Staff writer
July may bring unbearable heat, but it also brings competitive heat on tennis courts. Tennis camp for kindergarteners through third graders goes through the end of this week.
Parents Jerred and Kerrie Unruh signed up their son Titus to give him an activity in the summer.
“His grandma, or his ‘Me-me,’ said she wanted to sign him up for an activity, and she loves tennis,” Jerred said.
Tennis camp also was time-saving, Kerrie said.
“We didn’t’ want to have to go to practices and a lot of games,” she said. “We liked that this was one week of nights.”
Jerred and Kerrie helped Titus prepare.
“We got him a racket, and he’s tried it a few times,” Jerred said. “He’s got the idea of hitting the ball over the net”
Seeing how far the ball goes was Titus’s favorite activity Monday.
“I hope we get to have more free play time when we’re allowed to hit it over the net to see how far we can get it,” he said.
After camp, Titus hopes to compete against his “Me-me” in the sport.
“She said she’s going to play some with me sometime,” Titus said.
Tennis is a sport that can bring families together and run in the family, as it does for camp instructor Erin (Wiebe) Hein.
“My mom and grandpa always did tennis camp in Hillsboro, and I’ve always enjoyed playing tennis,” Hein said. “The opportunity just came to be.”
Hein, who played tennis throughout high school and part of college, said kindergarten through third grade was a great time to start learning the sport.
“At this age, it’s a good introduction to a lifetime sport,” Hein said. “They can pick up on just the basics. It’s a sport they can play for a long time.”