We help kids learn to play tennis every year, so we’ve figured out a few tips and tricks about how to get the knowledge to stick. One of the best tricks? Make things a little bit fun to learn. This might sound self-explanatory, but it’s crucial for three specific ways.

• It Keeps Kids Engaged

Sports aren’t always dark and edgy- sometimes they’re just fun! Getting the ideas of perseverance and work ethic drilled into your head, day in, day out- that’s not a great way to make sure that kids are excited to keep coming back. On the contrary, making sure that the kids have fun despite learning hard lessons like dedication, determination, and endurance, can make or break a kids’ clinic. 

• Fun Helps Kids Learn

Believe it or not, this is a pretty widely accepted theory. If kids are having fun, if they’re engaged with the material, they’ll remember it better, because they’ve had a good time with friends. There are lots of studies and research that suggest having fun can help kids learn how to work as a team, develop creative ideas, and become more physically active. As long as you’re sneaking the important life lessons right in where they can’t see them, kids will love you- because you’re the fun place to be, and therefore that’s where they want to be. 

• Connection Is Key

When you share a moment of fun with someone, a bridge is built between you. That’s a pretty easy concept to grasp, even as an adult- you can probably point to forty different times it happened to you in the past week alone. And it’s doubly true for kids, who don’t have as much life experience to draw on. People are naturally drawn to the places they feel like they’re accepted, that they’re having fun- and if you focus on fun at a kids clinic, there’s a higher chance they’ll accept your message.