Disclaimer: This article is written and sponsored by Cooper Aerobics to highlight its youth tennis programs.
Visit cooperyouth.com to register for Fit & Fun Day Camps in Dallas this winter break (December 19 – 21 and 28 – 30, 2022) along with ongoing martial arts classes, swim lessons, athletic development, culinary classes, kid’s night out programs, and more!
A Lifelong Sport to Ace
Tennis is an incredible sport with numerous benefits, and you can play it for a lifetime! When you see professional tennis players on the court running from side-to-side, pivoting to clear the ball, and sprinting back to the net, it’s no surprise the sport serves as an amazing source of exercise. Tennis makes use of coordination, balance, strength, speed and agility in a workout that increases aerobic and anaerobic fitness. But you don’t have to be a pro to reap the rewards of playing tennis.
In addition to the benefits of aerobic exercise, tennis also teaches problem-solving skills and can be practiced solo or with another player as doubles or part of a league team, encouraging both cooperation and competition.
Cooper Fitness Center head tennis professional Corey Noel emphasizes that all ages can benefit from the sport. It’s an activity the entire family can enjoy, as he’s welcomed recent players “ages 4 to 85 on the courts at Cooper Fitness Center.”
One local mom started playing tennis as an adult and is now passionate about the sport, so much so that she’s passed along this love of tennis to her two daughters. Now, they all take lessons at Cooper Fitness Center and come in coordinating tennis outfits. Corey admires how she’s passed along the passion for tennis to her children and is encouraged to see her daughters gain confidence and come out of their shells more each season.
Players with Confidence
Junior tennis programs at Cooper Fitness Center include tennis clinics, summer tennis camp, and individual lessons. To help young players gain confidence and build better playing skills, ages seven and under progress through the QuickStart Tennis program sponsored by the USTA. This format is tailored for kids, allowing them to start playing tennis almost immediately. Players ages eight and older further their tennis skills and learn technique and strategy to become competitive players.
Corey can attest to the fact it’s never too late to begin playing a lifelong sport like tennis — he didn’t start playing until he was 15 years old! He joined his high school team and developed a love for the game that’s morphed into a career.
“I think my favorite aspect of tennis is no matter your age or skill level, you can start playing tennis and actually compete in matches, tennis leagues, or even tournaments very quickly,” he reflects. The important thing to keep in mind about tennis is that it’s all about commitment and repetition. He advises new players “get out on the court three or four times a week, or as much as possible, to work on all aspects of the game. It can be a commitment, but well worth it.”
Social Interaction and Problem-Solving
As many kids missed social interaction and physical exercise the past couple years due to COVID-19, tennis is an ideal opportunity to get kids back into sports. It’s also an easy way for boys and girls of different ages to play with and compete against each other.
During tennis practice, clinics, or lessons at Cooper, tennis pro Corey Noel uses many drills that are both cooperative and competitive in nature, so everyone can benefit. One of the only sports that still does not allow in-match coaching, tennis teaches juniors how to be independent and problem-solve on their own. Corey says tennis gives kids “an opportunity to learn from their mistakes and build upon them, while making their own decisions to solve challenges, a quality lacking in some young people today.”
Corey’s passion for tennis is reflected in his coaching, as he shares:
Tennis has been the greatest thing to ever happen to me. Whether I win or lose, I love the opportunity to compete. It’s a distraction from all the problems in the world, and it makes me forget all of them. It has been an escape from reality for some, especially in recent years, and I couldn’t be happier more people have discovered the amazing game of tennis. I love it even more now than when I started 23 years ago.
Serving Up Relationships
Relationships run deep on both sides of the court. In fact, Alex Crane, one of the assistant tennis professionals at Cooper Fitness Center, learned from Coach Corey as a junior and is now teaching alongside him at Cooper! Corey reflects, “I started teaching Alex when he was 10. He is still the only student of mine to ever beat me in a match. It’s amazing to see the player and, more important, the person he has grown to be. I imagine him encouraging one of our current junior players to return as his future teaching assistant!”
More popular than ever, tennis is a global sport that can unite and build relationships and camaraderie with people of all ages, backgrounds, and ethnicities.
⭐Register your junior tennis player for the next Junior Tennis Clinic Session with Corey Noel at Cooper Fitness Center, October 25 – December 8. Players meet Tuesdays and Thursdays; times vary by age. Read what one junior tennis participant enjoys about tennis camp at Cooper Fitness Center.
Corey Noel is the Head Tennis Pro at Cooper Fitness Center. He has more than 10 years teaching experience and is a certified U.S. Professional Tennis Association Pro. Corey was awarded the United States Professional Tennis Association Small Facility Manager of the Year in Texas in 2019. He is a member of the Dallas Professional Tennis Association Board and U.S. Tennis Association (USTA) Tournament Director. Corey earned a Bachelor of Arts in Literary Studies/Education at The University of Dallas, where he played college tennis and maintained the highest win percentage from 2005 to 2007.
Cooper Fitness Center has offered youth programs for more than 25 years. In addition to year-round tennis lessons, junior clinics, and hosted tournaments, Cooper Fitness Center offers a variety of year-round fitness programs, youth event, and sports training to keep kids active and having fun while instilling healthy habits early.
