Tennis in Mind – Smashing Success! 🎾🧠

First course at Rickmansworth School sees project work in 4th Secondary school!

Circles of Control session

Over the past 8 weeks, we’ve been running Tennis in Mind, a unique course that blends tennis with tools for improving mental wellbeing. It’s been a brilliant mix of movement, mindfulness and meaningful moments.

Each week we picked up a racket and a new wellbeing tool, from breathing techniques to thought-challenging strategies. Students quickly got stuck in, with one saying their favourite part was simply “playing tennis” because it was “fun and relaxing.” Another said the “six pack” tool helped them stay calm when things felt overwhelming.

The feedback from staff has been just as encouraging. One noted, “Yes, definitely. More likely to do work without needing reminders.” Others reported improvements in resilience, organisation and overall calmness in the classroom.

To give you an idea of what the course can look like. On week 1 we started with a gentle intro session. No pressure, just space to connect. We welcomed students with name cards, Uno and “Would You Rather” questions (yes, including “Would you rather have skin that changes colour based on emotion or tattoos of everything you did yesterday?”). We introduced the team, outlined the course and played the Haven intro video. Everyone filled out a short expectations questionnaire, which helped us understand how to best support them and helped them reflect on where they’d like to grow.

By the end of the 8 weeks we saw huge improvement in their tennis skill, thier ability to focus on the teaching we brought each week and also a reduction in their anxiety levels.

Would we run Tennis in Mind again? Absolutely. It’s been a privilege to create a space where young people can have fun, open up and grow in confidence, both on and off the court.

In fact the next Tennis in Mind starts today so when one opportunity closes another opens for the project. We are very grateful!

Charlotte Barton