Tennis Anyone?

Tennis is our first unit during the Pathfinder School summer session, and we’re pleased that we have some new day students joining us over the next few weeks.  Some students have participated in tennis activities before; these students are showing their leadership skills by demonstrating tennis skills and helping their peers.  Some of these tennis skills we’ve worked on at the Sports Court include:

·         Balancing the racquet on a body part

·         Shaking hands with the racquet (tennis stance)

·         “Walking the Dog,” in which the ball is the dog and the racquet is the leash

·         Balancing the ball on the racquet

·         Bumping the ball forward off the racquet

·         “Tick Tock,”a modified skill that teaches students how to hit a forehand stroke

               

  Tennis is a sport that is great at so many levels: It’sfun and our students have had a some belly laughs while practicing the skills. The sport encourages the students to get outside and enjoy themselves. It’s a lifelong activity that helps improve cardiovascular endurance and hand-eye coordination.

                

One of the non-fitness benefits of tennis is that it encourages students who have difficulty in communicating to use their language skills to make their needs known.  At Pathfinder School, we use the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) more-and-more.  This is a low-tech approach that relies on picture cards and a display board (typically a sturdy binder with Velcro strips) that students may carry to talk to people who don’t know American Sign Language.  I have a larger board with cards that show the words/pictures of tennis equipment, rules and skills, and how to keep score.  This board is yet another way to engage students and get them excited about fitness.

Keep Active,
Miss Shirey