About the Author
I am Julian. I love to play baseball, tennis, and basketball. I also enjoy writing and reading.
Tennis Camp
by Julian L.
As I got out of the car, I heard the pound of tennis balls and the coaches talking with the others. I saw plenty of tennis courts and a ton of kids. I also looked and chatted with older boys, younger boys, older girls, and younger girls. After that, we got into a group and introduced each other to the others in the group. Then, we started executing drills and played many games. A camp counselor named Ben took us to the tennis courts, he showed us where we would be eating, and he did roll call once most people got there. He also showed a supply of new green balls ready to be in use for tennis. I saw a place where we could eat our lunch. I heard balls being hit, and coaches chatting to their students. I also heard some kids grunting to help them focus. They have more power when they grunt. I saw kids playing long and short points in matches. I also saw questions being asked to the coaches. The coaches try their very best to answer those questions. As the first few days go by, the kids make friends inside the camp.
As week 1 ended, we played matches against others in singles and doubles. I saw many matches going on. Both long and short matches. We played some small games such as King of the Court and Team Singles. The coaches give many directions so that the kids can learn as much as possible. We had to do this really tough drill. There were 5 courts and you had to run and hit one ball on each court. Then, you had to run around all 5 courts and get back in line to hit one ball on each court. We did this drill for 10 or more minutes. At the beginning of the first week, the coaches created fair teams and we competed in many different games. People were chanting their team chants before they played against another team. One of the games we played is called tennis baseball.
As camp ended(end of week 2), I saw coaches still coaching other kids. We played a tournament called the Laver Cup. There were two teams. Kids played doubles and singles matches against others. At the end, the best player in each team would play doubles against the other team. Whichever team got the most points, would win the Laver Cup. I heard a lot of tennis balls being hit. I saw people hitting tennis balls really hard and fast. I heard the scream of delight because they did something well or they won a tough point. Then, they held a ceremony to see which kids won an award. There is the most improved award and there is another award. I won the most improved award in the first week on my first time doing NTC( this was in 2019). Everyone was cheering for me. I was 8 years old and I couldn’t believe it. I felt that I could win the award again. Unfortunately, I could not win it again, but I hope to win it this year. I am going back to Nike Tennis Camp this summer. I will be going in another few months.
