In September of 2024, the tennis courts began to bring big groups of Lower School students to participate in fun after-school activities. Lake Highland welcomed children from grades one through four by hosting tennis lessons on Tuesdays and Thursdays for two hours. The camp will be running for four months and will end in December 2024. The weekly training sessions are led by the school’s world-renowned coach, Mrs. Hadas Ronen-Vazquez, as well as some Upper School students, Beck Tews, grade 11, and Rida Kola, grade 11. Signing up for this after-school activity is pretty simple and easy. Students can get involved by clicking on the Lake Highland website, lhps.org.
During the first quarter, tennis was newly introduced to after-school activities. Lower School children attend twice a week from 3:30 P.M. to 5:30 P.M. in the afternoon. These tennis lessons help them get their energy out while learning a new sport. The student’s skill levels range from beginner to intermediate level. During the lessons they learn how to play with one another while gaining skills to improve their game outside of the camp. Mrs. Hadas Ronen-Vazquez teaches the basic skills used in tennis, like the forehand, backhand, and how to rally. Beck Tews explained, “I like to teach tennis because I love to show the youth how much fun they can have with the sport.” The coaches all share the same excitement for the camp and enjoy it.
Looking into the next couple of months, the coaches hope to see improvements with kids through their skills and are excited to continue to work with each of them. Unfortunately, it has been difficult to have lessons due to the recent inclement weather in the midst of hurricane season. However, on the days that the camp takes place, the participants have an amazing time as a group, bonding with each other through their growing love for the sport.
The coaches go to the Lower School at 3:15 P.M. and wait for then tennis players outside of the bus loop. Afterwards, they take the children to the Lake Highland tennis courts, located at the LHAC (Lake Highland the athletic complex) across the lake. During the two hours of training camp. The first thing they do to start the lesson in a cardio warm-up. The kids run laps as well as jump rope with the coaches for a few minutes before they begin playing. Following their warm-up, they split off into groups where they will start learning how important the ball placement is for a rally and how to play together safely. The first skills learned are the forehand and backhand. After they learn how to perfect their backhands, they play many games, including Gator, Red Light Green Light, and Jail.
The coaches have conversations on what the lessons are going to be focused on every week so that the kids that participate can improve their skills. The coaches have all been trained by the head tennis coach, Mrs. Hadas Ronen-Vazquez. The meetings involve discussions over what games will be played during the lessons as well as what training they will do, making it easy for the players to be able to focus on their strengths and weaknesses throughout the week. Beck Tews said, “All of us coaches look forward to the days of practice during the week.” Players anticipate with enthusiasm.
