Summer camps at the Palisades Tennis Center start June 16 and run through August 28. In the following interview, Head Pro Jon Neeter talks about the variety of youth and adult clinics offered by the PTC. PP: Why is tennis a good option for children? JN: Tennis is one of the best gifts we can give kids. It’s an investment someone makes at age 8 that continues to pay dividends at 88. Most team sports are played until age 12 or so, after which 95 percent of participants never play again. Tennis, skiing and golf are traditionally thought of as the three lifetime sports. Golf is great except that it’s not as much fitness and skiing is a lot less accessible. PP: What changes are in store this summer at the PTC? JN: We’re going to be very protective about what’s made the camps great in the past. It’ll continue to be a positive learning and playing environment. Our goal is to have kids racing out of the car at drop off and not wanting to go home at the end of the day. Where we’re going to make changes is in a more structured pathway for those kids who want competition. There are going to be more options for kids to play tournaments and competitions locally outside of the camps, but here in Pacific Palisades. PP: Is it true you’ve upgraded your teaching aides? JN: Every year it seems like teaching aides just get better and better. We’ve added a ton of new things that make learning the game easier and more fun. PP: When are the kids’ camps offered? JN: They run Mondays through Thursdays and are broken up into three sections. Big Hitters (ages 4-6) and Junior Development (ages 7-13) camps are from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. In the afternoons from 1-4 p.m. we have the same Junior Development camp as well as a camp for tournament players. Finally, from 3:30-6:30 p.m., we have a camp for our nationally-ranked kids. PP: What happens with the rest of the programming while camps are in session? JN: Everything is the same except the Monday-Thursday morning adult workout times, which change a little. There are still a considerable amount of adult workouts and we have capacity for hundreds of players. There are junior clinics and workouts as well on Fridays and on weekends. PP: Who will be teaching the camps this year? JN: Thomas Dawson and I will run the camps. Nearly all of the pros from the last few years will be there too but there will be some great additions. I’ve been to a lot of clubs but I’ve never seen a coaching staff as deep as at the PTC. PP: Since camps are offered on a week-to-week basis is there a right amount of tennis for kids? JN: That’s on a case-by-case basis, but in general we have little to no burnout from kids in our camps. We’ve had 6-year-old beginners do everyday, morning and afternoon sessions who couldn’t wait to sign up for the fall. Camps are great in that they can easily and economically be used as childcare for working parents. (Editor’s note: To sign-up for camps online, visit the Web site at www.palitenniscenter.com or call (310) 573-1331.
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