• The tennis team is for kids 10 to 18 years old.  There are no try-outs for kids in this age range. You simply register online through our tennis web site.  If you have a child under 10 who wants to play on the team, or if you’re not sure if he or she should be on the team, regardless of age, reach out to Coach Nicholls (nicholls11@aol.com).

• Cost is $165 for first member of family per season, $150.00 for each consecutive member in same family and includes practices, drills, matches, events, team shirt and team picture for each player.

• Team practice starts in the afternoons two weeks before school gets out, and then changes to the morning schedule when the Birmingham school year ends. The morning practices are typically Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays of each week, while matches are Thursday and Friday afternoons.

• The tennis team also has 2 “Blue/White” intra-club tournaments, one at the beginning of the season and one at the end.  The Blue-White is a single-elimination singles tournament. Medals are presented to players who finish 1st, 2nd, or 3rd in their flight.  All players are eligible to sign up for the first Blue-White, while all except the top 4 in each age group can sign up for the 2nd Blue-White.

• The league competition is divided into A and B matches, separated by gender in divisions of U10, U12, U14, and U18. A child’s age is determined to be their age on June 1st. Each age/gender group will have its own ladder established by the BHAC coaches (guidelines for ladder placement are on the tennis website). The top 4 players on each ladder constitute the “A” team for match purposes, with the top 2 playing singles and the next 2 playing doubles together. They play 8 game pro-sets in league competition on Friday afternoons.

• The next group on the ladder will be playing doubles in the B matches on Thursday afternoons, with the number of kids playing in B matches dependent on how many kids the opposing team has. For the B teams, the U14 and U18 groups are combined. BHAC provides snacks and drinks for our players and for our guests at all A and B home matches. The inter-club competitive season is typically about 6 weeks long, ending in a league-wide finals competition in both A and B divisions at the end of July.

• Because BHAC has a larger team than the other clubs (usually 150+ members), we have gone outside of the league to set up some “C” matches with other clubs for those who may not get into either the A or B matches. The C matches are typically on Friday afternoons.  C matches are run exactly like the B matches, with everyone playing doubles. If there are still players who do not get in to a league match that week, they have the option of attending Thursday morning practice, where we try to organize matches among our kids.  Unfortunately, because the other teams do not have as many players as we do, some kids may not get to play in a league match during the season. After the A and B Finals, there is a banquet at the end of July to celebrate the season. All players and their families are invited to join us at the banquet.

Junior clinics are for youngsters age 5 years and older who are just beginning to learn the game of tennis. Clinics run 3 days per week from Monday through Wednesday in the early afternoon and are split into 3 age groups. The cost is $50 per week. In the event of rain, make-up sessions are held on Thursday or Friday mornings (weather permitting).

• Ages 5 & 6: Instruction is focused on developing very basic tennis skills such as footwork, shot preparation, hand-eye coordination, and racquet control.  We use the USTA 10 and Under “Quick Start” program which incorporates larger, low-compression tennis balls, lower nets, and smaller racquets to provide the youngsters with equipment suitable to their kid-sized bodies!  This promotes faster learning and provides a fun environment for our smallest players.
• Ages 7 & 8: Instruction is focused on learning shot production techniques for forehand, backhand, volley, and serve.  Regular tennis balls and a full size court are used in this clinic.  We also provide time for competitive drills to allow the young players a chance to put their skills to the test!
• Ages 9 Years & Up: Instruction continues on basic tennis strokes while we begin to focus on learning the game of tennis….score keeping, rules, competitive strategy, and preparing the players for team tennis.

There are 6 weekly clinics through the tennis season.  On-line registration is available through the tennis web page.  Players must be signed up for each session separately.

• Men’s and Women’s tennis is organized and run by coach Tom Kuskowski, (“TK”)  tk.tennis@yahoo.com. BHAC has an intra-club doubles league, and various clinics to improve your game.  Please check out the tennis web site for more details on how to get involved.

• BHAC also has a one-day adult mixed doubles tournament, with prizes and BBQ after the championship match.  The tournament is typically in August.

BHAC offers private, semi-private, and group lessons for all ages.  Please see the web site for details on how to take your game to the next level with one of our pros.

Check out BHAC’s Pro Shop located around the corner from the snack shack. Coach Nicholls has plenty of new racquets this year, including Babolat, Wilson, Head and Prince.  We offer a wide range of other products such as court shoes, socks and more! The Pro Shop will typically be open from 12:00 to 1:30 Monday – Wednesday, or by appointment.  Contact Coach Nicholls at nicholls11@aol.com to make a purchase or for a personalized racquet fitting!