NATCHEZ — Youth tennis players from around the Miss-Lou will have the opportunity to improve their games this summer at Duncan Park.

The 2012 Youth Summer Tennis Program will start June 4 and run through July 20.

The camp is split into three different age groups. The younger groups can choose to participate in Monday/Wednesday or Tuesday/Thursday camps.

Players in third grade or younger will practice from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., and players in fourth through sixth grades will practice from 10 a.m. to noon.

Duncan Park Tennis Director Henry Harris said his goal for the youngest players is to give them an understanding of the game.

“We want them to get started learning tennis, so once they get to middle school they have a general knowledge of the game rather than never have picked up a racket,” Harris said.

Harris said he hopes to work fundamentals with the older campers to get them ready to play team tennis and school tennis.

The third program is for players in seventh grade and above and is designed to keep the middle- and high-school players shard during their offseason, Harris said.

The older players will practice from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The fee for the older players is $85, and the fee for the other two camps is $75.

The entry fee includes the six-week camp, a T-shirt and court fees.

Harris said the program would skip practice on the week of July 4.

Harris said some players could possibly get to compete at a junior tennis program in Dallas in August. He said he is still in the process of trying to make that happen, but he said if accepted they will take a 10-and-under team, 12-and-under team and high school team that will be made up of players that attended the camp practices.

Registration is available at the Duncan Park tennis center.

Harris will also provide individual lessons for youth from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays for $25 per child.

Harris will give group lessons for three to five students for $15 per child, and lessons for six to 10 students for $10 per child.

For more information, contact the Duncan Park tennis center at 601-442-1584.