Developing 5-7 year old Tennis Players

     Marc is developing strong tennis skills as a five year old. The red ball makes it easier to rally.
At this stage of development I teach hitting on the mini nets or using the service box areas. It's also a good idea to let players use regular tennis balls in their training. This way they can transition to full court with a feel for the ball. In general though, little racquets need to hit with lighter balls due to strength and stability issues. They can shape the ball easier when rallying.
     Another thing to keep in mind when training very young players is to keep it fun. Give them fun targets to shoot for: baskets, cones, pick-up tubes, boxes, cans etc. Perhaps set a goal, if they hit ten targets they get ten points. The points then can be converted to prizes, a tennis ball, a t-shirt, a hat, a sticker, anything that keeps it fun and challenging. Technique is great but it needs to be snuck in there with competing for something. This way a coach is helping the student achieve their goals which is what a coach is all about. It is an outcome based approach using a game format.

Junior USTA Tennis Tournaments

Hey everyone,

I just thought I'd go over the process of getting into USTA tournaments for juniors.

First: sign up for the USTA which is located at http://www.newengland.usta.com/Juniors/junior_tournament/.
It's a very reasonable investment in your tennis future. The tab says join or renew. You will then get in the USTA system be eligible to play in USTA events. You also get Tennis Magazine and another digital tennis magazine.

Two: then click the schedule button and that will prompt you to search for tournaments (I'll show you what you're searching for). Select one that you would like to play and that will take you to the tournament web site where you then can sign up for the event using your USTA membership information and a credit card. Most Juniors events run about $45.00 for tournament. There is also the cost of gas getting to the tournament and preparations (lunch, sports drinks, waters, and snack bars, racquet, grips, jump rope, towel, etc). Plan to get there early as you never know how traffic is going to be. It's no fun running in the door at the last second or late. Get there early and warm up in the parking lot before the matches start.

Three: the events are for fun first and learning. If you keep that in mind then you will always be working on improving your game which is the most fun of all. Don't worry about results, focus on learning and the time you spend with your family going to the event and the day. Perhaps you will make new tennis friends.

Here is the path-way for juniors:

8 and Under: use 1/4 of a court with little racquets up to 23 inches, and smaller nets. They use red balls or sometimes foam. Nice for long rallies. The scoring for this group is 12 point tie-breakers. First to win seven by two points wins the tie-breaker. They play many kids.

10 and Under: use about 3/4 court with a regulation net, racquets up to 25 inches, orange ball, and play first to win four games by two with a tie-breaker (12 pt at four all) and they play a 12 point tie-break to determine the third set if there is a split. They play many kids.

12 and Under Level 7: They use a full court with either a green ball (or green dot on it) or a regulation tennis ball depending on the tournament (check so there are no surprises for you). Greens play slower then regulation and you should train accordingly to your ability. Level 7s is where most players start in an age group. Regulation racquets are now allowed.

12 and Under Level 6,5,4,3,2,1: This is where strong competition begins and competitive tennis at a high level is measured with National Ranking.

14 and Under Levels 7,6,5,4,3,2,1

16 and Under Levels 7,6,5,4,3,2,1

18 and Under Levels 7,6,5,4,3,2,1

If you are just getting into an age group  start with level 7. You will find it very challenging.
The strategy is to play your age group but start playing up a group one year before you have to move up based upon your birthday. That is so you can get a foot hold in the next group. If you start having some success in a level 7 then try level 6. If you have success at level 6 then you will have section ranking and a chance at playing college tennis. Some of our players have played in level 2 and 3 events and have gone on to obtain college tennis scholarships and college tennis opportunities.

It takes the help from the family to get started and keep it going. It's a lot of fun. I've done it for many years and still hit the road on weekends to watch my little guy and students. You'll travel all over New England. Select what works for you.

In addition to your lessons you should:

run regularly: sprints and longer distances

condition: push-ups/ ab workouts/ squats/ lunges/ wall-sits/ etc. 
as you get older you should be on a tennis fitness training schedule which I will post on this site.

practice: hit against a wall, have your mom or day feed you balls and you run and hit them over the net; ask a friend to hit with you.

Study: you need to do well in school to have the best opportunities

Nutrition: you have to eat the right foods in the right amounts and keep hydrated. I'll give you more on that later as well.


Other sports: sure do what you would like to do but as you get older you may have to taper other sports down to be more successful in tennis (there is that balance which you decide is best). I've seen some great basketball, soccer and cross country athletes make great tennis players.

I hope this helps.

Coach Pease
Falmouth Sports Center/ Tennis Director
Salve Regina University/ Men's Varsity Head Coach