A tennis academy is hoping to give more opportunities to children and families all year round after receiving high praise.

10is Academy in Ely organised an Easter tennis camp for players with special educational needs, including Down’s syndrome and autism.

The aim was to give a chance to youngsters between six and 16-years-old and their families to play the sport who might otherwise be unable to.

“In a program like this, you get a little bit of everything,” Sebastian Scaux, director and head coach at 10is Academy, said.

“You promote healthy lifestyles, family engagement, you teach teamwork and most importantly, you have fun.”

Ely Standard: 10is Academy in Ely held an Easter camp for players with mental health impairment, which proved popular with children and families.10is Academy in Ely held an Easter camp for players with mental health impairment, which proved popular with children and families. (Image: 10is Academy)

The idea of holding an impairment camp was supported by Steve Shaw, of the Richard Darton Tennis Foundation which aims to give as many children as possible the chance to play tennis to create a positive impact on their lives.

After a telephone conversation with Steve, the 10is Academy then created a four-day disability Easter camp to run alongside their existing tennis camps.

So far, 50 per cent of them have already signed up for further lessons in mainstream coaching while the remaining pupils will join the new program.

The academy also ran seven other adult and junior camps over the Easter holidays, which pleased parents, players and children.

Ely Standard: 10is Academy in Ely held an Easter camp for players with mental health impairment, which proved popular with children and families.10is Academy in Ely held an Easter camp for players with mental health impairment, which proved popular with children and families. (Image: 10is Academy)

Gill, parent to her nine-year-old son who attends sessions at the academy, said: “He absolutely loves going to his tennis sessions.

“The sessions are really fun, targeted to the particular age group and give great coaching for the children to noticeably improve their game. I wholeheartedly recommend.”

10is Academy were unable to run its camps last year and its weekly programmes until last month due to Covid-19 restrictions, but it is hoped they can provide families with a much-needed boost this summer.

Ely Standard: 10is Academy in Ely held an Easter camp for players with mental health impairment, which proved popular with children and families.10is Academy in Ely held an Easter camp for players with mental health impairment, which proved popular with children and families. (Image: 10is Academy)

A spokesperson for 10is Academy said: “The return of the programme has been a tremendous help to allow 10is Academy to restart strongly and help the parents in getting their kids out of the house and active.”

The programme will return to full capacity on Monday, April 19, as several 10is Academy teams will play in the LTA National League and in the LTA Cambridgeshire League.

If interested in signing up to the current programme or for more details about the inclusive program, email admin@10is.co.uk.