The skills learned at tennis camp could last a lifetime for the kids that went through drills and games on the courts at Seymour High School.

“Tennis, it’s a lifelong skill,” Seymour girls varsity coach Jan Fenton said. “I started playing at 6-years-old and stuck with it. I hope that it’s the same for a lot of them.”

Fenton, head boys coach Brad Emerson and players from the high school teams put on the four-day camp, which concluded last Thursday.

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There were two sessions, with first through fourth-graders going before the fifth through eighth-grades.

“With the younger kids it’s mainly about fun,” Emerson said. “I’m getting them to work on the loop forehand, and on the backhand it’s kind of a simple take back and follow through. It’s a lot of hand-eye coordination and footwork drills.

Incoming Immanuel Lutheran third-grader Daniel Bode said he plays a lot of tennis.

“I like playing jail and alligator. I like both games a lot,” he said. “I think I will come back next year. I really like tennis camp. I like playing tennis with other people.”

Bella Brock, an incoming fourth-grader at Jackson Elementary, said she had fun at camp.

“I get to meet new friends and see old friends,” Brock said. “I like the forehand and backhand volleys. They’re fun to hit. I’m going to come back next year to get better.”

Emerson said that it’s important for players to get out as much as they can during the summer.

“Tennis is a sport where if you take too much time if it takes longer to get back in the groove of things,” he said. “It’s a highly competitive, technical-type sport. There’s a lot of rhythm.”

Emerson returned to directing the camp after stepping away for a few years from it.

“This is the first time I’ve done it in about five years,” Emerson said. “I used to run five days, but it’s similar. It’s mainly ground stroke production, forehand and backhand, and just playing games with the younger kids. With the older kids, it’s a few more games that are highly involved.”

Fenton said that the camp was an overall success.

“They’ve been great, even in the heat,’ she said. “They have been picking everything up. They’re enjoying it, especially with us adding games into it.”