Tennis lessons for tiny tots

A tennis player from a very young age, Heather Corriel decided she wanted to introduce her students to the sport she loves. She approached her building’s principal at the Oceanside School District’s Pre-K Center with a unique idea: a new program, Tiny Tennis, created by Heather and designed for very young children.

“I have been playing tennis since I was six years old,” Heather says. “I played (at Oceanside High School) and was All County. I have instructed tennis at Hofstra Summer Camp for the past 10 years, and give private lessons at Clay Time in Island Park. “My school provides an extended day enrichment program and I thought tennis would be a good addition,” she says.

Tiny Tennis launched this past fall. It’s “an instructional tennis program designed for children ages 3,4 and 5,” Heather explains. “The goal is to familiarize the children with the basics of tennis, as well as getting the children to take a liking to the sport.” She says she runs the program on Fridays at the Oceanside School #6 gymnasium. Currently there are eight participants who enjoy the program’s USTA 10 and under tennis concepts as well as many other fun activities.

“This program targets many skills above and beyond those needed for the sport of tennis,” she says. “Students learn to respond to visual and verbal signals. They perform various activities that require body management. They demonstrate awareness of personal space. They demonstrate large muscle coordination in locomotor and non-locomotor skills. The program targets movement, safety of self and others. Finally, they learn what it means to be a good sport.” Heather says the children are very excited about Tiny Tennis and are meeting with much success, adding she is hoping to expand the program to all children in grades K-5 in the district.