Junior Challengers
The goal of the Garden City Junior Challengers is to create a tournament atmosphere that fosters learning, self-reflection, and social etiquette. It is our mission to teach children the importance of fair play, respect for one another, and enjoyment of the game. The emphasis is on improving upon a child’s skills and developing them into better tennis players and people, rather than fixation on the result. The Challengers series was created to allow novice beginner tennis players to experiment with their strengths and weaknesses, and learn from one another on the court in a match play setting. Far too often, children are not given the opportunity to just play a match - free of coaching and outside engagement. Here, kids will learn to play a match by themselves, handle triumph and disaster, and manage their emotions, even in the face of adversity.
Age: 7-13, Coed; UTR: 0 - 5; Level: Novice, Beginners
The reason to play: LEARNING!
Playing tournaments and matches is not about winning and loosing, but rather the LEARNING that takes place during the match that leads to a child's own realizations, thoughts, and behaviors that impact them.
After the tournament, we hope kids have achieved the following:
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Make new friends
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Play WITH friends, learn from one another, push each other in a supportive way (as opposed to against – we are all here to make each other better)
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Learn the Buddy Bench system: converse with your opponent after the match to discuss what each other did well and what could be improved upon
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Learn how to conduct themselves in a respectful manner and treat others with integrity
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Learn how to practice with friends – play matches!
Each tournament has popsicles as well as various awards including "Best Sport," and first and second place.
