Tennis is the most frequently selected of all the focus activities in Camp. The four tennis courts and practice area are busy all day, from first activity period through to the daily ‘Competitive Tennis’ training time, from 3:30 to 5:00PM. The emphasis during tennis classes is on developing or refining fundamental anticipation, movement, preparation and stroke execution skills – with scoring, strategy and match play skills coming more into play as the season progresses. As with all other activities in Camp, the same staff work with the same groups of campers all summer long –enabling them to tailor lesson plans to include drills that will challenge and benefit each player in class. Staff are trained to vary their ball-feeding difficulty in each drill (frequency, direction and pace) to suit individual camper’s skill level and learning needs.
All season long, during ‘Competitive Tennis’ time, those wishing to work on their match play skills come to the courts to play against others, while the tennis staff offer tips to all players on aspects of doubles or singles strategy. Staff members frequently join in and the campers love the challenge of playing against them in these matches. Playing Tennis with friends is also a popular choice on Thursdays and on activity nights, when campers are able to spend extra time in different areas of Camp.
There is a tennis tournament for all age groups at the end of the camp season, involving both singles and doubles brackets. Additional opportunities for competition exist for tennis enthusiasts. These range from low-key, friendly inter-camp matches with a neighboring girls’ camp through to a more competitive, all-day, round robin tournament between the strongest players from four local girls’ camps who take turns to host. The ‘Four Camp’ tournaments include both singles and doubles play and happen twice each season in different venues. Senior campers may also participate in friendly mixed doubles matches with boys from Camp Agawam.