More than a hundred children enjoyed two weeks of fun tennis training at 10is Academy’s summer camps at King’s Ely.
Youngsters aged between 4 and 15 years old took part in a range of tennis activities throughout the fully booked sessions. It has been a chance for both current members and non-members to get active during their holiday and learn or improve their tennis skills.
10is Academy director Sebastien Scaux said: “Many of the camp players are not members. It gives these new players an opportunity to try a new sport and to have fun during the holidays. Our emphasis is on having fun, improving their physical literacy and playing a lot of tennis.”
On the tennis court next door, another 10is camp took place but this wasn’t your typical group of campers: This was the SEN Summer Camp.
The Special Education Needs Summer camp served those aged 8 to 14 with a range of disabilities and conditions including Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, Autism and Chromosomal disorders.
Each day of the week, the campers were on court for 1.5 hours learning tennis, enjoying being active and most importantly having a great time.
These disabilities or needs can be difficult to address in many summer camps. But at 10is Academy, the campers don’t need to worry about that: there is no pressure and the environment is fairly relaxed.
According to the parents, great coaches play a role in the program’s success and at 10is Academy, the coaching team is passionate: they love what they are doing and the children respond well to that passion.
Some children had never played tennis and yet at the end of the week they managed to have a rally (including a rally of 40 shots for one participant).
One parent said “I just wanted to thank 10is Academy Ely for running the Tennis Club this week that my son was able to attend – he loved every minute of it – it was lovely for me to see him being able to partake in an organised activity in full.”
While cost can be a barrier to access tennis, 10is Academy Ely offers the SEN camps for free.
“I often debate to whether or not spread the word about the SEN camps as it is free and we only have a very limited number of spaces due to the lack of trained coaches. Fortunately, this September we will be training new coaches and volunteers to support the SEN program as I don’t want people to miss out on this opportunity.”
Sebastien added “Supporting the community, ensuring the players improve their skills by offering the best coaching possible and having a great experience, are the main elements of every single program at 10is Academy; winning is a by-product.”
This year, 10is Academy’s teams won 3 titles in the National leagues and 2 titles in the Cambs leagues. Part of this success must go to team GB doubles coach L. Cayer who’s been advising Sebastien in the past few years.
If you would like to join a vibrant tennis club, that cares about your development, please email us at admin@10is.co.uk The new membership starts in September and places are limited.
Press release from 10is Academy Ely
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