Thousands of children to benefit from Tennis at home during lockdown in Milton Keynes

While the children of Milton Keynes have moved online for schooling, thousands are to benefit from weekly tennis sessions in their homes.

Local coaching organisation, Tennis Works, who are based at Stony Stratford Tennis Club have teamed up with the School Sports Partnership to help primary school children with quality physical activity that is engaging and fun.

Every PE teacher of the 90 Primary schools in Milton Keynes will receive a weekly 30-minute video produced by Head Coach, John Cavill, and the children are invited to follow their tennis mission to become better players. The sessions are designed to be done in a small area at home, use everyday equipment around the house and help build coordination and receiving skills through various stages of the mission.

Milton Keynes Schools Sports Partnership Manager, Nina Sweetland, said, “To support Physical Education, School Sport and Physical Activity at home, we’re delighted that John Cavill at Tennis Works is kindly putting together multi-skills/ tennis videos that encourage the children to go on a mission to be a great tennis player.

We hope that as many children as possible will benefit from the videos, especially during this period where mental wellbeing is a concern with limited physical opportunities”.

Furthermore, every Saturday between 9 and 9.30am, John will be doing a Facebook Live session at www.facebook.com/stonystratfordtennisclub for everyone to start the weekend with some fun and games whilst getting parents involved in doing the activities with their children.

Tennis Works Head Coach, John Cavill, who has been coaching tennis in Milton Keynes for 22 years said, “I’m so excited about doing these sessions. I love tennis and want everyone to have the chance to play as tennis has helped so many people over the years. Through this wonderful game you not only build better physical skills but mentally you become stronger and the social benefits are huge. This is a great opportunity to engage with so many people and after lockdown I hope that more people will continue to play, as it’s not as expensive as some may believe.”

Following the online sessions while many school children remain at home, Tennis Works will be ensuring that everyone can continue to play the game. As part of the LTA Youth Schools Programme, Tennis Works will be working with the LTA and Schools Sports Partnership to engage schools in the LTA Youth SchoolsProgramme which offers teacher training and a £250 voucher offer to be redeemed on 10 hours of coaching time or tennis equipment for each school that gets involved. Further to this, every child will be given a free session voucher to use at Stony Stratford Tennis Club, otherwise if there is a more local club, they will be able to make recommendations.

Josh Dashwood, LTA Workforce Development Partner said, “In the current climate we all know the benefits physical activity has in helping us to stay fit and healthy. Teachers and coaches are having to be flexible to ensure children still have the chance to engage in tennis sessions like the ones being offered by Tennis Works.” To get involved go to www.facebook.com/stonystratfordtennisclub where the recorded and live sessions will be available to everyone, even if you do not have a Facebook account. If you ‘like’ and turn notifications on for this page, you will never miss a session!