THE PENN TENNIS CAMP – Philadelphia, PA
4.9 Stars – Based on 8 User Reviews
Day Camp With Half Day Option
The Wilson Collegiate Tennis Camps / Penn Tennis Camp is the nation’s most popular tennis camp. Hosting close to a thousand campers each summer, the camp has built a reputation for top-flight instruction, fun and well organized days. Each summer we host 9 weeks of camp throughout June, July, and August and offer Full Day and Half Day options. There is an appropriate camp option for boys and girls ages 3-18 of all skill levels.
Campers receive personal attention, advanced teaching techniques, intensive drill work, and game/match play, all in a fun and competitive environment. We break the campers into small instructional groups of similar age and ability, so each child is working in a group that is commensurate with their experience level. We tailor each program to the level of the players. Beginners get a heavy dose of swing technique and fundamentals, while more advanced players focus on strategy, point building, percentage tennis, etc.
The Wilson Collegiate Tennis Camps are the premier camps for young players who strive to learn the game, improve their skills and participate in middle school, high school, USTA team tennis, or tournaments.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE CAMP INCLUDE:
- Comprehensive instructional program with daily teaching progressions
- Safety prioritized on and off the court
- Small instructional groups to ensure individual attention
- Great Wilson Raffle and prizes for all campers
- Camp demo program featuring all the latest Wilson rackets
CAMP DETAILS
CAMP DATES: (director by week)
- 2022 Camp Dates Coming Soon
* For Sold out sessions please email the office HERE to be added to the waitlist.
FEES:
- Full day: Coming Soon
TIMES:
- Full Day – 9am – 3pm daily
- Half Day – 9am – Noon daily
AGES:
- Boys and Girls ages 5-17 of all skill levels. Camp is open to any and all.
Camp Discounts
Discounts: Discounts are available for campers attending multiple weeks of camp. To be eligible for this discount, a single camper must attend 3 or more weeks of camp. The rates for campers enrolling for 3 weeks or more are as follows:
3 + weeks of camp for any single camper:
- Full Day: $45 discount per week
Coupon Code: THREEPENN
* Note – Campers that use the code and are not eligible will be responsible for the full amount.
COVID SAFETY PROTOCOLS
Our athletics department has received an approved health and safety plan that was reviewed by the University and the City of Philadelphia Department of Public Health. I’m providing some of the key bullet points from the plan below.
- All coaches, staff, and camp participants must wear a mask at all times. This includes during physical activity.
- All coaches, staff, and camp participants must complete a daily symptom check. PennOpen Pass will be available for everyone, otherwise a daily verbal attestation will be required at check-in/drop-off.
- All coaches, staff will be required to enroll and participate in University surveillance testing, testing once per week regardless of vaccination status.
- Campers will be in cohort groups, not to exceed 30 per group. Interaction between cohorts is prohibited.
- The use of indoor space for any meals or snacks is prohibited. (We will have a staggered meal and lunch break between camp groups).
- All symptomatic or positive cases must be reported to Campus Health immediately as well as the Camp Director and the Business Development contact.
- If a positive test is confirmed within a summer camp the Camp Director must disclose a positive case to all camp counselors and participants (without identifying the individual). With universal masking and proper distancing outside of athletic activity any potential exposure is likely to be deemed low risk and the camp can likely continue after disinfecting facilities and equipment used, however Campus Health will provide direction if further action needs to be taken regarding the status of that particular summer camp.
MORE INFORMATION
Camp Types
Full Day Camp (Ages 5-17) – This is the traditional Penn tennis camp. Great drills and clinics in the morning, healthy group lunches, and fun games and more tennis and other sports in the afternoon. Every week will feature a Camp Raffle to compete for a chance to win exciting Wilson prizes such as t-shirts, grips, hats, water bottles, rackets, bags, string, vibration dampeners and more.
Half Day Camp (Ages 3-5) – Our half day option is an excellent opportunity to offer young children a chance to experience 3 hours a day of tennis fun in an active indoor facility. The Half Day Camps will run all 10 weeks from 9:00 am – 12:00 pm daily. All activities are age appropriate and are structured to 30 minute intervals which help young children stay engaged in the activities and enjoy the full 3-hour camp. Some of the activities involve on court skill builder drills and games on the tiny tennis court with endless motor skill development equipment.
