Young Mini Red players are at a stage where the ABC FUNdamentals of tennis are highlighted. These are Agility, Balance and Coordination. By combining these elements with our games based approach, our program maintains kids attention while learning and having loads of fun.

Mini Red players are at the stage where they are ready to learn how to rally, serve, volley and score. Helping kids to create basic swing shapes which give the greatest chance at starting to rally is the overall goal for this age group. Fun competitions and games are introduced so that kids can get the idea of playing mini-matches in a modified environment that simulates the actual game.

Orange Ball players are at the stage where they are starting to use larger 3/4 size courts and smaller, harder balls. Developing sound technique is highlighted at this age to give players the tools necessary to achieve consistent rallies on these bigger courts. Although traditionally in tennis there is a large drop out rate as kids transition to larger courts at Orange level, this age group has the highest of any at Lifetime Tennis. This is a result of having placed a strong emphasis on creating fun, games based activities that allow players to progress toward playing modified ‘Orange’ matches as soon as possible.

Green and Yellow Ball players are ready to use full sized tennis courts. If players are new to tennis they can still use easier to play with Green Balls and will gradually progress to the Yellow ball as they gain more experience. We provide a fun social environment with the goal being to progress to matchplay level and beyond as quickly as possible. We feel its important to actively encourage kids to have the confidence to play outside of lessons and provide plenty of organised game and matchplay opportunities for our junior members. On offer are internal leagues and inter club matches as well as our regular weekend club rating tournaments for those of matchplay standard.

All of our Community Clubs aim to develop performance pathways for our junior players. We currently have over 100 players that play in our performance squad sessions. One of the benefits of providing tennis across a variety of locations means greater opportunity to bring together talented players of similar levels. Our performance squad players are eligible to play for their respective clubs in our internal leagues. Lifetime Tennis also have 8 teams competing in the LTA Aegon County competition. Players are selected for these teams from the performance squads program.
These squads are by invitation only with player selection based on the following criteria:

– Players show a willingness to put in maximum effort into their training sessions
– Players show a motivation to compete and enjoy taking on challenging sports environments
– Players can follow directions and productively take on board feedback from coaches
– Players maintain high level of sportsmanship and are motivated to work together in a team environment with other squad players

If you would like your child to be considered for a place on one of our squads, you can arrange a trial via emailing Head Coach Luis Perez – luis@lifetimetennis.co.uk