Junior Inter-Club Team Tennis

Competition tennis is the next step in your child’s Tennis Journey as it gives them the opportunity to put the skills they are learning in coaching to the test against similar standard children from the region. Three of the Future Demand Tennis coaching venues enter teams in the Eastern Region Tennis Association Saturday and Sunday Morning competitions. If your child chooses to represent one of these three clubs they will be placed in a team according to their standard of play which is then graded by the association. Matches are played in a Home and Away format with your child playing their Home matches at the club which they represent. The upcoming Winter Season runs from May 1st to September 12th. There is no play on long weekends or school holidays and each team has one extra player so one player is rostered off each week to allow for kids to have a rest, if they’re ill or away. Here are the separate details for all three clubs with a link to each clubs entry form:

Box Hill TC (Home matches played at 3 Cyril St, Box Hill South)

Competition Offered: Saturday Morning or Sunday Morning
Start Time: Saturday 8:30am Sunday 9am
*Player must be a financial member of the club to play
Entry Form: https://forms.gle/hDEQFXzZvKYMWPiZ9

Balwyn Park TC (Home matches played at 206a Whitehorse Rd, Balwyn)

Competition Offered: Saturday Morning
Start Time: Saturday 8:30am
*Player must be a financial member of the club to play
Entry Form: https://forms.gle/hDEQFXzZvKYMWPiZ9

Cranross TC (Home matches played at VC Ruthven Reserve, Preston)

Competition Offered: Saturday Morning
Start Time: Saturday 8:30am
*Player must be a financial member of the club to play
Entry Form: https://forms.gle/rv4ASsdFTi3obbBKA

ENTRIES CLOSE FOR ALL CLUBS ON MARCH 18TH

For further information please contact Alexei 0418 369 763.

Taking the leap from learning the game to playing the game competitively can be one of the biggest decisions and challenges for players to make – both junior or adult. There are a number of unanswered (and potentially scary) questions children and parents will want to be answered prior to making the jump into competitive play.

From a developmental and progression perspective I will always encourage a player to begin to challenge themselves by competing for the following reasons:

Pressure to Execute

1.Competition tennis instantly adds an element of pressure to the strokes you are trying to execute as there is an end goal (to win the point).

Match (Positive) Pressure

2. This pressure is an enormous positive for the player as it highlights the need to concentrate on every shot that is being executed. (Players can cruise through tennis lessons because they know even if they miss a shot or lose a point the lesson will continue all the way until the allotted time is over). This match pressure will help develop a more focussed approach to the player’s lessons result in accelerated stroke development.

Technical & Tactical Progression

3.The heightened level of focus results in progress both technically and tactically.

Improves Tactical Knowledge (Patterns of Play)

4.Competition tennis greatly helps to improve a player’s tactical knowledge of the game as they begin to learn numerous patterns of play to win points.

Develops the Players Mental Approach

5.Competition tennis is also a fantastic arena where a player can develop their mental approach to concepts such as winning and losing, dispute resolution, self-belief and positive/negative reinforcement.

Players Concerns & Solutions

The most common concerns I hear before a player takes the next step into competition tennis are:

I’m not good enough – if you can rally and get 5/10 serves in play you’re right to go!
I’m going to lose every match – not necessarily as you’ll be grouped with players your standard.
No one my standard plays competition – Competition standards range from entry-level players through to top section suburban players.
I’m going to let my teammates/partner down as my level of play isn’t as strong as theirs – Every tennis player setting out on their competitive journey has to begin somewhere. Your focus when starting competition is to learn the game in a competitive environment not to have an expectation to win immediately.

To summarise, playing tennis competitively helps you to develop your skills much more rapidly, it teaches you to handle pressure, it can help with goal setting and working towards achieving those goals, it’s great for building self-confidence and it gets you active amongst your local community.