Towpath Junior Programs
Towpath’s beginner clinics are designed for juniors to learn “kid-size” tennis and progress as their skills improve. The equipment has been modified and allows players to advance to larger courts and regular tennis balls as they develop. Young players will learn the fundamentals to tennis and all the different shots. They will learn how to work hard, and the rules of the game. Most importantly, we want to help them develop a passion for the game of tennis.
Towpath has fully implemented the Net Generation curriculum set forth by the USTA as the youth brand of tennis (ages 5-18). There is a clear pathway through Red, Orange, Green and Yellow ball tennis. We are a Net Generation accredited facility and have completed the USTA Safe Play Program and NCSI background checks for all our teaching professionals. We are also proud to have our 10 & under program officially accredited by the USTA.
These classes are for our youngest players ages 3-5. Players use the 10 & under format, 21” racquets and red foam balls. Hand-eye coordination, basic movements, cooperation, and fun games are all used to teach basic skills. This class will introduce tennis in a fun way and help the kids establish a love for the game.
Players ages 6-7 use low compression red balls or foam balls to encourage successful contact with the ball. Fun is the major emphasis in this class while learning proper technique, racquet control, cooperation, and movement. Advanced Red players will learn topspin on ground strokes with the correct grips. This clinic will introduce the concept of how to play the game of tennis, how to move to the ball, and recognize open court spaces. Play is on a 36’x18’ court with 21-23” racquets.
This is for players ages 8-9. This clinic is designed for beginner and intermediate juniors who are ready to play on a larger 60’x21’ court with 23-25” racquets, and orange low-compression balls. At this level there will be an emphasis on serving, rallying, and how to keep score. Advanced Orange players will see a more competitive approach. Their movement and technique have become more fundamentally sound, and they are utilizing the larger court comfortably.
This clinic is designed for intermediate level players ages 9-10 using the green-dot balls. Our main emphasis at this level is a rally-based curriculum and will focus on developing sending and receiving skills, sound footwork, racquet mechanics, and incorporating comparable athletic skills found in other sports. Players learn how to properly position themselves to execute ground strokes and volleys, hit with a purpose, serve, and ultimately sustain a rally of varying speed and duration.
Towpath offers three clinics that use a yellow tennis ball. Yellow 1 players will begin to progress from developing and recognizing their strengths, to furthering stroke development, strategy, and footwork in Yellow 2. Yellow 3 is our highest level junior clinic with high-intensity fed-ball and live-ball drilling that focuses on advanced stroke technique, movement patterns, shot variation, and competitive mental and tactical competencies. Players must be evaluated by a Towpath teaching professional for placement in the proper class.