When signing up for the kids’ school year, parents start to wonder many things: Who will take care of my son/daughter? Will she be ok living away from home? Will she/he be happy? Will he/she improve the game?
But most important of all, they ask us, Will he/she have a good experience?
Every child is different, they all have their preferences, their needs, what they like, and what they don’t like and in tennis, they all have a unique game. They all have been taught the game of tennis but, some of them have never been taught the passion and the love for it. You will argue with me saying “you can not teach that” you’re wrong. It is true that children come to love tennis the more they play, the more they compete, and the more motivated they are. Usually, when they arrive, they are already tennis lovers and since it is a demanding sport in all aspects of the game technical, tactical, physical, and mental they have to learn how to find the joy in the sport and keep the passion in order not to burn out as some athletes do.
But how do we do that? How do we keep the children’s passion and love for this sport?
We have asked some of our athletes about it and here are their answers:
“In the Emilio Sanchez Academy, they taught me how to keep fighting and that there will always be one extra ball or one extra match to do better.”
“The coaches here have taught me the importance of self-value, of knowing my worth, and becoming the best I can become.”
“I have learned many things during my stay at the academy. I believe the individual treatment on the court made me feel valued, and for that my game is my best strength because I am confident.”
“I love tennis, I have always been very interested in the sport but after training many hours thanks to the coaches and staff, I was able to find the purpose of the sport.”
“I am a very shy person and when I step on the court, I take out the fire inside me to bring everything I got, I become a different person and for that I love it.”
“ This academy made me realize not only how much I love this sport but what it brings you, all the experiences, moments & friendships that I have made all along the journey.”
After hearing what some of our athletes had to say, we strongly believe in the consistency of the pathway that in our academy we are developing for young athletes. During their school year, the annual student-athletes have a tough schedule where they are required to perform at their best on the tennis court but also in the classroom. In our own ES American private school, the teachers are the masters of education of our student-athletes, they are the ones who help them academically, and who guide them through their pathway.
We understand the word student-athlete and the difficulties it is to become one, it is not an easy task to be always at the top of both, and for that we have developed our annual program, to give those young athletes the opportunity to become a student-athlete in an amazing facility that helps them, trains them, and guides them to become their best version in the classroom and on the court. There are many ups and downs in the athlete’s way and for that, we have the most experienced team among us to tutor each individual kid in their own groups to be able to assist them in a personal way.
Student-athlete is a word that combines two fields, academic, and sport. Being a student-athlete doesn’t mean your life is easier or with more benefits, you also struggle. During the school year, our students have to feel at home, they have to be comfortable in the environment that they are in and most importantly they have to strive. Our academy believes in the integration of all of our athletes on the tennis court, of all of our students in the classroom, and of all of our children in life. We want to give the best of ourselves, so our students can become the best learners and the best tennis players. No matter what their goals are, we are together to follow a pathway to help them become successful.
Why is so important for us to build character?
According to Google, the character is defined as “the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual.” So why on an individual? In our academy, we are a small family who together can bring up the best in each other. Each student is different and, each athlete is different. Some athletes have better forehands, some have a better mindset and some have an overall better game but, our purpose is to bring each individual talent to rise, and work on each skill that the athlete has to make it better. Sometimes it takes sacrifices from the athletes to perform at their highest each and every day but, as the saying, hard work pays off.
In the classroom or at the court, each student-athlete and, next to our academy coaches, teachers, and staff members, your children will be able to follow their goals and have a successful pathway.
Marketing department of ES Florida
Tatina Batalla & Silvia Guitart
