Thursday, March 28, 2024

Cacade tennis hosts junior camp

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Several Leavenworth children attended the during the Cascade Junior Tennis Camp, June 17-21, where they learned some tennis fundamentals, tips and techniques that will help them on the court.

Cascade High School Tennis Head Coach Mark Hassinger ran the camp on the courts next to the Cascade School District administration office. The young athletes who attended the camp got to play on the same courts as the CHS Kodiak tennis teams practiced and played on during their 2019 season, which culminated in a third-place state finish for the girls.

While the CHS practices focused on competition, Hassinger, who was in his third year of running the youth camp, said he was more focused on teaching kids the basics of tennis.

“The camp is to get kids excited and energized,” Hassinger said. “Some kids play tennis with their families, which is great. It’s a lifelong sport and I just want to get kids to play on the courts.”

The camp was broken into two groups with Icicle River Middle School students playing in the first session, followed by elementary-aged children. Coach Hassinger noted that some younger athletes played in the first session with their older siblings.

During the camp, students learned and practiced their hand-eye coordination with drills where they balanced, bounced and dribbled the tennis balls on their racquets Hassinger noted that balancing the ball with consistency can help strengthen the muscles in their forehand.

After getting a feel for the racquet, campers transitioned into learning the forehand and backhand shots. They also spent time practicing volleys and serving tennis balls over the net. 

When it comes to hitting, Coach Hassinger advised players to keep their racquet perpendicular to the ball. Tessa Hassinger added that in most sports, athletes will want to go toward the ball, but in tennis, players want to wait until it comes to them before smacking it away.

Coach Hassinger also recommended that players should not be stationary, and but rather keep their feet loose, especially during a match.

“People think tennis is just arms and a racquet,” he added. “But there’s a lot of feet work. You’ve got to be on your toes and moving.”

Along with learning the basics, campers played games and practiced some live match scenarios and played games. Kids also participated in Starburst challenges where they would earn a a fruity candy for completing a task. One of these involved catching a ball in their shirt after Hassnger bounced it across the net. This showed campers how to determine where the ball was going after a bounce.  

Hassinger was not alone in running the youth camp. Assisting him were his daughter, Cascade High School alumna Tessa Hassinger, who once wore a CHS tennis jersey, as well as members of the Kodiak tennis teams.

CHS tennis player Stella Johnson helped on the camp's final day. Johnson, who finished sixth in girls' doubles at state in May, said she enjoyed helping at the camp. She and Hassinger also noticed the progression of campers through the fourth day. 

"I talked to Coach H (Hassinger) and from the beginning to the end of camp, these kids have improved so much," Johnson said. "In the earlier group we had four kids play some great tennis, including one who never played before camp. It was super cool to see."

While campers learned a bit about tennis fundamentals, they also gained some insight on perseverance and how can relate to tennis. Hassinger shared the story about playing basketball when he was 10 years old and struggled to make his shots, which turned him against the game.

Although tennis is a difficult sport, Hassinger encouraged the campers to not give up on it if they “don’t pick it up at first.”

“Tennis is hard and we don’t want them to give up, (rather) we want to set them up for success,” Coach Hassinger added.

Trygve Sorensen was one of the local kids who attended the first session with his sister, Ingrid Sorensen. He said played a little tennis before attending the camp, and ended up enjoying it.

Another camper, Logan Rowles, had fun as well, especially when it came to playing a 3-on-3 where he, Coach Hasinger, Tessa Hassinger and the other coaches had to hit the ball while keeping it in a small space. Rowles also liked hitting the ball on each side of the net.

“It’s awesome seeing kids doing stuff (outside) and trying a new skill,” Coach Hassinger said.

cascade high school, tennis

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