Time:
60 minutes
Equipment
: Racquets, foam or low pressure balls, cones, spots, teaching cables and small nets
1. Welcome/roll call (3 min.)
2.Warm-up
Run the lines (5 min.)
Pupils line up at the baseline and doubles sideline to walk and then jog the lines. The pattern is as follows:
- forward along the doubles sideline to the net,
- sidestep across to the singles sideline,
- backward along the singles sideline to the service line,
- sidestep across the service line almost to the T,
- up the center service line to the net,
- sidestep to just across the center service line,
- backward along the center service line to the service line,
- sidestep to the singles sideline,
- up to the net,
- sidestep to the doubles sideline,
- backward along the doubles sideline
- and sidestep across to the center hash mark
Use spots and position parents to help direct children.
Slow stretches (3 min.)
Have the children count aloud while doing the following stretches:
- Neck rolls -- roll six times to the left and six times to the right
- Arm swings -- do six rotations forward and six rotations backward with each arm
- Ready, set, stretch -- in a starter’s block position, extend the right leg, then the left, and hold for six counts each leg
- Wrist rolls -- do six rotations forward and six backward with each wrist
3. Motor skills
Relays (10 min.)
Divide the group into teams, including parents. For each team, place four cones equidistant between the baseline and net. In relay fashion, team members should perform the following skills while moving to the net and back: bump-ups, bump-ups with a bounce and bounce-downs (dribble). Place emphasis on control, not necessarily speed, as team members:
1. Go straight up the lanes to touch the net and return to hand off the ball
2. Weave between the cones on the way to the net and back
4. Racquet skills
Shot of the day -- continuous footwork on volley
Demonstration (5 min.)
Demonstrate and have the class shadow the forehand and backhand volleys as practiced previously. Stress quicker and continuous footwork by pupils, moving from a forehand volley position directly to a backhand volley position (e.g., "shuffle, shuffle, turn, step, punch, shuffle, shuffle, turn, step, punch").
Volley footwork progression on dangling balls (10 min.)
Hang up to five dangling balls on each teaching cable and place spots to correctly position kids. Do drills first with the forehand volley and then the backhand volley. In all drills, stress contact point in front of the children as they:
1. Hit a stationary ball. Have pupils do this with quick shot rotation, moving quickly from forehand to backhand to forehand as the coach steadies the ball
2. Hit a ball swung gently by a parent-coach, who catches the ball between hits. The child rotates quickly forehand to backhand as smoothly as the parent and child can perform the task
3. Gently hit balls using lots of rapid footwork and attempting to make consecutive volleys, alternating between forehands and backhands
- Good drills for this are "10 Club," "20 Club," "30 Club" and "World Record."
5. Playing skills
No-net tennis (5-10 min.)
One-on-one, parent-coaches should stand several feet from children and toss low pressure balls to the children's forehands and backhands for volleying, stressing the basics of ready position, a pivot with no backswing, step and punch. Children should try to hit directly back to coaches and keep their feet moving. If children are successful, hit groundstrokes after volleys.
- Have a coach and student demonstrate before the class begins play.
- To keep balls from being sprayed around the court, position parent-coaches with their backs to the fences.
- Continue to insist on considerable movement from each child even if precision on movement sequence is not yet attainable.
- If children are successful, hit groundstrokes after volleys.
Small-net tennis (15 min.)
A good ratio for this game is one assistant or parent-coach who can control the ball well with four or six students. The coach stands across the small net from a doubles team and tosses balls for the children to volley gently. Let each child hit at least five balls during each turn.
1. The coach first feeds balls to the forehand of each player during the first rotation and then the backhand. The children aim for targets across the net.
2. The coach removes the targets and resumes the drill by hitting consecutive shots to the team at the net, trying to establish the longest rally possible.
3. If time is available, coach and pupils (or pupils together) will practice forehand and backhand groundstrokes as in No. 2 above.
- Good games for rotation are "5 Club," "10 Club," "20 Club" and "World Record."
- A parent-coach can keep waiting children occupied at a safe distance and rotate them in to play.
- Spots can help children understand their positions on the court.
- While these drills are ongoing, pull out kids who are ready to play King/queen of the court at a small net.
King/queen of the court
Place up to six small nets on a full-size court. Place one child on each side of the net to play singles points. A parent-coach should attend each court. Play can begin with the coach tossing in the ball to players alternately, or players get two attempts to drop-hit to start. (The ball must be returnable or it is considered a fault.) Play for 3 of 5 points. The winner remains on the court and the other child is replaced by a waiting child.
6. Review/homework (2 min.)
Practice suggestions:
Parents should participate in practices with their children, and everyone should warm up before playing:
- Bump-up tennis with and without a bounce
- Wall tennis -- groundstrokes
- No-net tennis -- volleys and groundstrokes with tracking footwork
