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General

Junior sign up night is: April 26 at 5:30 PM.

Please feel free to call the tennis shop at 763-478-9772 with any questions regarding player placement or any questions in general about the junior program. Questions may also be sent to .

Credit will be issued for missed drills or matches with 48 hour advance notice.

If notice is given prior to the start of the session, players will be charged a prorated amount for the session.

Players may be moved during the session to a level of group that better suits the player’s ability.

Weather

Players will be called when it begins to rain at the Club. Credit for rained out classes will be issued at the end of the session. Classes will also be canceled if lightning is sighted in the area.

If the heat index reaches 100 or higher, classes will be canceled and credited.

Varsity

Varsity match play is on Wednesdays from 1:00 to 3:00 pm. There are three levels of play: Elite, Level I and Level II. Each player will be assigned a level of play based on their ability and results. Each week the players will meet at the club that hosts their level of play.

Schedules will be handed out at the start of the season and each week the coaching staff will review where players should meet for the upcoming match.

To qualify for the Elite Level of play, players must hold a high ranking in their age group in the Northern Section of the USTA (Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Western Wisconsin).

Level I is played by varsity high school players and the better junior varsity high school players.

Level II Lower junior varsity players and the better middle school players qualify for level II.

There will be two tournaments during the session II: The All Clubs Championship and the Medina Club Championship. The All Clubs tournament is a doubles competition. Each club will host a different level. (Elite, Level I, Level II) There will be separate boys and girls divisions.

Players will meet their partner at the club hosting their level at 12:30 PM. Coaching will not be allowed during play at this tournament. Trophies will be awarded for first through fourth place.

The Medina Club Championship will be held on Wednesday, August 3, 1:00 to 3:00 pm.

There will be a boys and girls division. Trophies will be awarded for first through fourth place.
Refreshments and awards will follow the tournament.

Jr. Tournament Level

Players at this level are middle school players and some of the higher level elementary school players. Matches are on Mondays 1:00 to 3:00 pm. The first Monday match of session I will be a round robin tournament for Medina players at Medina.

For a match, one half of the team will travel to another club and compete against one or more teams. The other half of the team will play at Medina against one or more other teams. Each week players will be assigned home or away for their match.

If possible, siblings will be assigned to the same site. Players may be able to play at home during certain weeks if their schedule works better at the home site. Players are expected to travel at times so that other players do not have to travel every week.

A member of the Medina tennis staff will meet the players at the away site and help the host coach manage the match.

The match will consist of short doubles matches. This format will allow for players to have several opponents during the two hours and not have players wait long for their next match.

The goal of the match play is to help players get match experience while developing skills.

Good sportsmanship will always be expected. Unlike USTA tournament play and high school matches, coaching will be allowed at any time. Players will be required to make their own line calls but are encouraged to ask for help with any tennis rules.

There will be two tournaments for this level: the All Clubs Tournament and the Medina Club Championship. The All Clubs Tournament will be a doubles competition for different age groups. Each club will host a different age group. Players will meet their partner at the club that hosts their age group at 12:30 pm. Boys and girls will have separate age groups. Trophies will be awarded for first through fourth place. Coaching during play will not be allowed for this tournament.

The Medina Championships will be held on Monday, August 1, 1:00 to 3:00 pm.

There will be a boys division and a girls division. Trophies will be awarded to first through fourth places.

Refreshments and award s will follow the tournament.

Junior Davis Cup

Players at this are required to have the skills to play a tennis match on their own.

These skills are: The ability to keep score and know tennis rules, being able to place serve in the service box from baseline and owning the skill level to produce rallies of 2-3 ground strokes.

If players do not have these skills at the start of the session, they may participate in the drills only and not play in the match program. Players may join the match play later in the session when ready.

Match play for this level is Fridays 1:00 to 3:00 pm. One half of the team will play at home while one half will travel to another club. Each week the players will be assigned either home or away for their match. If possible, siblings will be assigned the same site. Players may be able to play at home on certain weeks if their schedule works better at the home site. Players are expected to travel at times so that other players do not travel to the away site every week.

A member of the tennis staff will meet the players at the away club and help the host club manage the match.

The match will consist of short doubles matches with the goal being to play 3-4 different opponents in the two hours with short or no time waiting between matches.

Participation is the main focus of the match play at this level while players are introduced to tennis competition. Good sportsmanship is always expected.

Unlike USTA tournament play and high school matches, coaching will be allowed at any time.

Players will be required to make their own line calls but are encouraged to ask for help with any tennis rules.

The Medina Championships will be held on Friday, August 5, 1:00 to 3:00 pm.

There will be a boys division and a girls division. Trophies will be awarded to first through fourth places.

Refreshments and awards will follow the tournament.

7-12 Year Olds

Players will be grouped by ability and age.

If players are not able to play a tennis match on their own (scoring, serving, controlled ground stroke) they should be in the 7-12 yr lessons. Players will be moved up to match play as soon as they are ready. There will be several groups of age and ability on different courts during the one hour class. Whenever possible, friends will be placed together in the same group.

Tennis strokes developed in this level are:

– Forehand and backhand ground strokes.
– Forehand and backhand volleys.
– Serving.
– Overheads.

In each class, players will have 10-15 minutes of supervised match play with low compression balls.

It is important to know that tennis is a difficult sport for younger players. Their current level of physical development makes it difficult to handle the speed of a regulation size and weight tennis ball. With this in mind, low compression balls and a shorter court will be used.

The low compression balls will slow the speed and decrease the bounce so that players can learn to make their rallies last longer. A shorter court will be used to promote shorter slower strokes to control the ball. This will make the game more fun and give them a sense of accomplishment which will motivate them to play more tennis. The ability to maintain a rally is crucial to future success at the middle and high school levels. This introduction to competition is vital to player development. The use of the short court and low compression balls is patterned after both the USTA Quick Start program and the USPTA Little Tennis program.

More technique will be introduced than in the 4-6 year level but games will still be used to maintain interest. If players are not having fun, they will be less likely to want to play. In a typical hour, one or two sessions of 10-12 minutes will be used to focus on technique. One or two 10-12 minutes sessions will revolve around games. 10-12 minutes will be devoted to rules, scoring and sportsmanship. There will also be a 10-20 minute period of match play with the low compression balls.

There are no tournaments for this level.

4-6 Year Olds

The 4-6 year classes are one-half hour in length. The half-hour format has been chosen to match the attention level of most 4-6 year olds. Those players with longer attention spans and higher ability may move into the 7-12 year groups or sign up for two half-hour classes.

For most players this will be their first introduction to a lifetime sport. It is important that they have fun and enjoy tennis so that they are more inclined to continue through the various levels. Fundamentals will be mixed in with games. If there is too much focus on technique at this level, the players will lose interest.

There will be a wide range of ability for this level. Many players will struggle making contact with the ball while others will make consistent contact. With repetition, hand and eye skills will develop.

Tennis strokes covered will be forehand and backhand ground strokes, forehand and backhand volleys, and an introduction to hitting balls above the head (serves and overheads). Games and drills involving catching and throwing will help develop tennis skills for the future. Following directions, tennis terms and making friends will be emphasized. Small nets and low compression balls will be used to help young players have early success. There will be no tournaments held for this level.

Sources

Munchkin Tennis by Jack Hutslar, Ph. D.
Tennis For Kids by Reggie Vasquez Jr.
Successful Coaching by Rainer Mar

Medina Golf & Country Club

400 Evergreen Road

Medina, MN 55340-2106

763-478-6021