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Students talk about tennis class

Malta’s Department of Parks and Recreation opened the second session of Outdoor Tennis Lessons on Monday, July 16.

The first session held in June left quite an impression among those who attended the beginners’ course. The PCN caught up with two of those students who were willing to share their experience.

“I liked learning the rules and learning to play a new sport with everybody else.” Mathew Hunter said.

Hunter is an 11-year-old, sixth grader at Malta Middle School. He was brand new to outdoor tennis, but not to the game as a whole

“I haven't played real tennis, but I played it on the Wii,” Hunter said.

Since 2006, the Nintendo Wii has given many video game players a chance to be more active through it's Wii Sports video game, which include Wii Tennis.

“You actually get sunlight and you do more than just stand there,” Hunter said.

Along with more exercise, the Outdoor Tennis Class features instructor Casey Gallagher, who has played the game since she was growing up in New Jersey.

“It was fun because she taught us how to hit correctly and learn the rules,” Hunter said.

Hunter shared that he most liked playing tennis against Jace Tollefson in the first session of tennis.

“He was hitting hard and he makes it a challenge,” Hunter said.

Hunter was unable to participate in classes during the second session because he was on vacation. But he shared his feelings on missing the classes.

“It's kind of disappointing because tennis is a fun sport to play,” Hunter said.

He had a word of encouragement to those currently taking the classes.

“Try hard,” he said. “You can do it and I believe in you.”

Seven-year-old Maddy Tatafu, a second grader at Malta Elementary is another student who participated in the first session.

“It was fun and it went good,” Tatafu said.

Tatafu's shared her favorite part of the class.

“My favorite part was playing against people,” she said.

She said that she felt she did well even playing against Gallagher.

Like Hunter, Tatafu liked playing Jace Tollefson, but she also enjoyed playing her brother Luke Tatafu, who is nine-years-old. She was asked if she had ever bested her big brother in the game.

“Yeah, just one time,” Maddy said. “It was fun and exciting.”

Maddy was asked if she had ever played tennis and if she had known much about the game.

“No, but I learned a lot in tennis class,” Tatafu said.

She shared a few of the drills that they did, included a drill that focused on hand-eye coordination.

“We pretended that we were flipping a pancake, but it was a tennis ball,” Tatafu said.

She went on to share another drill, that often didn't end well for her thanks to a sibling rivalry.

“We bounced the ball to the net and back,” Maddy said. “You throw the ball on the ground and start bouncing it. I did good but Luke messed me up.

Like Hunter, Tatafu was unable to attend the second set of lessons.

“We are going to go on vacation,” Tatafu said.

Maddy had advice for those who are interested in the classes but might be intimidated by the course.

“It's fun and I think you will like it, so don't be scared of it,” Tatafu said.

Hunter also added words of encouragement to those interested in playing.

“We don't have to start playing right away,” Hunter said. “We will teach you how to hit and how to hold the tennis racket. We believe in you and you can do it.”

Maddy went on to say that she was happy with the variety of sports being offered around town thanks in part to the Parks and Recreation Department, which her mother Julia Tatafu runs with co-director Natalie Judd.

“I've done tennis, dance, tumbling, hip-hop (dance), and I did yoga, just once,” Maddy said. “I am glad that I at least tried them.”

Tennis classes are available to the public. The remaining classes are Monday, July 23 at 4:30 p.m. And Thursday, July 26. The price is $5 per class for participants aged six and up. There is no age limit to the class.

 

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