Junior Team Tennis League - Non USTA
I'm an assistant pro at semi-private club, and feel as though there is a need in our community for juniors to play tennis in a team environment. Keep in mind, I'm thinking of the 12 and under crowd, to sort of get them prepared for middle school and high school tennis. Does anyone here have any experience with this sort of thing. I was thinking about getting parents involved, and having one match-up per week, and having the teams practice together a couple of times per week as well. I'm sure summer would be the best time to get this going, mainly because the adult leagues at our club and after-school, junior clinics clog up the courts the rest of the year. Winter is absolutely out of the question, because we only have six indoor courts.
Other random thoughts and questions:
01. Should the teams be coed?
02. If so, should we play a mixed doubles match?
03. Four-man teams (with some sort of tiebreaker) or six-man?
04. As I mentioned, I'd like to get parents involved sort of like little league, but how can I hope that these parents would be able to control a practice session, when some tennis pros have a hard time with children?
05. I'd like to demphasize the competition and put an emphasis on sportsmanship, which I find completely lacking in junior tennis in our area.
Sorry for the incoherence, but I'm just brainstorming here. I'd welcome any comments, even if you have no experience in this field.