Time:
60 minutes
Equipment:
Beanbags, hoppers, racquets, foam or low-pressure balls, large rubber balls, spots, teaching cable and tee
1. Welcome/roll call (3 min.)
2. Warm-up
Warm-up zone (5 min.)
At their spot on the court, have children do activities such as:
- Jump back and forth across a line or in and out of a hoop
- Jumping jacks
- Squats
- Jump from a squat
- Alternate jogging in place with running in place as fast as you can
- Balance on one foot
- Hop on one foot
Slow stretches (2 min.)
Do the following stretches six times each, counting aloud to keep the class in sync:
- Roll neck six times to the left and then six times to the right
- Circle arms six times forward and backward
- Raise hands to the sky and bend down to touch the toes
- Trunk twists with arms spread like an airplane
3. Motor skills
Ball relay (5 min.)
Divide the class into teams. All teams start at the back fence. An equal number of balls are placed in hoops, boxes or hoppers by the net. Children (and their parent-coaches, alternately) must run, skip, jump, etc., to the basket, pick up a ball and return to place it in the basket by the fence. Each person has a turn in relay fashion until all balls are in the basket by the fence and everyone is sitting.
Pancake flips (3 min.)
Spread out the children and give each a beanbag or Koosh ball. They should balance the beanbags on their racquet strings and gently flip them into the air and catch them on their racquets. Or, have parents toss beanbags for them to catch.
4. Racquet skills
Backhand groundstroke demonstration (5 min.)
Demonstrate the backhand and have children shadow it, beginning with the body turned sideways and racquet back, ready to swing. Some children will not be able to take a full backswing. Starting at contact point makes this easier.
Backhands on tee (5 min.)
Have each child set a ball on the tee, get in ready position (use spots) and swing, then retrieve the ball and return to the end of the line. Ready position should be sideways to the ball with racquet back.
Backhands on teaching cable (10 min.)
Set up a teaching cable with five dangling balls. Spots are positioned so children stand sideways with their racquets back and contact the ball in front. Have the children:
1. Hit a stationary ball steadied between hits by a parent-coach. Count successful hits and rotate children after five or 10 consecutive hits.
2. Hit a ball gently swung by a parent-coach, who catches the ball while the child gets in ready position to hit again
Bounce and hit (5-10 min.)
Children line up on spots along a line, standing sideways with their racquets back. Instructors or parent-coaches drop a large rubber ball, foam or low pressure ball in front of each child, saying, "bounce, hit" to help children who are struggling with timing. Children hit and retrieve their ball(s) and return to their spot to hit again. (If instructors hold two balls, children get more hits.)
Advanced: Instructors or parent-coaches also can gently toss balls to children saying, "bounce, hit." If a child struggles with this, go back to dropping the ball for that child.
5.Final game/wrap-up/homework
Beanbag relay (5-10 min.)
Split parents and children into two single-file lines (or four lines to have a race) across the width of the court from each other. Start by having one person carry a beanbag to the first person in line across the court and transfer the beanbag (without touching it by hand) to the other person’s racquet. That player carries it back to the other side. The relay continues until everyone has had a specified number of turns.
Practice suggestions:
- Balance a ball on the strings and walk back and forth
- Practice forehands and backhands with parent
