Week 10 Recap from Jackie Robinson

Saturday, August 8 was another productive day at Jackie Robinson Tennis Club. This week's class focused on footwork and learning more about match play.

The students were segmented into stations as usual. Our stations included a footwork obstacle course, running forehands and backhands, doubles matchplay that was similar to the Davis Cup format, and simplified serves.

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Jackie Robinson Site Leader Michele Gee remains impressed by her students' progress. "They're improving so much!" exclaims Michele. "I really could not be prouder right now."

The off-court session, facilitated by our Site Coordinator, Christine, was a discussion about appreciating the differences in others, as well as recognizing how the characteristics that make us different also make us special. As always, the volunteers did an amazing job during this educational component of class. They are always super helpful and encouraging.

Team morale is still pretty high after our second place finish at Davis Cup. Not too shabby for the team that began playing tennis less than three months ago. Training for the final Jamboree tournament is in full effect!

Week 8 Recap from Marcy: Family Day!

This past Saturday marked one of the season's most special days: Family Day! Held at each KCTL site, this is a day when students can invite any relative to class--parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles or cousins--to participate in family-based games and activities. The objective of Family Day is to create a friendly, non-competitive environment for our students and their families to be active together. Marcy certainly had a blast during this especially awesome class.

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We were pleased to have about 30 children and their family members with us on the tennis courts at Marcy. Everyone remained upbeat and energized thanks to the music blasting from the boombox! Several kids were already out in full force by 12:30 because they were so excited for the class.

After stretching and warming up, we played two popular group games: Drop the Racquet and Centipede. Then we broke out into stations for some additional games.

The Obstacle Course station had an added twist this week; students had to navigate through the course holding a ball on their racquets. Brave kids were encouraged to try it on one leg!

At a Serving station, students and family members practiced serving the ball to each other. This was Marcy's first introduction to serves this season.

A lot of students really impressed us at the Targets Station, where they practiced forehands and backhands. Some of the younger, newer children are making tremendous strides in their groundstrokes.

We noticed similar progress at the Mini Tennis station, where the kids worked on rallying with one another and keeping the ball in the court.

On the big court, students and family members played a game called Balance and Flick the Ball, in which teams pair up, stand three feet apart, and try to flick the ball to each other without letting the racquet drop to the ground.

Gary led the off-court discussion on preparation for Davis Cup, scheduled for August 1! Davis Cup is a doubles tournament among all five KCTL sites. Since each site will represent a different country, the day combines competitive play with a lesson in geography. Marcy selected Italy during their off-court session with Gary.

We wrapped up with a giant game of Breakout, in which the kids were really pumped to show their family members what they've learned so far this season. Thank you to all parents and relatives who came out to support the kids at Family Day!

Week 7 Recap from Tompkins

We almost had another rainout this Saturday, but, fortunately, the sun came out just in time for the start of class. With the threat of a weather-related cancellation, though, Tompkins Tennis Club had a relatively small showing of six children. On the bright side, less children facilitated individualized attention from our volunteers and staff.

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The day's lesson combined groundstrokes and serves for the older, more skilled children. As mentioned, low student attendance allowed for some one-on-one coaching. The advanced students received personal instruction from volunteers to strengthen their forehands, backhands and serves. Meanwhile, the younger students player fruit salad, a favorite group game among smaller kids that reminds them about healthy food.

The off-court discussion for the day addressed Learning Styles. The students were encouraged to describe the scenarios in which they can most easily take in new information. What a pertinent topic for a day that included plenty of learning!

Tompkins Site Leader Tina pointed out one female student's noticeable improvement as the highlight of the class. The student, who, in weeks past, has been very frustrated with herself, made major gains this week in hitting her single-handed forehand and double-handed backhand. Tina recognized that this child has begun developing more self-confidence as a result of this physical accomplishment.

Week 6 Recap from Sumner

Sumner Tennis Club took break from groundstrokes on Saturday with an introduction to volleys. For some students, this lesson was truly their first instruction in hitting the ball without a bounce, while other, more experienced participants had already mastered the proper volley form. With sunshine and temperatures in the high 80s, Sumner's fifth class of the season was pleasant and productive.

