The GRIPS program is an exciting new addition to the Naperville Tennis Club’s Competitive Training Program for the 2010-2011 season. It provides objective qualitative and quantitative standards for each of competitive class.
Derived from the concept of the belts associated with martial arts proficiency, the program's 11 stages ascend from beginner's white to expert's black. Once a student has taken and passed an online test for a specific level via the program's interactive website, he or she can take the on-court test. If successful at demonstrating the skills attributed to that level, the player receives a certificate of achievement, recognition on the website, the next grip color for their racquet and, most importantly, achieving the next step in their player development.
Since classes are broken down by grip color, parents can be assured that all students in a specific class will be focusing on the same goal of working to improve the skills necessary to advance to the next grip color.
A block of courts each week on Friday (4-6pm) and Sunday (8:30-9:30pm) are reserved for on-court testing to move to the next grip color. Players may call the club and reserve a half-hour timeslot when the player believes he or she is ready to advance to the next grip color and has passed the online test. The fee for retesting is $16 and needs to be paid at the time of the test. The online test can be found on the player’s homepage (not the parent home page). The test is open book (tip: print the practice test for use during the online test). Players are encouraged to look up the answers to the basic questions included in the test.
It is not expected that every player will pass the on-court test on their first attempt. The GRIPS program is meant to be a gradual process of moving from one level of tennis to the next. If a player does not pass a test, he or she will be given feedback as to which areas need improvement. For details on what the player will be tested on consult the website as there are detailed descriptions of the skills necessary for color advancement. For those students looking to advance to the next grip color, the GRIPS website is a valuable tool. The website provides detailed expectations of what is expected from the player to earn the next grip. Once the player has determined the skill that needs to be improved there are many resources available to them from NTC (e.g. Private lessons, rental of the ball machine or renting court time to hit with friend).
If a player does pass their test, he or she will receive a new grip in the mail, and their online status will be updated with the new color. There may not be space in the competitive training class geared towards the next grip color immediately, but the player will be placed on a waitlist for their preferred classes. Every attempt will be made to put the player in the appropriate class as quickly as possible. Within each class, the players are broken down into grip colors where specific skills are focused on (e.g. Dark Blue grips on two courts, Blue grips on three courts).
The goal of NTC staff is to continually move players to the next grip color as the session progresses and to see each player advance through the program and succeed in developing his or her skills as a player.
GRIPS is an exciting new benefit to our Competitive Training Program!