Mountain House Serves Up a Team Challenge

USTA Team Challenges are an introduction to tennis competition through a low-pressure team environment for children of all ages to develop their skills through level-based play, without an emphasis on instruction or results. But, the most important aspect is to offer a fun tennis opportunity.

Mountain House Sports Club in San Joaquin County, CA recently hosted its first USTA Team Challenge on the Mountain High School tennis courts, and it was one for the books. Run by Dinesh Kumar, a local professional tennis coach, Mountain House Sports Club brought together over 100 players on Halloween for a day full of tennis in orange, green, and yellow ball levels in a fun social setting.

After starting to play tennis at seven years old and having extensive knowledge as a coach for more than 25 years, Kumar understands how important it is for kids to have fun while learning the sport. And that was one of the motivating factors to host his first Team Challenge.

“I am all for promoting tennis as a sport for kids, and I think Team Challenge is one of the best options for kids to play a tournament setup without the pressure,” Kumar shared. “The kids get the opportunity to learn to be competitive in a fun way, understand how to score, and play the game while learning sportsmanship and how to respect each other.”

In addition to tennis, the private community event took advantage of the holiday spirit and treated the players to snacks, gifts, and pizza. And because it was the first time a USTA event was ever held on the high school courts, the high school principal and two district board members attended the event and helped pass out the participation certificates to the kids.

“Overall, I think our first Team Challenge went really well, and it was great to have support from USTA NorCal to host our first one,” Kumar said.

Chris Samuel, USTA NorCal Net Generation Circuit Manager., also added on what a success the day was.

"We always love helping our providers run events in their local community and introduce more kids to tennis,” said Samuel. “I was impressed by the volunteer crew that learned how to tape orange ball 60' courts for the first time. It truly was a team effort by the Mountain House residents. They were fantastic tennis enthusiasts." 

And not only was the event a success, but both the parents and kids are excited for more.

“It was a fun event and a very good experience for beginners. I hope there is more of this to come,” said parent Sarah Mangantene. And parent Sundeep Sim added, “It was really a great experience for the kids.”

Ready to build on the momentum, Kumar already has plans to fulfill those wishes starting in the New Year. 

“It was clear the players were excited at the end of the event, and the parents had fun watching their kids play,” Kumar said. “We're looking forward to hosting more USTA Team Challenges, Junior Circuits, and tournaments.”