 

11. dynamic balance through hundreds of starts, stops, changes of direction and hitting on the run

 

12. cross-training by offering a physically demanding sport that’s fun to play for athletes who also participate in other sports

 

13. bone strength and density by strengthening bones of young players and helping prevent osteoporosis in older ones

 

14. immune system through its conditioning effects that promote overall health, fitness and resistance to disease

 

15. nutritional habits , by eating appropriately before competition to enhance energy production, and after competition to practice proper recovery methods

 

16. eye-hand coordination, because you constantly judge the timing between the on-coming ball and the proper contact point

 

17. flexibility due to the constant stretching and manoeuvring to return the ball toward your opponent

 

Psychological Development

 

The psychological benefits from regular tennis play may help children to learn and develop positive personality characteristics which are useful on the tennis court, but more importantly, are essential for many everyday situations through life. Regular tennis play has been demonstrated to improve:

 

18. work ethic because improvement through lessons or practice reinforces the value of hard work

 

19. discipline since you learn to work on your skills in practice and control the pace of play in competition

 

20. mistake management by learning to play within your abilities and realising that managing and minimising mistakes in tennis or life is critical

 

21. one-on-one competition because the ability to compete and fight trains you in the ups and downs of a competitive world

 

22. accept responsibility because only you can prepare to compete by practicing skills, checking your equipment and during match play by making line calls

 

23. management of adversity, by learning to adjust to the elements (e.g. wind, sun) and still be able to compete

 

24. effective accommodation of stress because the physical, mental and emotional stress of tennis will force you to increase you capacity for dealing with stress

 

25. learning how to recover by adapting to the stress of a point and the recovery period between points, which is similar to the stress and recovery cycles in life

 

26. planning and implementation of strategies since you naturally learn how to anticipate an opponent’s moves and plan your countermoves

 

27. learning to solve problems since tennis is a sport based on angles, geometry and physics

 

28. performance rituals before serving or returning which help control your rhythm of play and dealing with pressure. These skills can transfer to taking exams, conducting a meeting or making an important sales presentation

 

29. learning sportsmanship since tennis teaches you to compete fairly with opponents

 

30. learning to win graciously while losing with honour. Gloating after a win or making excuses after a loss doesn’t work in tennis or in life

 

31. learning teamwork since successful doubles play depends on you and your partner’s ability to communicate and play as a cohesive unit

 

32. developing social skills through interaction and communication before a match, while changing sides of the court and after play

 

33. having FUN… because the healthy feelings of enjoyment, competitiveness and physical challenge are inherent in the sport