Hassan El Aroussy introduces the Little Tennis Program to Palm Hills Dragging your children away from television and computer screens is not enough to encourage them to boost their physical activity. Parents need to take a more active role in getting their kids involved in outdoor sports. And if fun is part of the equation, then there's a greater chance that activity will become a core component of a child's lifestyle. The Palm Aroussy Tennis Academy (PATA) at the Palm Hills compound in 6th of October City is doing just that. As cofounder of PATA, as well as Academy Director and Head Coach Hassan El Aroussy explains: "My theme was to turn these courts into a playground for tennis kids. Eventually we'll have champions, but for now I just want kids to love sports in general and, hopefully, tennis as a sport. While living in the United States, where he was Assistant Head Coach at USA College, he says how they attracted children to tennis at young ages by creating fun activities on court. So, when he was developing PATA's curriculum, he incorporated the Little Tennis Program for children up to the age of eight which is the only such program for this age in Egypt. As the handout to parents explains, it's about "teaching serious tennis in a fun environment. The youngest group of children - ranging from about three to five - maneuver through a small obstacle course, learn to hit a sponge ball through an inflatable clown, do group fitness activities, and generally run about for the hour-long class. Tailoring to the children's short attention spans, about three minutes, the trainers switch from activity to activity. "I signed up [my son] because of the lack of activities at school. He enjoys it because it's fun activities with the tennis lesson, it isn't just 30 minutes of hitting balls, Yee Tang said. Her four-year-old Omar joined PATA over a month ago and looks forward to his classes. From the laughter I heard from the court, it's evident that Omar is not the only enthusiastic little player. The notice board hanging on the wall of El Aroussy's makeshift office is strewn with colorful drawings and notes from his students to "Coach Hassan. One intriguing note was marked "Top Secret, arousing much curiosity. With his athletic good looks and charisma, it wasn't hard to imagine that many of the young girls had small crushes and that many of the kids looked up to him. One of the key objectives of the Little Tennis Program is to develop the children's motor skills at an early age. "Why don't we have an Egyptian Roger Federer or Ronaldinho? asks El Aroussy. He attributes the lack of homegrown champions to poorly developed motor skills. "The training system that we have - even when we work on their motor skills, fitness skills, and hand skills - we do it with a fun theme so that they always want to come back to court so that they go home and say 'Mommy, Daddy, take me to tennis.' I think this is a success right there, El Aroussy said. "I'm working on getting the kids into sports. If the sport they eventually choose to pursue is tennis, then that's icing on the cake. Kids, though, are notorious for losing interest. What do you do then? "It's your job, as the mother, to know which point to say 'We're staying at home today,' said El Aroussy. For the younger age groups he's more concerned with maintaining a level of fun, and with three classes offered each week, it's not a problem if they miss one or two. The key, according to El Aroussy, is to keep them coming to the court. This is what makes PATA stand out from other academies and sports clubs. "We're looking at tennis from a different angle, El Aroussy explains. "Tennis is not homework. Having played tennis for 25 years, having grown from a kid running around the courts in the Maadi Club to become a National and African Champion, El Aroussy has created an environment that translates his love and passion for tennis into a reality. His excitement has definitely caught on. When the academy opened in June of last year it had about 10 members. Today, there are over 100 kids enrolled at PATA, and about 60 in the Little Tennis Program alone. PATA has eight coaches and trainers, recruited from clubs across Cairo. El Aroussy is still very hands on. He walks from court to court offering the children words of encouragement, and it's impressive how he remembers most of their names. Every once in a while he steps in to conduct a portion of the training himself. Involving your child in sports activities is more than just building their motor skills, however. The program also aims to boost their self-confidence, team-building spirit, ethics and values. This is just a stepping-stone. As the children grow older, the focus shifts to training, fitness and advanced motor skills, and fine-tuning their game. The academy, too, is still developing. The Palm Hills Club House is still constructing the academy's offices, recreation center (which El Aroussy plans to equip with computers and Internet access so that kids can work and play between training session), and gym. El-Aroussy's also working on boosting his training team by encouraging them to take courses and get International Tennis Federation certification. Hopefully, the end result will be facilities that will provide the best training environment. PATA's goal is to breed Egyptian tennis champions. For more information you can contact the Palm Aroussy Tennis Academy at 886-0103/104.
