ITF launches On-Line School
 The
ITF today announced the launch of its new ITF Junior Tennis
School website: www.itfjuniortennisschool.com. This comprehensive
website will target young players throughout the world through
a series of 17 ‘e-learning’ modules, designed
to educate players in all areas of the game.
The modules will include a wide variety of topics affecting
young tennis players, including advice on physical training
and diet, injury prevention, rules and regulations, career
management and media training.
The on-line school is an extension of the ITF Junior Tennis
School that has previously taken the form of educational forums
staged by the ITF during ITF junior team championships, regional
championships and Junior Wimbledon. These forums have featured
distinguished speakers from all areas of the sport, including
leading professional players Albert Costa, Alex Corretja and
Jiri Novak.
The school’s expansion into e-learning will build on
the success of the forums, while at the same time offering
many additional benefits. The material can be accessed by
a far greater number of players, with the ITF looking to sign
up thousands of juniors in the first year. The school will
also be more accessible in terms of language, with all 17
modules already available in English, French and Spanish,
with other languages, including Chinese and Russian, to be
added in the future. Spanish and French versions of the website
will go live on 17 March.
Luca Santilli, ITF Manager of Junior Tennis, said: “The
on-line school is an major step towards increasing awareness
of very important subjects affecting the careers of junior
tennis players, such as injury prevention, anti-doping, player
protection and the role of the agent. There is even a module
dedicated to parents and to the important role of looking
after talented children.”
With e-learning, players have a choice of how they study,
whether downloading the modules on an iPod, following a PowerPoint
presentation with a voiceover, or printing the information
out to study at their leisure. After progressing through each
module, players will need to answer a series of questions
correctly to move on to the next module. Players and their
national associations will be able to track their progress
through the school until they graduate after completing all
17 modules. Santilli added: “When we embarked on the
project two years ago, the ITF wanted to help parents, coaches
and national associations in their important task of developing
healthy, skilful and happy young athletes, whether they end
up at the highest levels of the game or following other interests.
We are sure that the national associations and their coaches
will make good use of the new ITF Junior Tennis School website,
ensuring a large participation from all junior players around
the world.”
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