Saturday summer seasons kicked off for Junior and Senior pennants this week, with more than 1100 players in more than 300 teams participating across the day.
Summer is the time many beginners start the game, especially with younger players, and this year is no exception with two orange ball and five green ball sections helping some of our newer players into competition.
Both of these formats allow new players to learn valuable match play skills while still developing their hand-eye coordination and technique. Orange ball uses low compression balls on a smaller court, producing a lower bounce and better opportunity for rallies.
It is also a great opportunity for parents to help their children, and themselves, learn the game by acting as umpires to help keep the matches flowing. It is also great for younger siblings who aren’t quite ready to join in yet, as they can act as ball kids, helping their engagement with the sport.
Green ball is played on a full court, but with a ball of low compression, and again due to the lower bounce and slower speed, facilitates more rallies and better match play exposure.
Barwon Heads have eight teams within these two modified formats this season, and attracted the attention of Tennis Australia (TA), who realising the importance of these two introductory options, are looking to encourage growth of these programs across the country and wanted to see first hand how the competitions are delivered within Tennis Geelong at Barwon Heads.
A small group from TA attended Saturday’s morning session at Barwon Heads talking to players and parents from the clubs in attendance about their thoughts on the competitions they are participating in.
Club coach Jason Schoenmaekers and assistant Rebekah Schoenmaekers were also interviewed about what they see as the benefits to player development and retention. With four matches across the two formats, TA got exactly what they were looking for to promote the game across the country, and give all these players a great thrill both on and off the court.
