Sports in Action
Sports in Action, tennis for K-8, takes place on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at Preserve Park courts (Wed at 1, 2, 3, 4 pm; Mon at 3, 4 pm; Fri at 3, 4 pm). The two coaches are certified by the U.S. Professional Tennis Association (USPTA), each played competitively in high school and college. Twelve children can be accommodated each hour. We are doubling capacity by adding 4-5 pm on Wednesdays and 3-4 and 4-5 pm on Mondays and Fridays. We are excited that the U.S. Tennis Association (USTA) has certified our courts for USTA sanctioned matches.
Comments from our tennis students:
Caleb Ahn (grade 5) explained to us how the class works. There are warm ups, games, rallies and tennis matches. One of the games is called “jail” in which the Coach passes the ball, someone hits it, forehand or backhand. If they miss, they go to “jail”. That means they are on the coaches side and if they catch a ball they will go back into the game. Also Caleb told us, there are two teachers one for the younger students and one for the upper level students. He recommends tennis for committed students.
Emna Sellami (4 grade) after warm up we do tennis and divide into two groups. “We play “around the world” with cones setup at different places on the tennis court.” Then they practice forehand or backhand volleys. Emna started tennis last year and she has been doing it ever since. She said it is a lot of fun and you can learn a lot. She has friends from school, friends from aftercare (CCLC) and neighborhood friends who attend with her. Emna says the teachers are really nice even the substitutes and that if you get tired and sweaty it’s still a lot of fun.
Sammy Wong (4th grade ) thinks “tennis is fun, the coaches are nice and you learn a lot of stuff”. She says they do a warm up in class and practice foot work moving tennis balls from one cone to another. She urges other students to try it because it’s fun and you compete in little games like rallies. Two summers ago she had attended a summer camp for tennis, so when her mother asked her if she would wanted to take tennis lessons she was willing to try it.
Claire Crowder (2 grade) Claire says in tennis you move around a lot and on cold days it warms you up. She likes being outdoors. Therefore, when she thinks of her tennis lesson she says, “Oh, tennis! It’s outdoors!” and is pleased to go. Claire is also a swimmer and does a lot of gymnastics. She thinks it’s important to participate in other sports “because they all help each other”.
Clara encourages other students to attend because “you learn a lot of things especially the techniques for forehand and backhand and its fun”.
USTA is also sponsoring CLUB USA / USTA Ten and Under Play Day. On June 2nd CLUB USA and USTA will co-host a terrific tennis event for children 10 years and under. No experience is necessary. USTA will donate free tennis rackets to the first ten children who register online. Every registered child will receive a free one year membership in the USTA. CLUB USA will provide two hours of free coaching and its professional photographer will take photos from 1:45 to 3:15 pm.
Music in Action
Music in Action will start with concert pianist Alex Davis performing and teaching pre school kids on Yamaha keyboard (not the grand piano) at Redwood Shores Library (Wed between 11 and 2 pm). Contact
Look for ACTION from The PILOT every month for details on valuable learning opportunities for 94650 kids.
— Carol Ford