Tsonga inspiring kids in South Africa

"As a kid I never had a chance to go to clinics which were conducted by the world's top players," said Tsonga. "It's really great for them although I think many of them do not know the players here. But I would like them to go home and dream about becoming professional tennis players one day. They've got to be able to dream about it because that could be the start of great things for them. It's so important that they are able to dream."

Without a break after the Australian Open, Tsonga was on his way to the South African Open. He is now through to the semifinals and that is not the only good news from the trip thus far.

The tournament director arranges for the top players to teach a clinic to the little kids playing in the area. Escorted by the police, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Jeff Coetzee and Wesley Moodie visited Soweto (South Western Townships) on Wednesday to meet these little kids at the Arthur Ashe Tennis Centre in White City, Jabavu. The pro players took an hour of their time to run drills, play games and try to inspire and relay their love of the game to the children of these townships, many of them seeing tennis and holding racquets for the first time. The kids thanked the guys by singing them a song. This really sounds so cute! "It's extra special for me because I am part African. Hopefully by coming here today I can build on the legacy that the Arthur Ashe Tennis Centre has started. It was an important opportunity for me to come here to Soweto. As tennis players we are really well looked after, so the chance to give something back to the community is very important and I am glad that I was able to play some tennis and muck around with the kids and hopefully I can inspire more kids from Africa to play tennis in the future" said Tsonga of his visit.

South African Wesley Moodie was also really touched by the experience and said, "It was great. I was on the court with kids who had never played tennis before and I was pleasantly surprised how good some of them were. It just shows what type of potential can come from Soweto and if they have the right funding and the right guidance stars can be produced from there."

Moodie's doubles partner, Jeff Coetzee, also loved the opportunity, "I think it’s such a great thing! Arthur Ashe was such a great legend and to have something like that at that stadium - and I know they are going to have a Challenger there in a couple of months - and just to get tennis going, especially in Soweto, is going to be phenomenal. Hopefully people will come and support it and get tennis growing again in South Africa and in development areas. I enjoyed it, obviously giving back to development. You know I come from that kind of thing and it’s nice to see. I was lucky to hit with some players that had never touched a ball and I was very impressed. If they keep doing what they are doing there might be some guys and girls coming through hopefully in the near future somewhere."

It is really great the the ATP is not only hosting tournaments in under developed regions where tennis isn't as popular as some other sports, but also encouraging these types of workshops. South Africa already has some great players, but as a region of the world, it is an amazing place to further develop the sport. All you really need is a dream, some nice weather, a couple tennis courts and someone to pass the game on!

Barney, Big Bird, Polly Pocket, Tennis Coach

One of the hardest things in this world happens to be holding the attention of a 3-6 yr old. They are little bundles of energy and curiosity, and their minds tend to jump around and their thoughts scatter and they often forget what it is that they were doing a moment ago. A scary reminder of old people with memory problems. Nevertheless, accurate!

To grow good tennis players, kids simply have to start playing as kids, even better if they’re still toddlers. It takes millions of tennis balls and good coaching to lay the foundation right. A house with bad foundation crumbles, right? Sports aren’t any different. But a sport like tennis is pretty routine and mundane in some ways, and how on earth can it hold the interest of a little kid, repeating the same motions time after time, over and over again? Of course, there are group clinics for the Pee Wee class, where seven kids line up in a chaotic row and wait their turn to try to hit the occasional giant foam ball while a coach tries to fix their grip and show them the motion while keeping the other kids from turning their frames into weapons. Fun, yet not very productive. It is pretty important to take things into your own hands, parents…or take some private lessons, they will get more balls hit and more attention will go towards tennis, as in the actual fundamentals of the game. These kids are like little sponges, they just need to be constantly redirected and given correct things to imitate from day one.

Now, clearly, this can’t be a serious 30 min. – 1 hour lesson. Kids are not mature enough; they don’t have enough skills to try too many different things. Teaching little kids is like working on the cartoon network, if you want results. I can’t even begin to name the characters I have played to teach, I’ve dressed in neon colors and sang Barney songs with text like “bounce, hit”, pretended I was Spiderman for the little boys that had to hit the fireballs the basket spat back over the net, or played games like capture the money with various stages that granted a fake money reward for 3 shots hit correctly and over the net. This creative approach to coaching kids, may seem a little crazy from the side, but it is the most productive approach. It may drain the coach of energy, but it stimulates the kids to learn to do things correctly, it gets them used to routine and gets them to understand that hard work and productivity are rewarding, and fun! Not all kids are the same, not all kids like sports or show extreme athleticism at such a young age, and that has to be considered. There is an interesting understanding of the average American kid in Eastern Europe, and that is a kid who does fifteen things but not a single one well. Or there is the opposite understanding that Eastern European kids live out the one single dream of their parents with no back up what so ever, be it school, violin, or swimming. For some kids its worth to wait longer and find out what they are most inclined to be better at. For other kids it’s important to direct them early on so they develop the skills they need to be great. Both are a risk. Ultimately both develop children in a positive way.

So parents, if you’re thinking about raising tennis players, serious ones, here are some tips.

Spend time with kids yourselves; no one will make them understand how to work productively like you can.

Find a good coach who will focus on setting the right grips and technique off the bat. Poor technique is the hardest thing to fix.

Invest money in private lessons; your kids will improve faster.

Have them play often. It doesn’t have to be a lot while they are little, but often.

Work with your kids off the court by developing their eye hand coordination. Have them bounce tennis balls on their racquets and do some running, catching and throwing ball drills. Clearly, tennis is not ballet, but stretching your kids when they’re still little, will help their muscles become more flexible and athletic to handle the excess of exercise later on.

Don’t be afraid to get creative. The world is changing and our kids respond to a lot of things at a faster and more colorful rate. It takes more of everything to stimulate them, but kids will always be kids, make it a game and they will respond and learn faster than by force. Don’t burn them out.

Do not forget that kids are your greatest investment in life. Don’t be afraid to have them do something seriously from an early age. Especially sports. Athletic careers aren’t long lasting, thus they simply have to start early.

Support your kids, but don’t succumb to their every whimsical protest against taking something seriously. What they pick up at their most critical learning stages will stay with them for life.

If you have any questions regarding the charity, or how to donate tennis racquets, visit TennisRacquetsforKids.org