About OCTL
As an after-school provider based in Santa Cruz, Open Court Tennis and Learning is dedicated to enriching the lives of children through fun community-based tennis and life-skill activities. We believe that physical activity and play are essential elements of child development. By incorporating life-skill activities alongside our tennis curriculum, we aim to nurture strong core values both on and off the tennis court.
Our After-School Curriculum:
We utilize a program designed by the United States Tennis Association called H.I.T.S. which stands for Honesty Inspiration Teamwork and Sportsmanship. H.I.T.S. has changed the game in terms of how kids are exposed to tennis. Below is a description from USTA Northern California's website:
H.I.T.S. is a tennis program for kids 12 and under that incorporates the fundamentals of a team sport with life skills enrichment. With support from the USTA NorCal, H.I.T.S. is a fun and easy tennis program to run at your tennis courts, blacktop or indoor gym.
Tennis can teach many great life lessons while on the court, but more important than the fundamentals of tennis, H.I.T.S. focuses on growing a child’s core values as well as the athlete.
By participating in this program, children as young as kindergarten will begin to develop strong core values both on and off the court that will help them mature into possibly the next tennis star, but more importantly, become a great individual and upstanding member of the community.
With this program the use of “right-sized” equipment (in regards to weight, length, speed and size) allows young players to learn and play more effectively. During this 6-8 week program, kids will participate in fun activities while learning the fundamentals of tennis in a safe and supportive environment.