Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to want to bash this man into a pulp with my son´s tennis raquet?

54 replies

ConfusedishSay · 21/08/2013 09:06

Am soooo spitting furious at the moment! Here´s why, but do tell me if I shouldn´t be!
So I´m sending my kids (5 and 7)to a rather costly tennis camp for 2 weeks in the hope that they will learn a bit about how to hit a ball....no aspirations to turn them into Murray or Nadal or anything...
And, since we had no idea if they would like it or not, I bought them functional yet thrifty little raquets from the local supermarket.....
Was gobsmacked and enraged yesterday upon fetching them to hear bratty little boy laughing and chanting, "You have toy raquets, you have toy raquets, etc etc"
Resisting strong urge to stop up his nasty little gob with a sizeable tennis ball, I then was told that one of the instructors had told my sons (in front of all the other kids) that "Those are not raquets, they are toys"!
Now I have wielded both these raquets last week hitting balls about and they are perfectly fine, IMO. I mean are people honestly buying Slazengers for their 5 year olds???
Have a good mind to go and have it out with this stuck-up twat...what would you do??

OP posts:
Alliwantisaroomsomewhere · 21/08/2013 09:10

YABU. No, not Slazengers, but the racquets you bought may well be toy ones - are they? You can get very inexpensive proper racquets for children.

I would also be pissed off with the child who was horrible to yours, but if the coach reckons they are toy racquets, then perhaps they are!

Bit of an over reaction on your part.

SilverApples · 21/08/2013 09:11

Did they give any details about the sort of raquets that you should buy?
Are your children enjoying the camp? Why didn't they mention what the instructor had said to you? Do they care?
The instructor was an insensitive arse, but I've known a lot of PE teachers and sports instructors who were. And I have pointed it out to them.

LifeofPo · 21/08/2013 09:11

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

YouTheCat · 21/08/2013 09:12

If they can hit a ball with them and you're paying for this instructor, tell him to wind his neck in.

SilverApples · 21/08/2013 09:12

Shouldn't be pissed off with the child, the instructor sets the tone and gave him the ammunition. The adult is at fault.

Fakebook · 21/08/2013 09:12

I don't know. Was there a specific requirement about racquets when you signed them up?

Are they made out of plastic and orange?

SilverApples · 21/08/2013 09:13

Are they using their raquets? Our local tennis camps provide them, or you bring your own designer stuff.

Runningchick123 · 21/08/2013 09:16

I got a junior wilson racquet for my son for £10 from a supermarket.
Prior to that we had 'toy' racquets wich I bought very cheaply just so we could have a bit of fun in the park as a family. When he started gong t a weekly tennis session (not a serious lesson, just 40 mins of cheap fun) I decided that he needed a proper racquet.
Even though the Wilson racquet was only a tenner it is very different from the other racquets, it has a bigger head, better strings and is the correct size for my sons age and height.
I would not have sent my son to a proper tennis session without a proper racquet. But the coach should not have said anything to your son and especially not in front of other children. The coach should have told you (quietly) at home time that your son needs a proper racquet for the camp.

Lilacroses · 21/08/2013 09:16

Whatever the quality of the raquets the instructor should not have said that to your kids especially in front of other kids. If he needed to say it he should have spoken to you. I know nothing about tenns btw!

HeySoulSister · 21/08/2013 09:21

Yabu

And the way you casually drop in violent threats in your op is worrying!

livinginwonderland · 21/08/2013 09:23

Racquets are only about £10 from a sports shop. If you're forking out for 2 weeks of lessons, they need a decent racquet. When I was 15, I had private coaching (in school, but we paid extra for it) but my dad refused to buy me an adult-sized racquet. My coach ended up sending a letter home and told him that I wouldn't actually improve unless I had the proper equipment. He went out the following day and got me a new one!

You do need proper-sized and decent racquets if you want your kids to be able to play properly - I don't mean professionally, but you can't learn decent technique with a plastic racquet from Tesco. The coach was BU to say it in front of everyone, though.

LifeHuh · 21/08/2013 09:23

Instructor sounds insensitive in the way he raised this- but if these racquets don't actually perform they will make it much harder for your Dcs to learn.That is IMO as a hopelessly non sporty person who has learnt this the hard way at various times. We have decent well made but still "toy" badminton racquets - last year I took the trouble to dig out DH and I's proper adult racquets (still budget though!) and the difference it made for me and equally non sporty DS playing was surprising.
If you are competent you will be able to overcome issues with your equipment even if you don't like it - if you are a beginner you may not be able to.

RobotLover68 · 21/08/2013 09:24

I'm a squash coach and all children who do not have a racquet are allowed to borrow ours - in fact we actively encourage parents NOT to buy a racquet until they are sure the kids are going to like it - 2 weeks tennis camp sounds like an awful lot in one go though!

BrokenSunglasses · 21/08/2013 09:49

The instructor shouldn't be embarrassing children in from of their peers, even if the tennis racquets are toy ones. If he has a problem, he should speak to you about it seeing as a five and a seven year old can't exactly pop to the shops and pick up what they need on their own.

Children do tease about things like this, but it's up to the staff to control it and make sure children are kind to each other. Unfortunately in my experience of sports camp type things, instructors don't pay any attention to any of these things, it's all about the sport.

I think if they are going to be doing a whole two weeks of this camp, which does sound like a lot to book them in for before you know if they like it, then it's worth giving them proper equipment.

quoteunquote · 21/08/2013 10:51

I'm surprised the club don't supply rackets for new people,

any of the chain sports shops will have a decent cheap rackets, I would buy them one each before tomorrow,

the coach is a twonk.

DoubleLifeIsALifeHalved · 21/08/2013 15:46

It really has no relevance whether the rackets were toys or not. The instructor should not be handling it in front of the other children in a way that breeds teasing and nastiness.

Not ok.

WandaDoff · 21/08/2013 15:50

Childrens tennis raquets

WandaDoff · 21/08/2013 15:51
  • '
TerraNotSoFirma · 21/08/2013 15:59

If the instructor felt there was a problem with the racquets he should have spoken to you directly rather than your children and certainly not in front of anyone else.

flipchart · 21/08/2013 16:01

What would I have done.

I wouldn't have set my kids up for a fall in the first place tbh.
I would have asked advice on what to get before I signed them up.
I would have factored the cost of an intermediate racquet into the cost of the course tobway up if it was good value so that I am not running out to buy more in a few weeks time once they have found out they have liked it and need a better racquet than a beginner. And if the don't like it I would have sold it on.

This is what I did with their ice hockey courses.

BoozyBear · 21/08/2013 16:08

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Runningchick123 · 21/08/2013 16:13

Sainsburys and tesco both sell wilson racquets and are open this evening. Junior racquets are not expensive. When I got my sons the basic wilson junior racquets were £10 and the roger federa/ andy Murray Wilson ones were £15.
Even after camp has finished you can use the racquets to play tennis in the park for free so it's a good investment.
Tesco and sainsburys are both open late so you should be able to get a couple of racquets tonight.

BlingBang · 21/08/2013 16:15

all the camps i know of supply raquets if the kids don't have their own. they need a proper racquet. they shouldn't have been made fun of though.

Ifcatshadthumbs · 21/08/2013 16:17

Sorry but if your going to sign them up to a sports club then they need proper equipment (doesn't need to be top of the range).

If you just wanted them to have a bit of fun then you could have just hired a court yourself and played with them.

WayHarshTai · 21/08/2013 16:18

IT'S RACKET

RACKET

RACKET

Racket is the correct term in tennis. Racquet is poncy and incorrect.

No need to thank me.