What should you take into account if you want your child to play Padel?
Nowadays it is essential that children practice a sport and paddle is one of the best for our little ones. The paddle, in addition to the ease of learning, brings many benefits for them.
We can say that a sport like paddle tennis helps the integral formation of the child in all areas of his personality:
- Social Scope: It makes him/her feel part of a whole and stimulates teamwork.
- Cognitive: It favors the ability to retain new knowledge.
- Motor Sphere: Helps to improve their health by developing their physical condition.
- Affective Sphere: It promotes self-esteem by making you feel more capable after having made an effort, it helps to release the tensions and stress of everyday life and it also produces fun.
At what age should I start playing paddle tennis?
The consensus answer from all the coaches is, including our coach Pablo Crosetticoach of the Junior team and trainer of Agustin Tapiathat the ideal age to start playing paddle is 5 years old.
Before the age of 4 is not recommended because the child is too young to understand what he/she is doing. Something we do recommend is that you take them to the courts when they are 2 or 3 years old, make them play and have fun on the court making them roll balls and gradually introducing them to all the elements of the game. This way we introduce them to the world of paddle tennis and they may love the balls, the paddles and the courts. This will make them more interested when they start learning a year or two later.
If your child learns paddle after the age of 5 he/she can still become a great player. Just as we learn languages, the earlier we learn, the easier it will be, in paddle tennis the same thing happens if a child starts paddle tennis at 10 years old he/she will be at a disadvantage compared to a child who started earlier, but it will not prevent him/her from having a good development in paddle tennis. Moreover, if your child is older, 12 to 13 years old, and wants to learn to play paddle, he/she can still do it and be a very good player. It will all depend on their enthusiasm, athletic ability and hand-eye coordination. The important thing to remember is that your child is learning one of the best sports to play and will be able to enjoy paddle for a lifetime.
Why should my child learn paddle tennis early?
Starting early is important because, as Pablo tells us, children have to play sports and paddle is a very good option for them because it is so easy to start. This way, over time they will assimilate the correct mechanics of the movements in their muscle memory. This will create a very good foundation for their paddle game throughout their life.
For sure, your child's forehand, backhand, volleys and court movement will be very good with proper early instruction.
How should I start teaching my child to play Padel?
Our coach Pablo Crosetti is in no doubt: the most important thing is that children have fun. Therefore, if you play paddle yourself, you could start teaching them basic hitting techniques, from the very beginning, but without forgetting that they are children. In any case, it is always better to have an experienced professional paddle coach to train them. It is very important, and we emphasize this, that you find an excellent instructor for your child from the beginning.
As Pablo tells us, it is vital that the paddle pro you hire for a child adapts the equipment to work with them. That means, for example, using red, orange or green paddle balls for children, since a 4 to 10 year old should not be taught with regulation balls. Pablo uses balls of less pressure or foam rubber, even balloons, because he gives more importance to learning the dynamics of the game than the technique. It makes no sense to demand that they learn the technique from the beginning, the important thing is that they have a good time and enjoy paddle.
Their first paddle. The importance of choosing correctly
Selecting the first padel racket that your child will use is a very meticulous task and has to be done in the best possible way in terms of continuity, performance and evolution that can be achieved over time. Owning the best padel racket guarantees in a great way that all the remaining learning process will be a success.
Pablo Crosseti recommends our ultra light paddle racquets because they are easier to use for the little ones, the sweet spot of the paddle is wide, it weighs little and the grip is small adapted to the hand of the little ones of the house.