Competition strengthens character by encouraging the basic fundamentals of good sportsmanship, honesty, integrity, work ethic, dignity, fair play and respect for others. All of this can be taught in the arena of competition with the assistance of a good coach. It is important to introduce competition to children while they are young. Learning to deal with the challenges of winning and losing in a fun and compassionate environment prepares children for their future in a very competitive world. Therefore, we believe that sports can be designed to teach our children life lessons through competition.

Our camps promote tennis as a healthy exercise for life. Each camp is directed by a College Coach and is accompanied by a staff of professionals trained according to the certification methods of the United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA). Our camp format was designed through a collaborative effort on the part of USPTA Professionals throughout the United States. These professionals created a program that enhances the enjoyment of our players, while applying a realistic approach to improving the skill level of each tennis player's game.

College Coaches are the key to our success. As directors of the camps, our college coaches oversee all activities on their college campus. We carefully choose highly respected and experienced coaches that share our philosophy. Each College Coach interviews their own staff for their camp. Employment is based on tennis teaching experience, playing experience and academic background. The young staff members we hire serve as mentors, bonding with our campers, providing insightful information in regards to academics, collegiate sports and career opportunities.

As our camps continue to expand to new locations, our goal is to provide diversity in the college campuses we choose. We feel that an overnight camp experience helps prepare children for college. The more variety we present, the more prepared children will be when the time comes to make their college decision. We have found that many times a one-week experience in the summer turns into a four-year experience for a student down the road. Parents can feel confident sending their children to any one of our camp locations due to the consistency of our philosophy, the quality of our coaches and the similarities of our camp format.

We strongly believe that if we want to encourage today's youth to exercise, we have to make it fun. We provide activities throughout the week that help our campers enhance their social skills and develop new friendships. In addition to tennis they enjoy a variety of non-tennis events each evening. We allow cell phone times and access to computers so players can stay in the loop with their family and friends at home. With each of these activities we feel as though we are benefiting as well. After all, when players upload their pictures on face book and text their friends, they tell everyone where they are; Yellow Ball Tennis Camp! We feel it's our privilege to teach children to balance their life though tennis, technology and fun.

Mary Herrick
USPTA Professional