Why Your Child Should Pick Up a Tennis Racquet Today
In a post about a month ago, Javier went over some of the math behind playing tennis. Between tennis club memberships, tennis camps, and tennis lessons, the costs add up quickly. We get it. Tennis can be an expensive sport. But to me, there’s something special about tennis that makes it perfectly suited for kids. Let me take you through the advantages.
1. Tennis teaches hand-eye coordination
Lots of sports teach you hand eye coordination but tennis is one of the only ones to do that without any contact. Sure, you might get hit by a tennis ball, but compare that to getting hit by a football player! Tennis keeps your children safe while allowing them to learn and grow in the sport.
2. Tennis is a lifelong sport.
I feel like so many people underestimate this aspect of tennis. How many sports can you truly play throughout your entire life? Football is definitely out. You might play basketball and soccer into your 20’s but definitely not much longer than that.
Golf is the only other sport that you can truly play throughout your life. But do you golf for exercise? I certainly don’t! Teaching kids to play tennis lets them play a sport that they can stick with for the next 30-40 years.
3. Tennis makes children stronger and tougher
Tennis can get intense at times. There are times where you’ll be running from sideline to sideline desperately trying to hit a shot back. Maybe you win the point maybe you don’t but the good news is that this running is great for you regardless. It’s been shown time and time again, tennis is a great way to get or keep in shape.
On this point though, I also want to talk about the mental side of tennis. Tennis is primarily an individual sport in that it’s usually 1 vs 1 (singles) or 2 vs 2 (doubles). As I was growing up (with a tennis racquet in my hands of course), it was intense sometimes! It would be match point and everything came down to my serve.
This is why I love teaching tennis to children. Learning how to deal with adversity and knowing that it ultimately comes down to you is great experience for a child to have as they grow up playing. Whether they end up playing competitively or not, I embrace the fact that tennis primarily comes down to you, the player.
4. Tennis makes children smarter
I know this has been a long post so I wanted to throw in this little bonus fact. The USTA reported in a survey, that nearly 50% of tennis players have an “A” average in high school and 81% plan to attend college.
In fact, even accounting for different economic circumstances of the players, the educational benefits still occurred.
When you think tennis, think smart children. That’s what the science has shown. Now, if you want to grab a tennis racquet (they’ll be smarter, stronger, faster, and mentally tough, if you do) check out some of the best tennis racquets today.
Help us to reach more tennis parents, players, and coaches. Share the post and follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Thank you.
Sponsored content.
There are many proven benefits to playing tennis. (or taking any form of exercise) but point 4 “Tennis makes children smarter” is scientifically unsubstantiated. For a start tennis is essentially a middle class sport with many of the children attending private schools and/or having parents who are graduates. So it’s hardly surprising they are A grade students or aspire to attend college. Non tennis playing siblings would provide a good control group – do you have data proving their tennis playing brothers and sisters are significantly smarter? What about tennis players who also play a musical instrument, are they smarter still? I enjoy the articles on this website but feel they should be accurate and based on data rather than dogma.