DAVIS COUNTY—Tennis is a popular sport but hasn’t always been accessible to everyone. A new organization, Utah Youth Tennis (UYT), aims to give kids an affordable way to learn and enjoy the sport. 

“I was coaching high school tennis in 2015,” said Founding Director Rob Allen. “Most of the kids who played were new to tennis and had never played before. There weren’t a lot of options. You either had to take private lessons or go to exclusive clubs that were expensive.”

At the end of 2015, Allen said he worked on putting together a teen tennis program. “It was a way to introduce tennis that would be cheaper than private lessons.”

Allen started the Utah Youth Team Tennis League with one team in Provo. “It was mostly in Utah County but it expanded to other cities. It’s growing drastically. We have several thousand students and 200-300 coaches. The coaches are mostly parents who grew up playing and still play and college students who played high school tennis.”

UYT rents school facilities rather than large tennis clubs, he said. “They are underutilized so we can rent them for kids to use.”

There are two main seasons, said Allen. “Fall is from September to October and spring is from March through April to correspond with the high school tennis season. We started in Davis County last fall.”

The program is geared toward middle school and junior high leagues that can play against other teams, he said. “We’ve expanded it to include classes/leagues for grades K-12, as well as some adult classes.”

On average there are about 15-20 kids per league, said Allen. “It’s about the same number as a youth soccer team.”

All skill levels are accepted, he said. “We don’t cut anybody. We have varsity and junior varsity squads and we match best against the best. There’s one team for each area. A lot of kids have not played before and others have team experience but want more match opportunities.”

For parents who want their kids to be top tier players this can be a supplement not a replacement for private lessons, said Allen. “It’s definitely a great place for the experience of a team. This gives every kid a chance to play.”

High School coaches have been very supportive, said UYT Davis County Director, Christine Foster. “We’re still building relationships but I had good feedback from the first season.”

“We see it as a win to grow our program,” said Allen. “It gives coaches more kids feeding into their program with more experience before high school.”

Foster said they hold two practices a week with matches on Saturdays. “We play other teams in the area. We practice after high school finishes around five then we hop onto the court.”

“We have group drills,” Allen said. “But we run small groups like beginners with different needs. There’s a wide range of skill needs.”

A lot of kids are taking private lessons, he said. “That is good but some have never actually played a match. It’s backwards from other sports. Like 5-year-olds in Jr. Jazz they haven’t had a practice they just show up and play. You learn by playing and doing.”

UYT’s goal is to offer team, accessible and affordable tennis, said Allen. “Our mission is to get kids playing.”

For more information about UYT go to https://www.utahyouthtennis.org/