Coaching

Thongsbridge Tennis Club offers a wide range of coaching programmes to suit different levels and standards of tennis players, from beginners to the more advanced and the very young to the more mature player.

Participating in tennis can be beneficial for your children on many levels. Their confidence will grow as they progress through the stages. They’ll get all the benefits of regular physical activity too, their work on the court will help them to keep fit, healthy and happy. They’ll learn the fair play values of tennis as well – these encourage good behaviour and sportsmanship.

You can play your part too; we welcome you to encourage them to practice at home and for them to feedback to you that they’re still enjoying their sessions as much as they should. Tennis is not about winning or losing; it’s about enjoying sport with a smile on their face.

We want children to flourish in an environment where they feel comfortable and feel like their skills are continuing to improve.

Alongside these courses, the club runs invitational groups for those players that show potential to become future champions!

Code of conduct

Learn the basics (Age 4-6)
This is an introduction to tennis. Here, we’ll help kids improve their balance, agility and co-ordination while teaching them about the sport we love. At this stage it’s not about winning or losing, it’s just getting to grips with the basics.

Develop a rounded game (Age 8-9)
Time to throw in some tactics, problem-solving, and guides to sportsmanship and leadership. At this stage children will know all of the rules and will be serving and returning in matches.

Take your skills further (Age 10+)
Time to find your game. Playing on a full size court with the same size balls the pros use, kids will continue to explore different styles on the court, and start to choose their own.

Serve, rally and score (Age 6-8)
This will look a bit more like the tennis you know. You’ll see overarm serves, rallies and volleys. Coaches will help children to further develop their co-ordination, balance and speed. We’ll introduce relaxed competition here too.

Test your skills (Age 9-10)
This is the big one. It’s time for kids to play on full size courts. Now it’s all about growing their game by fine tuning and refining the techniques they’ve learned so far.

There are groups available for the adults too, ranging from beginners to the more advanced player, starting at Beginners and finishing at Advanced.

You can enrol for one “Block” of coaching without joining the Club, but thereafter all adults and children joining the coaching groups are required to become members. Membership is not required for the under 4’s.

In the event that there is not room on a course required level, the Club operates a waiting list system. A free assessment is available with a coach for both adults that have played before but are unsure of their standard and complete beginners. The coach will help you integrate into the club, whether it be in a coaching group or playing with others socially.

Prices for all courses can be found on the Coaching Programme. The programme mirrors the 6 school half terms starting with Block 1 in September and finishing with Block 6 from June to the summer holidays. Prices therefore vary depending upon the length of the half term and if there are any additional holidays e.g. May Day Bank Holiday.

Individual lessons should be booked directly with the coaches themselves. A list of coaches, contact numbers and their individual lesson rate can be found on the coaching team page.