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Kidspeed – A Better Way for Kids to Learn
ICT’s programming has been developed by Executive Director
Roger Boyer to maximize the impact that it has on the children
it serves. All programming integrates the fun and physical development
of athletics with valuable life skills that serve our children
and community far beyond the borders of the court. Our Kidspeed All-Sport Program serves children ages 3-8, our Tennis Specialist Program serves 8-11 year olds, our Tennis Master 2 Program serves 11-14 year olds and our Tennis Master 1 Program serves kids ages 14-17.
At the core of ICT’s programming is an approach ICT calls
Kidspeed. Kidspeed has been developed and improved over the
years by Boyer and his staff to create a nurturing, fast paced
and educational environment. The key to Kidspeed’s success
is the cadence in which it delivers ICT programming. As Boyer
often says, “I have modeled Kidspeed and ICT programming
around my attention span, which is no longer than the children
we work with.”
All of ICT’s programming utilizes multiple skill development
stations. Children move from station to station at intervals
of every seven minutes. Boyer believes that by introducing children
to the station, allowing them to play and interact and then
move them to the next station before they become disinterested
or complacent, that children stay engaged and concentrate on
mastering the station.
While concentrating on playing and mastering, ICT’s programs
intertwine its seven key life skill assets from its Learnings
for Leadership™. Its CMT's, who encourage, nurture and
deliver the programming are trained by Boyer and his staff to
identify behavioral issues with the children and appropriate
coaching points to modify or correct this behavior in a positive
way.
Kidspeed, the ICT approach, has proven to be very successful,
yielding a measurable 20 to 40 percent behavioral improvement
in the life skills it teaches to over 5,000 children annually.
In 2005 ICT expanded its station design to introduce physical
skill development for basketball, soccer and golf as well as
mathematic and literacy elements. Additional program expansion
is being developed to promote positive nutrition decisions.
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ICT and its summer program is the
largest provider of programming for the Minneapolis
Park and Recreation summer activity program. With programming
provided over 6 weeks in 16 parks throughout Minneapolis,
ICT brings Kidspeed and its unique programming approach
to children throughout the community.
ICT’s summer program has a small fee for those
children that come from families that can afford the
small enrollment fee. For those children and families
that can’t afford the program fee, scholarships
are available. You won’t get turned down.
Another benefit of ICT and its summer program is the
summer jobs that it creates for many older youths. Young
adults who have participated in the ICT program and
mastered its skills may be offered a summer job through
ICT. ICT’s summer job program provides employment
opportunities to the communities’ children and
teaches them the values of accomplishment and community.
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ICT’s headquarters are in the
Reed Sweatt Family Tennis Center, formerly the Nicollet
Tennis Center at 40th and Nicollet in South Minneapolis.
For 20 Saturdays during the winter, the Reed Sweatt Family
Tennis Center opens up the entire center to deliver its
programming free of charge to our communities youth.
Starting at 1:30pm our 3-11 year old kids, along with
their families, fill the tennis center along with dozens
of CMT’s and professional coaches for an hour and
a half of fun, tennis and life skill development.
As the music blares over the PA system, Roger Boyer, ICT’s
Executive Director and program architect, hand selects
and places children in teams. His ability to catalog and
remember children from week to week allows him to select
teams of diversity and create a positive learning dynamic
within each team.
In short order the teams are selected and the fun begins.
As children move from station to station they play, learn
and master a variety of physical and life skills. Parents
are invited to watch, interact and encourage their children
as they move at ICT’s Kidspeed.
At the end of the session, all the participants are brought
together for one last team building competition and round
of encouragement leaving a lasting and positive impression
until the next week.
After the 3-11 year olds are finished, the big kids,
ages 11-17, start their
session. Here ICT provides its programming with a full
staff of professional tennis coaches to build on the physical
and life skills the ICT’s children have developed
in its Level One and Two session.
While the emphasis here is about honing tennis skills,
ICT’s volunteer tennis professionals continue to
instill its Learning for Leadership assets. In doing so
ICT is helping build well rounded, productive children
and role models for their peers.
Winter Program Details:
InnerCity Tennis' 2010-2011 Saturday program begins September 25 and continues through April 16 (20 sessions in all) at the Reed Sweatt Family Tennis Center located at 4005
Nicollet Avenue South in Minneapolis. Please keep in mind that we place children in a program based on their age AND ability.
Level I (ages 3-6) - Front Bubble - 1:30-3:00
This program helps preschoolers and early elementary kids build both physical skills (agility, balance, hand-eye coordination) and life skills (teamwork, taking turns, cleaning up together, etc). Skill development stations help kids prepare for a future in any sport.
Level II (ages 6-11) - Back Bubble - 1:30-3:00
This program is for elementary school kids that want to start learning the fundamental strokes of the game of tennis. Kids use pressureless balls to accelerate the learning process for the forehand, backhand, volley, overhead and serve.
Level III (ages 11-14) - Back Bubble - 3:00-4:30
Junior high kids rotate from court to court drilling all their strokes. Our goal here is to have kids hit as many balls as possible. In addition to practicing tennis strokes, this program begins to focus on tennis game strategy.
Level IV (ages 14-17) - Front Bubble - 3:00-4:30
HIgh school kids rotate from court to court continuing to drill all their strokes. In this programl there is a considerable amount of time spent on advanced tennis skills and techniques such as grips, court positioning and the mental approach to the game.
Click here to see
a complete schedule of dates for the 2010-2011 Saturday
Winter Program.
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Some of the most at need children that
ICT works with are already involved with other great community
serving programs. Programs such as Headstart, the Girls
and Boys Clubs, American Indian Centers, YW / YMCA’s,
and many others are working with our communities youth.
ICT partners with these programs to provide ICT programming
in their facility for their children.
While its outreach program presents many programming difficulties,
these difficulties pale in comparison with the difficulties
that face these children. Many of ICT’s staff and
CMT’s have stated that the outreach program is the
most difficult and demanding, but is also the most needed
and rewarding.
To learn how ICT can help your program contact
Roger Boyer at (612) 824-6099.
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