Kansas PE teachers gain tools to introduce tennis through school trainings

USTA Missouri Valley recently ran a trio of school trainings to help physical education teachers in both Wichita and Manhattan introduce tennis to their students.

The interactive, three-hour training sessions were free for teachers to attend and equip them with the skills, tools and resources they need to implement the sport into their curriculum.

“The teachers get to experience activities and games that the children will be doing in their classes,” said Kara Heim, USTA Missouri Valley manager of regional community play for Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska. “It also dives into safety and ways to adapt the activities and games so that all participants are optimally challenged.”

School trainings are open to any school or district interested in adding tennis to their PE curriculum. Additionally, school partners help ensure students wanting to participate in tennis beyond regular school hours have the pathways to do so. Learn more about school trainings here.

A school training for Catholic Diocese of Wichita teachers occurred Sept. 8. That was followed by a Sept. 22 school training at Kansas State University for future PE teachers. And an Oct. 12 school training was held for teachers within the Manhattan-Ogden Unified School District 383.

Twelve Catholic Diocese of Wichita teachers participated in the training session at Magdalen Catholic School in Wichita. DeAnn White, executive director of Genesis Foundation for Fitness & Tennis, serves as the school partner.

“Giving teachers the background to teach tennis in the gym space ensures more kids have a positive introduction to tennis,” Heim said. “Because they have Genesis as a school partner, teachers will also have a way for students to continue tennis outside of the school day.”

In Manhattan, 26 KSU students — who all intend to become physical education teachers — attended the training in the ballroom of the K-State Alumni Center.

“It was a great example of how tennis can be played anywhere,” Heim said. “The students were all very attentive and competitive, which always makes the games portion of the training fun.”

Heim hopes to leverage this school training to recruit K-State students as assistants for after-school tennis activities. One such student, who is already student teaching, was also at the Oct. 12 school training for Manhattan-Ogden Unified School District 383 teachers.

A total of 16 teachers attended this training at Bluemont Elementary School in Manhattan. Scott Snyder, Bluemont/Woodrow Wilson Elementary PE teacher, appreciated how the training taught educators how to make the sport accessible for every student. Brody Queal with Peakform Sports and Wellness Center serves as the school partner.