Alex Roberts has more tennis experience than the average 10-year-old.

He started playing in Hadleigh, England, when he was five-years-old, and moved from there to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he says the sport was much more popular.

Last week Roberts, along with 10 other students, attended the high school tennis camp held by Tennis Yukon and level three national coach Gerry Macken, visiting from Vancouver.

The camp ran from Aug. 9-13 from 9-11 each morning and 2-5 in the afternoons, with drills and exercises focusing on the complete package: mental, physical and technical training.

Roberts, who was the youngest player at the camp, said the best way to improve his game is to play with more experienced players.

"In Cincinnati there was a really, really big tennis club,” he said. "But the coaches didn't pay as much attention to you there as they do here.”

Macken said that close attention is a luxury players in Vancouver aren't always afforded. Top level players in B.C., Ontario and Quebec train 18 hours each week themselves, he added.

The camp in Whitehorse was more intense because more is packed into a shorter time than usual. But with limited facilities available during the long winters in the north, that intensity is necessary to reaching the next level.

"You have more Tennis Canada certified coaches in Whitehorse per court capita than anywhere in the world,” said Macken, who has 37-years coaching experience, including students who have won 23 national titles and appeared at the World Youth Cup and the French Open.

"You only have four courts in the whole territory and you have five certified coaches. You won't find a ratio like that anywhere in the world.”

Macken first visited Whitehorse three summers ago to run a coaching certification course. During that visit he certified five coaches with the level one, including Tennis Yukon head coach Jan Polivka and two coaches who traveled from the Northwest Territories.

"It's exciting, because I love development,” Macken said.

"We're now trying to take the kids to a place where they get to understand what it takes to get to that high level, really immerse themselves in it.”

The first camp was focused on fun. The following year Macken visited to run an elite camp with Kieran Halliday and Ryan Lane, who competed in the 2007 Canada Summer Games, held in Prince Edward Island. Lane got his certification last spring and helped coach younger players this season.

This summer more kids have signed up to do the elite-level camp.

Lewis agreed with Macken that success depends on buying into all the hard work.

"It's classic – you set the bar a little high and people get really fired up by it, and we've really seen that,” she said, adding that another reason for Macken's visit was looking forward to next summer's 2011 Western Canada Summer Games. "Any plans we have for that involve a commitment over the winter to train and prepare.”

But in past year's, winter training has been difficult without a proper tennis facility.

Last winter Yukon Tennis ran training for all levels, roughly 24 kids, at Yukon College 18 hours per week. The club also plays at the Canada Games Centre's Flexihall, and offers three sessions there per year that hold 8 players each time.

Last spring, 40 junior players (ages 7-9 and 10-12) signed up for team tennis for the first time. (High school team tennis starts Aug. 18.)

Including school and club tennis, plus lessons and clinics, Lewis estimates there are 1,000 kids involved in tennis in Whitehorse.

Tennis Yukon needs a proper indoor facility to keep up with that growth, she added.

"We're making due, and we'll keep doing that and that's great, but it's not the same.”

In the meantime, Lewis takes the kids to Juneau four times each winter to tournaments held at their indoor facilities.

Macken said that's a good step forward.

"Yes, it's quite a hike. But if you don't have (the winter facilities), let's bring them somewhere where they do. So they are managing to get some indoor time. It's not as successful as you would like, it's harder, because you're still training on limited time here before you go there, but at least you're sort of crossing the bridge and getting more time somewhere else.”

Juneau's Evan Carnahan traveled last week to Whitehorse to attend Macken's camp.

"My coach in Juneau told me about it, so I was interested. Since we don't have a pro in Juneau, it's nice to get some instruction. Here it's more technical and less kids per court,” Carnahan said, adding he would come back next year if a camp were available.

Halliday said the higher numbers at last week's camp are promising.

"Last time he was here it was just me and Ryan (Lane) who were with him doing high performance like this, and now everybody else is doing high performance,” the 14-year-old said.

What does that say about tennis in the Yukon?

"It's growing for sure.”