Posted on June 30th, 2011

Tennis, anyone?

Summer camp is the place where legends are born, friendships are made, and nicknames are given. Central Florida is home to so many unique programs, choosing the right one for you child can be overwhelming.  PLAYGROUND’s Co-Founder, Chrissy Allen, decided to take a sneak peek into one option that we think you and your kids are going to LOVE!

Fort Gatlin Tennis Center, partnering with MG Tennis, has been teaching kids to play tennis for over 25 years, so I was excited to send my three little campers for a little taste of their Fun & Sun Summer Camp program. Fort Gatlin Tennis Center is currently running weekly camps through August 19 for kid’s ages 5-14. Using the QuickStart program to teach these wee Wimbledon hopefuls, players will get their backhand on with specialized equipment, short court dimensions and modified scoring. Players are divided by age group and skill level while still getting the opportunity to interact with the entire camp group throughout the day during warm-up, lunch, playground and pool time.

At first, my young campers were a little nervous about the older kids, but quickly fell in love with their older teammates and looked forward to hanging out with them every morning. I could tell the older kids adored the younger ones too, as they gave each one a fun nickname: Batman (Brady), Super Girl (Delaney) and Wonder Woman (Riley).

Wondering what else your kids do at tennis camp? Well, mine attended camp for a solid week starting at 8:30 a.m. and ending at 2:00 p.m.  Batman, Super Girl and Wonder Woman started each morning on a shaded court with warm up activities and fun games like “get the meatball” and “freeze tag.” Their group was small - around 16 campers- which made it easy for each of them to get one-on-one attention from each of the four camp coaches. Speaking of the coaches… my crew loved them so much that at the end of the week when asked what their favorite part of tennis camp was, they squealed, “Coach Diana and Coach Ryan!” As the mornings progressed, the group was divided into smaller teams and taught a new tennis skill. By the end of the week the kids were very comfortable and confident on the court.

I highly recommend Fort Gatlin Tennis Center for camp this summer. Needless to say, at 2 p.m. my campers were exhausted and ready for a nap. Yes, even superheroes take naps!