Children from 21 schools and after-school centres across Victoria got a taste of tennis thanks to a partnership developed by the Australian Sports Commission’s Active After-school Communities (AASC) program with Tennis Australia and Tennis Victoria in 2009.
The AASC program is an Australian Government initiative offering around 150 000 primary school children free sporting sessions after school each term. The partnership saw Tennis Australia, through Tennis Victoria trial the delivery of a ‘taster’ to the MLC Tennis Hot Shots junior development program within the AASC environment.

The MLC Tennis Hot Shots program is Tennis Australia’s official kids’ starter program for children aged 5 – 12 years old. Through the use of modified court sizes and low-compression balls, kids learn to serve, rally and score in a game that is appropriate to their developmental needs. The AASC program offered a unique vehicle to support this program by incorporating the delivery approach within tennis programs offered within the AASC. 

AASC regional coordinator for the Brimbank area of Melbourne, Dominic Tulloch, said his students loved participating in the Tennis Hot Shots pilot, particularly the opportunity to access great coaching, equipment and activities.

‘The Tennis Hot Shots program uses modified tennis courts and low compression balls, which makes learning tennis easy and fun for the children. [They] have been learning the fundamental tennis skills such as serving, hitting rallies and scoring,’ Tulloch said.
Tennis coach Geoff Guy at Delahey Recreation Club in Brimbank said that the aim of the AASC sessions was to provide the children with a positive first experience in tennis, and to encourage them to join a local sports club and become involved in community sport.

‘By running the program at the local tennis centre, we hope to encourage children to continue playing the sport at a club level,’ said Guy.
AASC coaches work to help children move into a sport of their choice in the community by assisting them and their parents to access local sport clubs, in order to make sport a regular part of their lives.

The AASC program’s evaluation of the MLC Tennis Hot Shots pilot found that successful transition to club sport was occurring, with several coaches and staff members reporting that children had joined a club as a result of their participation in the pilot.

The majority of AASC stakeholders involved in the partnership believe that the tennis pilot has helped increase links with other groups, particularly between local tennis clubs and schools and after-school care centres.

Throughout 2010, AASC program sites across Australia will continue to foster ongoing participation in sport by linking children, families and coaches, and building partnerships with sports clubs at the regional, state and national level.