Week 4 - Tennis & Squash
Week 4 – July 5-9, 2021 of our camp offers a unique Tennis and Squash option. This option allows for half day focus on tennis and half day focus on squash and is a great option to diversify the learning during camp. This camp option is limited to the first 30 kids to sign up.
Meals
Lunch is provided on campus for the Full Day Campers and is included in the camp fee. Kids will have the option to take a morning snack break. Snacks and drinks will be available for purchase at the Tennis Center.
FAQ's
Q: Are there Skill Requirements for this camp?
Per NCAA rules, our sports camps are open to all entrants. Enrollment is limited only by age, grade level, gender, and capacity restrictions specified by each camp.
Q: What type of campers attend this camp?
Our camps are open to all levels of tennis players. We have players from absolute beginner to high school / Tournament level.
We design our camps to teach the technical basics and love of the game to the beginning player, to introduce strategical decision making, and more advanced technique to the intermediate player, while building on their current stroke production, and to put the advanced players into pressured, strategical and competitive situations.
Q. What is the ratio of campers to staff?
Groups are divided into small instructional groups of approximately Five to Six: One (5.5:1) camper to coach. Some camps/sessions offer higher or lower ratios based on the curriculum.
Q. If the camp is full, do you have a waiting list?
We do have a waiting list for our camp weeks that sell out. It is not unusual for us to add campers from the waiting list due to late cancellations. To be added to the waitlist, please email the office.
Q. Should I purchase camp/cancellation insurance?
We recommend all families purchase camp/cancellation insurance if they are concerned about their investment in the camp. Kids do get injured, sick and family plans change prior to the start of camp. Camp insurance allows peace of mind and has many benefits in any of these events. Please review our policies page for more information about camp/cancellation insurance. Click Here
Extended Day Care
Extended day care is available from 3-6pm for $25 per day. Arrangement for extended day care should be made through Ellah Nze or David Geatz at the Hecht Tennis Center.
Airport Transportation
Airport transportation is available upon request for those flying into camp. The closest airport is the Philadelphia International Airport (8 miles from campus). To arrange for a pickup, please email prior to making flight arrangements.
PERTINENT INFORMATION
Check-In
Check-in is daily between 8:30 – 9am at the Hecht Tennis Center. All campers are required to sign in daily at the front desk upon arrival.
Check-Out
- Half day campers – Noon daily
- Full day campers – 3pm daily
* All campers are required to sign out daily before leaving the facility. Campers walking home independently or leaving with another family will require a note to be on file with the camp.
Extended Day Care is available from 3-6pm for $25 per day. Extended Day activities will include movies, games and the option for on court play. Please contact Hecht Tennis Center for details.
Camp Forms
All our camp forms, including the required liability form and medical form can be found HERE
Packing List
- Tennis Racket
- Tennis Shoes
- Sun Screen
- Hat / Visor
- Water bottle
- Snack (if desired)
MEET YOUR COACHES
Camp Director: Weeks 6,7,8
David Geatz
Head Men’s Tennis Coach
The Penn Tennis Camp
David Geatz was named the Albert G. Molloy Head Coach of Men’s Tennis in June 2011, and enters his fourth season overseeing the Quakers’ men’s tennis program.
Geatz (pronounced “gets”) has had a long and varied coaching career, but what cannot be dismissed is his success within the collegiate ranks. Most recently, he spent two years at Cornell, the first (2008-09) as head coach of men’s tennis and the second (2009-10) as head coach of both the men’s and women’s tennis programs.
Geatz’s impact on the men’s program was immediate and obvious — a perennial second-division program, the Big Red men finished sixth in the Ivy League in 2008, before his arrival. In his first year, however, Cornell went 5-2 in the Ancient Eight to finish second in the standings, behind Columbia. The Big Red then repeated the feat in 2010.
Those second-place finishes marked the program’s best EITA/Ivy finishes until this past spring, when Cornell won the Ivy title for the first time. Though heavily bearing his stamp, the Big Red’s title run came without him at the helm — Geatz left Cornell following the 2010 spring season.
