Tennis: basics

Player stands on the service line. Coach feeds balls to the ad side. Player hits a deep backhand volley down the line, a deep backhand volley cross-court, a short backhand volley down the line and a short backhand volley cross-court.

Cones are set on the baseline. The player jumps over the big cone and lands with legs widely apart (flat cones between the legs). The coach feeds the ball to the backhand side, and the player hits backhand stroke.

The coach serves wide from ad side. The player hits backhand return cross-court and starts the rally in cross-court direction.

The player starts from the middle. The coach tosses 4 balls into different directions (deuce side, short middle, ad side, deep middle). The player hits all the balls with forehand stroke.

The player wears resistance bands to maintain low position. The player performs regular forehands paying attention to maintaining low position all the time.

2 players rally in cross court direction. Players adjust their court position according to the placement of own shots. If the ball is hit really deep players move closer to the baseline. If the ball is hit with medium depth players maintain the position around 2 meters behind the baseline. If the ball is hit short players quickly move back to prepare for defense. Drill specifications: 1 min and switch 4 players work with each other at the same time so the coach can walk around and provide constant feedback about the footwork and positioning. Main goal is to focus on these two aspects so any faults related to stroke’s technique shouldn’t be pointed out at this time. Waiting players should do fitness drill to work on their footwork skills and legs endurance. Ladder, jump rope or plyometrics are great examples to implement while waiting for own turn.

A hoop is set on the ad side in a standing position. Player serves from the ad side, and tries to make the ball land inside the hoop.

Cones are set on the baseline. The player jumps over the big cone and lands with legs widely apart (flat cones between the legs). The coach feeds the ball to the backhand side, and the player hits backhand stroke.

<p dir="ltr">Intention: Develop basic forehand technique. Players line up on one side of the net set up on a short court. Coach on the other side of the net. Coach feeds the ball to the first player in the line. Each player hits the ball 3 times. Shot is a forehand played with a neutral hitting stance and the player is to finish balanced on one foot. Those in the line mimic the shot of the player playing the ball. Once the player has had their three shots, they collect three balls to return to the hopper before joining the back of the line. 

Intention: Develop basic forehand and backhand technique.The group is divided into two- &quot;Hitters&quot; and &quot;Fielders&quot;.Hitters execute the drill, whilst fielders collect balls. Change roles after each player has 5 turns. Coach feeds simultaneously to the player at the front of each queue. Each player hits five balls (outside shot) and moves off the court and returns to the back of the opposite queue (players will alternate between forehand and backhand on each turn).NB: Coach must continue to reinforce key teaching points.

Player stands on the service line.Coach stands on the baseline.Player rallies with coach.Coach hits regular topspin balls into the player's legs.Player executes adeep backhand half-volley to the center of the court.

Intention: Develop basic backhand technique.Players line up on one side of the net with the coach on the other side of the net.Coach feeds the ball to the first player in the line. Each player hits the ball 3 times. Shot is a backhand played with a neutral hitting stance and the player is to finish balanced on one foot.Those in the line mimic the shoe of the player playing the ball. Once the player has had their 3 shots, they then collect 3 balls to return to the hopper before joining the back of the line.

Coach stands in front of the player. Coach tosses 3 different balls to the backhand side. First ball is close to the player; second ball is between the middle and the sideline; last ball is close to the sideline. Player hits and recovers after each shot.

Intention: Explore tactical development- &quot;Over and In&quot; and &quot;Hitting into space&quot; Each player starts the game with 3 lives (can be amended depending on time). Players at the front of the line take it in turns to hit a ball fed to them by the coach.  The players keep their lives if they successfully execute the shot by hitting the ball over and in. The player loses a life in one of the following ways: Hitting the ball out. Hitting the ball into the net. Hitting the ball after more than one bounce. Missing the ball.  Once the player has lost all 3 lives they are in the dungeon (coaches side of the net). If the coach or another player in the dungeon catches the ball without a bounce, the player loses a life. The only way out of the dungeon is to catch a shot from another player before it bounces, thus gaining one life.  The player with the most lives remaining at the end of the game is the winner.  

Players rally up and down the middle of the court while standing on the service line using their non-dominant hand, looking for as much control as they can get.

Coach stands in front of the player and alternates tosses to forehand and backhand side. Player hits the ball and moves forward, while the coach moves backwards and repeats.Coach stands in front of the player and alternates tosses to forehand and backhand side. Player hits the ball and moves forward, while the coach moves backwards and repeats.

One player stands in the deuce corner and rallies with their partner. The player in the deuce corner hits three consecutive forehands to the different zones (cross court, centre and down the line). The player at this end meanwhile, hits all of the balls to the deuce corner.

The coach stands in front of the player, and throws a low ball around the service line. The player sprints forward, hits backhand approach on the run and follows to take position at the net.

The player wears resistance bands to maintain low position. The player performs regular forehands paying attention to maintaining low position all the time.

The player starts from the middle. The coach tosses 4 balls into different directions (deuce side, short middle, ad side, deep middle). The player hits all the balls with forehand stroke.

The coach and player rally together from the advantage side. The player's goal is to open the court with the angle shot. After a successful rally with the backhand angle, the coach then hits an easy ball to let the player finish with a down the line drive.

The coach feeds a deep ball to hitters. Players must hit a topspin lob and then return to the back of the line after their shot. With more advanced players the coach should feed the balls from the back of the opposite side of the court.

Targets are set to give a visual feedback to players. Players rally with each other, with both having to throw the ball below the upper bar.Sending and receiving are basic skills that all tennis players should be able to execute properly. Ability to catch the ball and throw it with a controlled motion helps players to learn tennis strokes in a quicker way. Coach should vary the targets of throwing according to the level of the kids.

<BR>-Players take it in turns to play volleys and ground strokes in the service box.<BR>-Players swop round after approximately 3 minutes.

Players rally together. Player A hits 2 backhands cross-court and 1 backhand down the line. Player B responds with all shots to the backhand corner.

Intention: Assess forehand technique whilst developing the principles of rallying.Players start on their various courts. Each of which has a designated score that is progressive (eg 5, 7, 9) and at the discretion of the coach.Where space is limited, courts can be divided in half or thirds to create stations.One player ('The Sender') starts each rally with an underarm throw to a target area on their partners side of the court, which is situated half way between their partner (&quot;The receiver&quot;) and the net.The 'receiver', who is positioned roughly two racket lengths behind the target area, with a racket, attempts to hit the ball after one bounce to a target area on their partner's side of the court, which is positioned roughly half way between their partner and the net.The pair must then continue to throw and hit the ball (after one bounce) until they achieve the score for their designated court/station.If the rally breaks down in any way, the pair must start the rally again from zero on the court/ station they are on.If the players successfully achieve the score for their designated court (or station), they progress upwards (one station) and 'Budge' the pair on the higher station down.If either of the pair lands the ball directly on the target area they automatically progress upwards (one station) and 'Budge' the pair on the higher station down.When a pair achieves the designated score on the highest (top) court they are awarded 1 'golden' point.When a pair successfully achieves a 'golden' point, they attempt another one until they are 'budged'.The game ends when a pair reaches a pre-set number of 'golden' points. Alternatively, the pair with the most 'golden' points at the end of a pre allocated period of time is the winner.

The player stands on the baseline and the coach stands close to the net. The coach feeds drop shot to the backhand side. The player sprints forward and hits deep backhand slice down the line off drop shot.