Other sports programs don’t make kids play on adult fields with adult equipment, and now neither does tennis! Seattle Parks and Recreation continues its play based tennis league for youth with little to no experience to play tennis at 14 community centers across the city. 

The USTA developed QuickStart tennis, after decades of refining an introductory program, to get youth playing tennis. Last year Seattle was at the forefront of this initiative and created one of the largest leagues in the country with almost 150 youth and 25 volunteers, using age appropriate rackets and balls and shorter courts. 

The league will consist of two age brackets: 7-8 year olds playing on a 36’ court (standard court is 78’ long) and 9-10 year olds playing on a 60’ court. Parks provides all equipment and supplies. The league fee is $35 per person for the eight week program. Practices start June 28, and signups begin May 24. Practices and matches take place from 6 – 8 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Parks highly encourages parent participation, as this is a family game! 

Parks is looking for volunteer managers, which helps keep league fees very low. Volunteers can be tennis aficionados, parents, fans, or anyone who loves helping kids succeed. No tennis experience is required! There will be a free QuickStart volunteer training session on May 7 at AV Performance, 13203 NE 16th St in Bellevue, and on June 11 at The Racquet Training Center, 6310 NE 74^th St. (Building 30 at Magnuson Park) in Seattle. Both are sponsored by the USTA and Aces Tennis, with National US Professional Tennis Association/US Professional Tennis Registry-certified trainer Tracie Mitchem. 

For more information, please call Carl Bergquist 206-684-0780 or e-mail him at carl.bergquist@seattle.gov. For more information about QuickStart, please go to www.10andundertennis.com.

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