Time:
60 min.
Equipment:
Balloons or beach balls, beanbags, racquets, large rubber and foam or low pressure balls, spots, teaching cable and small nets
1. Welcome/roll call (3 min.)
2. Warm-up
Run the lines (5 min.)
Everyone follows the leader along the lines of the court, changing forms of locomotion each time they reach a new line. Again, emphasize the names of the court lines and parts while the children:
- Walk fast
- Take giant steps and baby steps
- Do froggy jumps
- Hop on one foot, then the other
Do animal imitations
- Swing your arms like the trunk of an elephant
- Gallop lightly like a pony, then heavily like a horse
- Walk on all fours like a bear
Slow stretches (2 min.)
Do the following stretches slowly six times each, counting aloud to keep the class in sync:
- Roll neck left and then right
- Circle arms forward and backward
- Raise hands to the sky and bend down to touch toes
- Trunk twists with airplane and feet still
3. Motor skills
Red light/green light (5 min.)
All children begin at the baseline and the instructor stands at the net. When the instructor calls "green light," children move as quickly as possible toward the net. When the instructor calls "red light," the children must freeze. The game continues until a child reaches the net. If the children are able, have them balance beanbags on their racquets.
4. Racquet skills
Balloon or beach ball bump-ups (5-10 min.)
1. With racquets, children bump up balloons as parent-coaches count for them.
2. Parent-coaches hit the balloon back and forth with the child, counting as they hit.
Forehand demonstration (3 min.)
Demonstrate the forehand and have children shadow the shot, beginning with the body turned sideways and the racquet back, ready to swing.
Forehand progression (10 min.)
Hang up to five dangling balls on each teaching cable. Place spots to correctly position children. Stress the contact point in front as the children:
1. Hit a stationary ball steadied between hits by a parent-coach
2. Hit a ball gently swung by a parent-coach, who catches the ball between hits as the child prepares to hit again
3. Gently hit consecutive balls with a controlled, compact stroke
- Short backswings make this easier.
- Some children may need to start the swing at contact point.
- Count successful hits to keep the children motivated.
- Good drills for this are "3 Club," "5 Club,""10 Club" and "World Record."
Drop, hit and retrieve (10 min.)
1. Line up the children on spots along a straight line and have them stand sideways. Place a spot in front of each child where they will practice dropping a foam or low pressure ball with their non-dominant hand, arm extended, and then catching it after the bounce.
2. Once they are successful dropping the ball, the racquet is added and they will drop, hit and retrieve the ball. If the child is unsuccessful, the coach can drop the ball for the child.
- For safety, children must always be on their spots when hitting.
- To make this feel more like tennis, rotate children to spots in front of small nets.
5. Final game/wrap-up/homework
Parts of the court test (5 min.)
Whenever you use a line or part of the court, be sure to tell the children what it is. To test their knowledge, line them up along the fence. Direct the children to walk, jog or run to the part of the court you call out, including the baseline, service line, T, singles and doubles sidelines, net, net strap, net post and fences.
Practice suggestions:
- Do bump-ups with balloons and count consecutive hits to report at the next lesson.
- Drop, hit and retrieve
