Kids’ Tennis
Province-wide
Thank you for taking the time to consider the Kids’ Tennis program at a school in your community.
Kids’ Tennis is a free program and provides an opportunity for children in all schools across Ontario to participate in Progressive Indoor Tennis. The program teaches students about the importance of regular physical activity, general physical literacy and movement skills. For many students this will be their first exposure to tennis. This fulfills the mandate of the OTA to gain new participants at the grassroots level and help surrounding community tennis clubs raise awareness about opportunities for students to continue to play. Both teachers with general and specialized Phys Ed qualifications can feel comfortable implementing this program. To enhance and broaden the potential impact of the program, Kids’ Tennis encourages coaches and volunteers from neighboring OTA member tennis clubs to participate in offering these classes to schools in their community. An OTA coach may attend to help introduce the program if the coach or volunteer from the club is less experienced. We encourage both teachers and tennis coaches to continue to build the relationship between the school and tennis club to have best results of continued participation for the students. Resources such as introduction letters, equipment, and lesson plans can be made available upon request. Schools interested in this program can contact OTA if representatives from their community tennis club are unresponsive.
It is important for our OTA member clubs to recognize the importance of becoming involved in community initiatives to best support their club and the sport of tennis. These relationships do take time to establish but have proved in many cases as a bonified method to improve the number of junior participants playing tennis and helping to create a vibrant culture at the tennis clubs. The distribution of promotional materials from the club is most commonly prohibited on school grounds, but is subject to the individual school policy.
This program can be volunteer based or supported for coaches to recieve an honorarium from the school board or OTA member club. This requires the efforts of coaches at the club level. Club pros/volunteers should understand that a minor commitment to this program can have a large impact on participant retention and registration in the spring and summer.
For more information please contact Ely Schwartz at 416.514.1107 or ESchwartz@tennisontario.com
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Tennis in Schools – Lesson Plans |
TESTIMONIALS:
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“Cardio Tennis is a great way to get an effective cardio workout, shake up your workout routine, and get introduced to tennis for new players.” -Daniel Nestor, Grand Slam Doubles Champion and Olympic Gold Medalist |
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“I love running this program at my school for students of all ages. It’s a great new way to introduce them to tennis and ensure they achieve a good workout. It is a great complement to the existing Ontario teaching curriculum. -Peter Jaklic, Physical Education teacher at Rosethorne Elementary P.S. |
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“Many thanks for your work with my kids at North Kipling. They truly benefitted from -Douglas Cornell, Physical Education teacher at North Kipling JMS |
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“The Ontario Tennis Association brought their fitness tennis program to Bennington Heights and rocked the gym. The circuit gets kids moving in fun tennis challenges that worked on a range of skills - from serving to movement. Ely, our tennis pro, did an amazing job modifying activities so that they would be age-appropriate for Kids from grade one to six. The school had a blast, highly recommended.” - Frank Arabia, Bennington Heights Health and Physical Education Teacher |
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“I had the opportunity to see the GTS Cardio Tennis program in action at Shoreham Public School and it was great to see the smiles on the kid’s faces. Kudos to the OTA and the Ontario school system for seeing the potential of this program and implementing it. Kids need a physical activity which is simple, fun and engages the whole body and mind; Cardio Tennis fits that description. Cardio Tennis can be a great way to help fight the child obesity issues we face today.” - Michele Krause, National Cardio Tennis Program Manager and Speakers Team Director |
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“Cardio Tennis is a great way for tennis players of all ages and skill levels to participate in - Ari Novick – Tennis Canada, Director of Coaching |
MUSIC
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When selecting music for Cardio Tennis, it is recommended that songs have at least 120 beats per minute. Feel free to make your own Cardio Tennis playlists, or encourage your participants to bring in their own music. Make sure that the music is age appropriate, and free of inappropriate language. Consider using music with a slightly lower beat per minute count for cool down drills. |
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