Keeping my daughter as healthy as possible is something that is really important to me, and I want to encourage her to start off her life being as active as possible so that she continues that way as she gets older and it can be something that she hopefully enjoys.
Since she started school I haven’t taken her to any extra activities or clubs as she has been so exhausted at the end of every school day. Now she is getting a bit more settled and used to the routine of school it seems like the perfect time for her to join in with something away from school, especially as the weather gets nicer.
So I’m excited that we’re going to be joining in with the brilliant free tennis sessions that are available for 5-8 year olds this summer. We’ve partnered up with Charly from Podcast Dove whose daughter attended the free sessions last year and loved them, and she’s been telling us all about them and how good they were. You can find Charly’s post here.
I think it’s such a great initiative to get kids more active and help them to learn lots of really valuable new skills. Last year, the LTA coached nearly 14,000 children through the initiative. This year, the sessions have been hugely popular already, with over 20,000 places quickly filling up! Due to popular demand, the Lawn Tennis Association have opened up some extra places around the country – but I’m sure these will go quickly too, so sign up straight away if you want your 5-8 year old to join in this year!
👍 20,000 children have signed up for #TennisForKids & to celebrate we’ve released 4,000 more spaces!
Sign up now 👉 https://t.co/VyEgP37nae pic.twitter.com/hRKLQaS50e
— British Tennis (@BritishTennis) May 2, 2017
The #TennisForKids project along with the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), are encouraging children to get a FREE taste of tennis, discovering what a great family sport it can be with these amazing free sessions all across the country. At the end of the #TennisForKids sessions, children receive a free tennis racket that is theirs to keep! You can find your local tennis club and sign up on the ClubSpark website here.
The #TennisForKids programme is specially tailored to keeps kids engaged, even if they’ve never picked up a racket before. It includes ball games to help with hand-eye coordination, softer balls well-suited for beginners, playing on a more manageable mini-tennis court, and coaches trained in getting young novices excited and having fun.
I’m so excited for Ava to start her sessions next month, and so is she! She loves getting involved when I exercise and she really enjoys P.E and Multisports at school, so I think this will be great for her.
Here’s why tennis is so great for kids
Playing tennis works both your fine and gross motor skills so children playing the game will strengthen both of these important muscle groups. Tennis is great for developing hand-eye co-ordination skills in kids.
Tennis can be great for developing a child’s social skills and increasing their confidence – which I’m really hoping happens with Ava. It is also great for teaching them good sportsmanship – respecting one another and working together as a team – which I think is something most children could do with!
Tennis is a social sport and is great fun for kids to get involved with, out in the fresh air, whilst making new friends.
From how to hold a racket to developing a rally, tennis teaches kids loads of new skills. It also helps them with speed, agility, flexibility and balance.
Tennis is a great way to keep kids active and fit. It involves lots of running around and quick movements, so it is great for their cardio health, as well as their mental ability.
I’m super excited to be going to these sessions with Ava, and I can’t wait to watch her having fun, meeting new people, and learning some new skills!
I will post about the experience once we have started in June – so keep an eye out for that!
Disclosure: I’m working with the Lawn Tennis Association and BritMums in a paid relationship, showcasing the FREE tennis sessions for children you can take up at your local club. The Tennis For Kids programme filled up quickly in 2017, but the LTA has since released limited additional courses so check https://clubspark.lta.
How exciting for Ava to be starting her sessions soon! It is such a great initiative from the LTA and the kids who complete the course also get a free racket so it’s a win-win! Wishing her the best of luck!
I know, we’re so excited! 🙂 It’s brilliant isn’t it! I still can’t believe they are completely free! She will love having her own racket xx
I hope my two year old will learn it some day. It’s a great game.
You should sign them up in a couple of years! I’ve always been awful at it, but I wish I’d learnt how to play properly when I was as young x
I cannot wait to hear how Ava gets on Lou, it’s such a great initiative. POD has so much fun last year when she did it from learning which hand her racket should be held in, to ball skills and of course tennis positions. We found the course really well thought through and the coaching was great. Lots of entertaining moments and great memories too. Keep us posted on how it’s going.