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As usual, class was segmented into various tennis stations, all of which reinforced volley fundamentals. The Targets area helped our students to practice their aim and precision. A Volley Fundamentals station explored the nitty-gritty details of the volley, including proper grip, body positioning and footwork. Tennis Volleyball, the next station, was literally a big hit; the students definitely enjoyed the competition and teamwork of a game that mimics volleyball with tennis racquets. Next up, Volley-Volley Rally required two players' cooperation to volley back and forth without letting the ball hit the ground. Lastly, a fitness station served to teach the fast and agile footwork required in playing the net.

The off-court discussion topic was Family and Personal Values. Participants received a worksheet that listed commonly embraced values--including Getting Good Grades, Being Accepted by My Friends, Getting Along with Parents & Family, Being Good at Sports, Being Artistic and Creative, and Treating My Body with Respect--to facilitate the conversation. The students were encouraged to tell us which individuals in their lives are most influential, to illustrate how we come to adopt values from those around us. Special emphasis was placed on the fact that we often acquire values from persons other than family members, including friends, teachers and coaches. Additionally, the kids were called upon to share which values are most important to them personally, and to explain what they'd like to work on improving this summer.

Week 5 Recap from Lafayette Gardens

Despite the threat of rain, Lafayette Gardens had a big turnout of 20 kids on Saturday. We focused on forehand and backhand fundamentals and rallying. We're grateful to have had class considering last week's rainout and next week's holiday cancellation.

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As usual, class operated in four stations. The first was the Fitness Station, where each player hit a forehand, ran through a fitness obstacle course, picked up one ball, and returned to the line. Next, at the Ping Pong Tennis Station, we held doubles rallies where partners had to alternate hitting shots. Station three was for Forehand and Backhand Fundamentals, and, finally, a Beat the Pro Station let kids take turns playing points with a volunteer.

Efi, a volunteer, filled in for our Site Coordinator, Candice, to lead the off-court conversation. We discussed manners, etiquette, and communication. Another volunteer, Kirzia, cracked up our students with a theatrical demonstration of bad manners; the kids then explained what had made her behavior rude. Sadie, a student, impressively cited a quote by the Dalai Lama(!) to summarize the lesson: When talking, you're saying what you already know, but when listening, you can learn something new.

After off-court, we wrapped up class with a new game, Scramble. Scramble combines elements of tennis, volleyball, and pure fun. We lined up all four nets to form a single "mega court." There is one team on each side of the long net. One ball is in play, which a team can hit three times before it must go to the other side. No player can hit the ball twice in a row, and the point ends when the ball rolls--it can bounce any number of times--or a team breaks a rule. Despite some initial resistance to playing something besides Breakout, the kids loved Scramble.

Week 4 Recap

Well, our fourth week was going to be an extension of our lesson on forehands, but that turned out to be a bust, thanks to some ugly weather here in Brooklyn Saturday afternoon. We hate when that happens!

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In the meantime, keep up with the latest from KCTL's weekly sessions on our Facebook page or our Instagram account. We've been sharing a lot of photos of our students in action.

Fingers crossed we have clearer skies for our next class, Saturday, June 27.

Week 3 Recap from Jackie Robinson

We had another amazing Saturday at Jackie Robinson Tennis Club. It was the third week at Kings County Tennis League's newest site and attendance continues to grow. We had about 25 participants, the majority of whom were returning students.

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We focused on basic footwork and coordination along with an introduction to the forehand. The class began with a warm-up and group stretch. We then split up into three groups that rotated among stations: a foot workstation using cones, a target practice station, and a forehand technique station. The kids are showing significant improvement and seem to really be enjoying themselves on the court. Due to the warm weather, we were sure to take plenty of water breaks.

Once each group had rotated through all the stations, our Site Coordinator, Christine, facilitated the off-court conversation. This week, Christine led a discussion about healthy expression of our emotions. Christine did an amazing job of engaging with the students and teaching them about different emotions--such as anger, jealousy, and sadness--and the best ways to cope. She made it very easy for the kids to share stories of times they experienced negative emotions and how they responded. She also encouraged the students to give examples of how they’ll better manage their emotions in the future.

We ended class with Breakout, which the students absolutely love. It's a fun-filled game that involves hitting forehands, running and catching. The students always have a great time with this game.

The highlight of class was calling out the names of the students who were able to borrow a racquet for the week because they had attended three classes. It was clear that the kids that were able to take a racquet home felt a great sense of accomplishment and pride and those that were not able to felt as though that had something substantial to strive towards. Overall, it was a great class with amazing volunteers and stellar students.