By Annette Benedetti
The holidays are a time for celebration. Kids get a break from school, parents take time off work and family members come together to eat, drink, exchange gifts and be merry. And while over-indulgence is possibly the number one perk of the season, having a little extra time to participate in your favorite active activity is a close second. This season, both Vancouver Tennis Center and Galbraith Tennis Center are giving families an opportunity to work off those Christmas cookies and improve their tennis games with their winter holiday camps.
Similar to the Thanksgiving camps, both adults and kids can sign up to burn off some energy while learning new skills and improving their game in the Adult, Junior and Academy Holiday Camps. According to Sanja Lemes, Head Tennis Professional at Vancouver Tennis Center, like the Thanksgiving camps, the focus of both the adult and junior holiday camps is to have fun, get a good workout in and learn something new. She explains that the junior camps focus on increasing balance, agility and coordination whereas the adult camps focus on improving and adding to existing skills and while making sure students get a good sweat in.
Nate Grice and his family—including his son Gavin and daughter Adri—attended Galbraith Tennis Center’s Thanksgiving camps, and highly recommend the upcoming holiday camps for families who love the sport. Nate says, “We loved the camps and found that they were well organized and had plenty of coaching support to allow for the number of kids such that courts were evenly balanced, and no one was left standing around due to the teacher/child ratios being overloaded.”
When asked about their camp experience, the Grice children had only good things to say. “I would say [the camp was] really good actually. We got to play a lot of actual tennis instead of just drills,” says Gavin. Adri echoes her brother’s sentiment and says, “[The camp] was awesome! Mostly because I got a lot of candy.” She also shares that the games she got to play while at camp, were one of her favorite things.
Both Tennis Centers’ Junior Holiday Camps are two-day camps that helps kids ages 6 and up practice their technique and rallying while incorporating fun games. “We use different types of drills to create a fun and motivating experience for all of the juniors,” says Lemes. “We use different level/size tennis balls to make the rallying easier to learn,” She explains.
For children who already have solid experience playing tennis, the Academy Camps are a high-intensity, experience for advanced-level juniors who want to get in extra practice during the holiday break. These students get to enjoy a whole lot of playtime and the opportunity to have fun while honing existing skills and picking up a new trick or two. The Vancouver Tennis Centers Academy Camp runs for two days, while the Galbraith Tennis Center’s runs for one.
Holiday camps aren’t just for kids. Mom and dad can become better tennis athletes while getting a good workout in at both tennis centers’ Adult Camps, which are packed with double drills. Lemes says that students are placed on the court according to skill level and given a great workout while learning some serious doubles strategies.
Students who take the camps get a taste of what it is like to take lessons. “We take pride in creating a safe and fun environment for all ages and all competition styles and levels,” Lemes explains. And when asked what she is looking forward to the most about running the holiday camps, she says, “I look forward to bringing smiles to people, giving them a workout after Christmas and hopefully teaching them a thing or two.”
While the Grice family is thrilled with their past camp experience and plan to sign up for the holiday camps, they urge families, “Don’t sign up until after we do,” and openly admit, they’d happily keep the camps a secret so they don’t fill up before they get the chance to enroll!
Registration for all three camps is currently open.
To find out more about the Vancouver Tennis Center’s holiday camps, click here
To find out more about the Galbraith Tennis Center’s holiday camps, click here
