About Tiger Tennis (2nd - 8th Grades)

Tiger Tennis was started in 2011 by parents that wanted to offer a recreation tennis program for elementary and grade school children in Tewksbury. Through the efforts of our parent volunteers, the program has flourished and supports about 100 children per year.  The clinic is often "sold out" as we can accommodate only so many children on the 5 courts we have access to at Voorhees High School.  It's exciting to see that we already have several of our early year participants moving on to High School tennis.  We wish them all well.    

Like most sports, tennis can be incredibly rewarding, however, for many children, it can also be a frustrating sport due to the level of skill needed to hit the ball, get it over the net and into the court.  As a result, the Tiger Tennis program focuses on having fun first while building the skills needed over time.  So our younger "Tiger Cubs" will focus on fun skill building drills and games and as they grow and develop, they will become more involved with playing real tennis, through both singles and doubles match play activities.  Of course we encourage fun in all of our grades and hope that your kids enjoy this fantastic sport!!          

Tiger Cubs (grades 2 - 4)
Play with age appropriate balls and rackets which aid in the early development of basic skills
Focus on fun drills and games designed to motivate and develop skills at an early age 
At this age, it's less important that the kids have perfect tennis strokes 
Learning and developing tennis skills at this age occurs mostly through repetition and trying new things 
Older grades will begin to transition from skill building to skill mastery and more consistent play     

Tigers (grades 5 - 8)
Use regular tennis balls and larger rackets
Learn how to keep score
Begin to learn how to play "real" games
Continued focus on skill and technique mastery with winning points established as the goal
Create a solid tennis foundation by 8th grade so the kids are ready for High School tennis
For children who know they want to play tennis in high school, we encourage them to participate in tennis camps and/or receive lessons at a local club

We strive to group the children based on age and ability as well as with their friends.      

Equipment

The Tiger Tennis program provides the courts, the balls and ball machine that we use to get the kids lots of practice in a short amount of time - they love it!!.  We also have some spare rackets in the event anyone forgets their racket.  Occasionally, the kids will get a surprise treat such as a cool wristband or racket vibration "thing".   

The children should bring the following to each clinic:  
Weather appropriate tennis clothing and tennis sneakers
Racket
Water Bottle

Tennis Racket Guidelines - It's very important that the children play with the correct sized racket.  The following are some guidelines to help you decide what size racket your child should use.  Note that more skilled players may be able to use a larger racket than recommended.  A full sized adult racket is 27".  A second grader should not be using a 27" racket.....  Please note, you do not need to buy an expensive racket.  Good rackets can be found for less than $25.  Once a child is ready to move to a higher level of play, a more advanced racket may be needed. 
 

To Register for Tiger Tennis - Click "My Account" Button Above
Registration is limited so please register early