A group of 8 tennis enthusiasts actively participated in a Community Tennis Facilitator Course in Lloydminster on Dec. 16. It was conducted by Tennis Canada’s Rachel Gould, a knowledgeable and extremely proficient course conductor from Edmonton. It was full tennis day in the gym at Southridge Community Church. The striking, throwing and rolling of red and foam balls throughout the entire day involved serious bouts of learning with a lot of laughter and fun had by all!
The course focussed on how to deliver quality community tennis programs for children. Rachel introduced the 5 quality standards that are essential to standardizing the implementation of this program throughout Canada: a caring instructor, social connections between participants, active participation (children actively participate 45 min out of a 60 min session), player appropriate challenges, and improvement through point play etc. The focus on community tennis has transitioned gently from a “Learn TO Play” to a “Learn AND Play” process.
Tennis Canada has partnered with Rogers to introduce “Rogers First Set”. This learn and play tennis program is designed for youth and families in communities across Canada to try tennis and learn fundamental tennis skills in a fun, welcoming, safe and positive tennis environment. This exciting new program builds on the previous “Progressive Tennis” program, and includes tennis play with red, orange, and green balls. There will be 30 – 60 additional activities to be rolled out in the spring of 2024.