For 18 years, from 1988-2006, Geatz was the head coach of men’s tennis at the University of Minnesota. During his tenure, the Golden Gophers won five Big Ten championships and put together a 45-match win streak in conference play (including four undefeated regular-season campaigns). Geatz was a three-time Big Ten Coach of the Year and also earned NCAA Regional Coach of the Year honors once. His teams had a streak of 12 straight NCAA Championship appearances, and he led the program to a No. 10 national ranking which was its highest ever. Individually, Geatz coached Harsh Mankad to the No. 1 position nationally in singles.
Camp Director: Weeks 1-5, 9
Ellah Nze
Camp Director
The Penn Tennis Camp
Ellah Nze (pronounced N-Zee) was named the Manager of the Hecht/Hamlin Tennis Centers in March 2016 and is entering her fifth season as the Director for the Penn Tennis Camp. A Baltimore native, she began playing tennis at the age of 5 and by age 14 relocated to Florida to receive top training from the USTA (United States Tennis Association) High Performance coaches and the world renowned program at Saddlebrook Tennis Academy. As a junior tennis player, Ellah competed in all four Grand Slams (US Open, Wimbledon, Australian Open and French Open) and all the other top tier national and international junior tournaments. She was consistently ranked in the top 5 in the United States in all age divisions and top 50 in the world (ITF junior) rankings. While still an amateur in high school, she also competed on the ITF Pro Circuit winning three ITF Pro Circuit events reaching a career high WTA ranking of 478.
In 2007, Ellah chose to forgo a professional tennis career and accepted a full scholarship to play for the historic women’s tennis program at Duke University. At Duke, Ellah played in the No.1 and No.2 singles positions and No.1 doubles position. She reached career high collegiate rankings of No.5 in singles and No.4 in doubles. She played a vital role on the 2009 team that captured the program’s first NCAA women’s tennis championship and earned numerous awards throughout her collegiate career including ITA All-America honors, All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors and the coveted title as the 2008 Atlantic Coast Conference Freshman of the Year.
Over the summer between 2009-2012, Ellah served as a Senior Counselor for the day and overnight Duke Tennis Camps. Using her knowledge of the game and player experiences, she also worked as a Tennis Professional teaching juniors and adults of all ages and ability levels at tennis clubs in Washington, D.C., Princeton, New Jersey and Manhattan, New York. Currently, she oversees facility operations and tennis/squash programming at the University of Pennsylvania.
DAILY SCHEDULE
The following schedules are sample schedules of our camps. These are provided to give a rough idea of how each camp is programmed throughout the day.
| DAILY SCHEDULE: | |
|---|---|
| 8:30 a.m – 9:00 a.m | Camp Check In |
| 9:00 a.m – 9:15 am | Introduce Camp staff and go over rules, sportsmanship, etiquette and safety |
| 9:15 a.m – 12:00 pm | Morning tennis instruction/ drills based on the camp motto of Fun and Fundamentals. Introduce and demonstrate stroke of the day. |
| 12 p.m – 1:15 p.m | Lunch in the UPenn dining hall (All you can eat) |
| 01:15 p.m – 03:00 p.m | Match Play/ Skills testing and Competition sessions |
| 03:00 p.m – 03:30 p.m | Pick up for full day campers |
| 03:00 p.m – 06:00 p.m | Extended Day starts for all campers who need to stay for late pick up times. |
FACILITY
HECHT & HAMLIN TENNIS CENTERS
The Hecht Tennis Center has eight indoor tennis courts and is open daily. The facilities are made up of eight glare-free Devoe illuminated courts with well paced Plexi Pave surfaces and seasonal air conditioning. There is a spacious observation deck that overlooks the front four courts. Showers and lockers available. Each player must provide their own lock and towel.
The Hamlin Center has 12 all weather courts in a beautiful park setting with views of the Philadelphia skyline. The facility has stadium seating for several hundred and is open daily. There are no restroom/shower facilities available by the outdoor courts, however restrooms/showers are available at the Hecht Tennis Center. Patrons must check-in at the Hecht Tennis Center and receive a ticket prior to playing on the courts.