The third October Team Challenge took place Friday, October 18 at Bee Cave Middle School.
Team Challenges are a USTA Net Generation program that serve as an introduction to tennis competition, focusing on level-based team play, parent education and character development.
“It’s a quick paced program that keeps the kids engaged,” explained Coach Ray Chin, who is leading the series of events. "Because we utilize smaller, red-ball sized courts, we can accommodate a lot of kids within a fairly wide age-range."
Each of the Team Challenge events has a character theme. This week's theme was RESPECT. Coach Chin and the kids discussed what respect means to them. They then had the opportunity to talk about people who they respect.
"I'm teaching the kids the importance of respect in both tennis and life," explained Coach Ray Chin. "While the goal in sports is usually to win, when that doesn't happen, it's important for the kids to not get angry or mad. I'm teaching them to acknowledge the strength of the their opponent and thank them for a good game."
Special guest coaches Kevin Wang, William Wang and Carter White from the Lake Travis High School Tennis Team joined the clinic this week. Each talked to the kids about how they got started playing tennis. They encouraged them to keep up the hard work that they've put into their tennis this month. The guest coaches then helped lead drills on individual courts.
Photos from the event can be found in the gallery below. Next week will be the final October Team Challenge. For more information on Lake Travis Tennis Association events, visit the Events page.