The Celebrations of Junior Team Tennis

After the completion of a successful sports season, what better way is there to celebrate the accomplishments, growth, and memories than with a team party?

While these team celebrations may be overlooked in comparison to the competition, it’s an important part of the overall season. Big or small, end-of-season team celebrations are a perfect way for kids, parents, and coaches to connect. 

Luckily, there are endless ways to come together as a team at the end of the season, and we caught up with some of our Junior Team Tennis (JTT) Local Leagues teams from the past year to tell us about their most fun end-of-season celebrations and how they helped them build a bond both on and off the court.

Adam Mash out of Santa Cruz coached several teams in both the spring and fall seasons this year, and they went the non-traditional route for one of their team parties. After the end of their spring season, both of his teams and their parents embarked on a shark siting boat excursion.

“It was a great way for the kids to do something completely outside of tennis that they don’t normally get to do together,” Mash said. “The kids go to different schools. They are of different ages and even grades, but this excursion was a unique chance for them to come together and bond as a group.”

And not only did the kids and parents love the bonding opportunity, but they hit a lucky day and ended up having sharks come swim up right along with the boat.

While the shark sighting event was a hit, it doesn’t mean the traditional post-season pizza party isn’t still a great option.

Dave Zamarripa out of Marin – Tiburon Peninsula Club coached six teams this year, and each season ended with a party at their home base of Tiburon Peninsula Club.

“We had a pizza party for all the teams in our cafe and gave awards for participation,” he shared. “It is always fun to bring everyone together.”

Although the different regions took different approaches to the celebrations, they both agreed that no matter what you do, bringing a team together outside of tennis has its benefits.

Zamarripa said, “It is such a great way to build camaraderie, and the kids love any excuse to be together.”

Mash shared a similar viewpoint and even noted that building a bond off the court translates to their play and relationship on the court. 

“These experiences make the kids practice more as a team rather than everyone coming individually, and it makes it feel more like a group of people rather than a bunch of individuals,” he said. “JTT is the tennis version of more traditional team sports. You play a season together, and if you’re playing for a team, you show up every week and sit with your teammates to support them, play with them, and work toward a common goal. Celebrating the season together helps that.”

But, end-of-season celebrations aren’t just about bonding, it’s also about reflection and recognizing the progress and achievements.

“To recognize our accomplishments, we also had special awards for most improved, best sportsmanship, and MVP for every team with gifts like Wilson overgrip, a custom vibration dampener, and prince rainbow string which was a huge hit,” Zamarripa added. “But what the kids really loved was the awards and having their coach tell a story about them.”

So, there you have it. No matter if you go with the traditional or non-traditional team celebration, end-of-season celebrations are a sure-fire way to make a stronger bond beyond tennis. Plus, you’ll have fun doing it!