One of the youngest participants at this week’s Rice University Summer Tennis Camp could barely see beyond the brim of his hat.

Another was working hard on her shot, but grunting like Maria Sharapova with every hit – and usually laughing immediately after.

As long as the lessons got through, Owls coaches said, the campers could have as much fun as they wanted.

Sixty campers from age 8 through high school were participating Tuesday in the sixth week of the seven-week camp, which began June 2 and runs through July 20 at Jake Hess Tennis Stadium. Many were previous participants, but that’s encouraged here.

“The kids who come to this camp four weeks at a time are getting the same instruction over and over, but at this point in their careers they need repetitions,” Rice assistant coach Efe Ustundag said. “We break things down pretty simply here. But the older kids … by the third and fourth days, they’re going through a lot more structure and strategy.”

Ustundag and former Rice assistant Greg Davis, now the head men’s coach at Lamar University, oversaw the younger campers.

Head coach Ron Smarr was working with those ages 13 and older at another set of courts nearby.

The camp runs from 9:30 a.m. to noon Mondays through Thursdays. The coach-to-student ratio is 5:1. Players take skills tests Mondays to determine their ability, then are sectioned off into groups.

“Since this is the younger kids we do things that are a little bit simpler,” said Ustundag, an All-American for Rice in the late 1990s. “The first day … we concentrated on groundstrokes. (Tuesday) we introduced volleys and usually the third day will be overhead and serving. The fourth day we’ll go with rallying and playing points, so every day we introduce something a little bit different.”

Some campers come all seven weeks, he said, but most participate for three or four weeks.

“They’re hitting a lot of balls and getting a lot of coaching,” Ustandag said. “The more they come, the more they feel comfortable about being here and the more coaches get to know them, so it gets more personal.”

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