Tennis camp teaches fundamentals, campers excel

Nearly 100 boys and girls were smashing it, serving it, winning it and loving it at the Andalusia Tennis Camp on Wednesday, held at LBWCC.

Adams said there are 60, 10 and under campers, and 35, 8 and under campers. Additionally, there are eight 11 and over campers.

Campers work on fundamentals such as hitting forehands, backhands, serving and rallying, Adams said.

Adams said the camp uses games to promote the skill of rallying during a match, like “King of the Court.” The camp is catered to the age group’s skill set.

In fact, younger campers use smaller rackets, larger tennis balls and play on smaller courts. As they progress, they graduate to a more advanced style of play with larger rackets, smaller balls and larger courts, Adams said.

The camp meets Tuesday through Thursday each week, and is sponsored by the Andalusia Tennis Association and the City of Andalusia.

Today marks the last day of the camp’s first weekly session in July. The camp continues through July.

“It says a lot that we have this program,” Adams said.

As a treat for the campers, 25-30 kids will attend a tennis tournament next Saturday in Dothan at the Westgate Tennis Complex.

Two campers have benefited from the camp’s instruction and have participated in tournaments this summer in their age groups.

In June, Sissy Adams played in the Southern Closed 10s, which is the top 10 and under players from across the South in Memphis, Tenn.

“(She) and her doubles partner (Anna Mills Fleenor of Tuscaloosa) played doubles, and she also played singles,” Ginny said. “She didn’t win any matches, but she played well. There were three set matches that could’ve gone either way.

“She played hard, and she was in a group of about 12 kids from Alabama,” she said. “We just felt it was a good opportunity for her to go and do this at her age.”

Sissy, 10, is ranked No. 10 in the state in her age age group, and No. 88 in the South.

Sissy said she faced some tough competition at the tournament in Memphis, but she came away from it learning a lot.

“It was rough, and there was some tough competition,” she said.

Last weekend, Sissy competed in a National 12s tournament in Dothan just to see what the competition was like, Ginny said.

Will Adams, 13, will be competing in a state closed tournament for 13 year olds in Montgomery next weekend.

He finished in the semifinals of the Linda Stewart Tournament in Dothan, recently.

“I was just coming off of an Alabama tennis camp, and I just know that it made me a better player going to that camp,” he said. “It just gave me a lot of experience.”

Will is currently ranked No. 96 in the South, but was ranked No. 27 in the state for 12-year-olds before his birthday this spring.

The Adams children are Ginny’s son and daughter.