Our coaching groups are structured to benefit children of all ages and abilities, starting as early as 3 years old! Our professional coaching team will help any child improve, no matter what their level. Our welcoming facilities ensure an enjoyable tennis playing environment and help children and parents to feel comfortable and at ease. We have the following coaching opportunities available:
- For juniors between 3 and 17 years of age
- For beginners, intermediate and experienced players
- For those who want to play just for fun
- For performance players who want to play more seriously
Programme of Activities
Coaching groups at local facilities:
- Totton & Eling Tennis Centre
- Fleming Park Tennis Centre
- Southampton Tennis Centre
- Waterside Tennis Club
- Wellow Tennis Club
- St Denys Community Centre
Coaching Opportunities
- Parent & Child: For children aged from 3-6 years old, this is the first stage of the ball and hand / eye coordination development stage. Parents join in to maintain focus and to allow the coach more flexibility to work with the children
- Mini Tennis Red: For players aged 8 & under, this is the first stage of technical and tactical development and is important for building skills and confidence. Children develop their movement and ball skills as well as receiving an introduction to rallying and playing the game
- Mini Tennis Orange: For players aged 8 / 9, this stage moves on to 3/4 length courts and starts to use balls that bounce slightly higher. Technical and tactical development continues at this stage as children become used to a larger court
- Mini Tennis Green: For players aged 10, the final stage before progressing to the full game is played with a green ball that bounces slightly lower than a normal tennis ball, allowing the children to improve their technique and rallying skills. The playing space is now the same size as a full tennis court
- Improver / Club Player: For players aged 11 & over and typically playing with either friends or family for fun, children usually attend a coaching group once per week. Although a great deal of technical guidance is offered, the emphasis becomes more about playing effective tennis and understanding tactics
- Performance: A talented and dedicated player who is aiming to develop their talent to its full potential. Please see our below. Performance players will be keen to compete regularlry in local / regional tournaments and represent the club's teams
Coaching Group Costs
We ensure that all groups are priced affordably so as to make the quality coaching accessible to as many people as possible. The groups run for the duration of the school half-term and are payable in advance.
The following prices are for non-members and should act as a guideline only. Members will receive a reduction of around 10% on these prices.
- 45 minute group - £5
- 1 hour group - £5.60
- 1 1/2 hour group - £8.40
If you are interested in signing your child up for a coaching group, please Contact Us.
Accessing Enhanced Programmes
Our coaching groups are categorised as follows:
- Recreational - 1 group lesson per week
- Development - 2 group lessons per week (10% discount on second lesson)
- Progressive - 2 group lessons plus 1 hitting partner per week
- Performance - 2 group lessons, 1 hitting partner, 1 individual per week
The price of additional coaching would include progressive discounts for increased participation. To explain the difference between hitting partners and individuals, the former is usually for ½ hour with a trainee coach / high level junior and is aimed at increasing the number of balls the player hits in a tactically focussed environment. An individual is with a professional coach and although again for ½ hour, is much more technically focussed.
We think it is fantastic to have lots of recreational players in our programme, however, for those who wish to seek extra opportunities, there are a number of key reasons this might be conisdered:
- By attending 2 hours of group coaching per week instead of 1, contact time with the coach is doubled, allowing repetition of skills and therefore improving muscle memory
- It takes around 800 repetitions of the perfect technique to memorise the muscle movement
- Repetition of correct technique is the key to successfully "automating" tennis strokes. The longer the gap between repetitions, the less likely the brain is to make the movement autonomous
- The more sessions a player attends, the more chance there is to regularly incorporate match practice into the weekly programme
- Increased fitness levels and general improvement in a healthy lifestyle
- Social benefits, including making friends in a group setting, connecting with respected coaches / hitting partners and learning to compete in a constructive environment