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red DRILLS
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Anticipation and tactical awareness

The court is marked out with cones into areas (e.g. red, amber and green). Players try to anticipate which area the ball is going to land in so that they can respond with the most appropriate tactical return. A buddie coach stands behind the player and tells them which shot they should play (ie. approach the net, lob etc.) depending on the area that they are hitting from i.e. where they are standing/ running on court as they hit the ball. Players will need to watch the body shape of the coach and the ball contact carefully to anticipate what type of shot is being hit and therefore where it is likely to land.

Rally Drills

Back and Forth

Both players start at service line. Red 1 has to hit a ground stroke and then approach the net and play a volley back to Blue 1 and then return to service line. Repeat 6-10 shots then stop for Blue 1 to continue drill.

Movement

Forehand to catch - get your eye in

Players 1, 2 and 3 feed a ball underarm high over the net to 4, 5 and 6. Players 4, 5 and 6 have rackets and must try and hit the balls back for their partners to catch. After six turns they change around.

Forehand Drills

Keepeeupeeeeee!

Players work in groups of 2-6. Players get in a circle and attempt to keep the ball in the air for as long as possible.

Coordination / Fun Games

Lob Game

-The game has two teams of four players each.-Each team consists of two lobbers and two smashers.The smashers must stand in their respective service courts.-Points are scored every time a lob falls between the base line and the service line.The baseliners must hit the ball after one bounce. Points are lost as in normal tennis.-First team to 5 wins.-The baseliners and the smashers swop over for the next game.

Lob

Pick It Up

Both players are rallying in the service box, however Red 1 must 1/2 volley every shot back to Blue 1. After ten shots, continue the volley but Blue 1 must then 1/2 volley.

Volley Drills

Topspin Lob

The coach feeds a challenging ball across the court to player 1 who has to lob player 2 with a top spin lob. Player 2 starts at the service line and moves towards the net before trying to smash the return if they can reach it.

Lob

Volley reaction

- Coach feeds the ball low over the net.- 2 players try to beat the goalie.- They must bend low to attack the volleys.- A point is scored if the ball is hit between the cones.- Play 15-20 balls then rotate.

Volley Drills

Rally with 3 zones Forehand Dr...

2 players rally together in cross court direction. 3 zones are set on each player’s side (Red, Yellow, Green). Player has to hit particular shot according to the opponent’s balls placement. If the ball lands in the red zone player hits defensive/neutral shot. If the ball lands in the yellow zone player hits neutral/offensive shot. If the ball lands in the green zone player has to attack it.Drill specifications:30-60 seconds and switch4 players can work on the court at the same time while others can have different duties. Coach can put 2 players next to the net post and let them say “stop” when the ball goes over the net. This is the signal for the player and feedback at the same time of their perception time. If there are more players on the court coach can make them do some fitness drill or put them far behind the hitting players and work on ball perception on their own.

General

Heads and Tails Movement - Ten...

The red players are facing away from the blue players with their legs astride on the inside tramline. The blue players then underarm throw the balls either over the red players heads or thru their legs. The red players have to react as quickly as possible. The red players have to try and stop the ball before it reaches the center line.

General

Height Rally Drills - Tennis D...

Purpose:To learn that shots go higher over the net than imagined Variation "A"Cover the net with towels and ask 2 singles players to play up to 11 points.Feed underhand for 2 points alternately Variation "B"Erect badminton nets to create higher target over netCompete as in "A".

General

Tennis: Inside out fh - Threes...

Player 1 is working in the whole court but primarily in the red target zone, hitting ONLY fhs: 1 fh cross, and 1 fh inside out. Player 2 is working in the fh corner and is hitting a forehand back to the centre of the court, middle of the red target zone. Player 3 is working in the bh corner and is hitting a backhand down the line to the outer edge of the red target zone. Player 3 feeds the ball in down the line, player 1 hits a fh cross, player 2 hits a fh down the middle, player 1 runs around the ball and hits an inside out fh back to player 3, and the pattern repeats.

General

Recovery Habits - Backhand Mov...

This drill teaches how to achieve good positioning on the court. Coach tosses balls to the one side, and the player hits the ball and recovers to the proper spot. If the shot is cross court (yellow cone), player recovers to the closer (yellow) cone. If the shot is down the line to the red cone, player has to go to the further (red) cone.

General

Back and Forth Volley Drills -...

Both players start at service line. Red 1 has to hit a ground stroke and then approach the net and play a volley back to Blue 1 and then return to service line. Repeat 6-10 shots then stop for Blue 1 to continue drill.

General

Behind the Baseline and Sideli...

Coach feeds balls to the deuce side.Player alternates hitting deep forehand cross-court and forehand angle cross-court.

General

Rally cross-court and surprise...

2 players rally together in cross court direction. Player A picks the right moment to surprise the opponent and hits the drop shot down the line.Drill specifications:1 minute and switch4 players can work on forehands and backhands at the same time so 1 minute periods for switching are appropriate. Waiting players can perform some footwork exercises on the ladder to keep the feet active or they can imitate drop shot to get more comfortable with disguising the shot and changing the grip right before the point of contact.

General

Colour Ball Agility & Fitness ...

Coach has 2 balls: red and yellow. Coach throws one of the balls to the player. If this is yellow ball, player has to catch it after one bounce. If it is red ball, player has to catch it in the air.

General

Proper positioning Forehand Dr...

Red cones are set on deuce side; yellow cones are set on the ad side. The coach throws balls to the ad side, and the player runs around and hits forehand inside out (yellow cone) or inside in (red cone). After the shot, the player recovers to the proper cone according to the shot's direction.

General

Tennis: Movement to and from a...

Players are working in groups of 3, with players 2 and 3 feeding and player 1 'working'.Player 1 is hitting one forehand cross and one forehand inside out to player 3.Player 2 is hitting one forehand down the line aiming for the red cone.Player 3 is hitting one backhand line into the target zone.The drill continues in this way with players rallying co-operatively for a certain length of time, 3 minutes for example, before rotating.

General

Length Rally Drills - Tennis D...

Can use this rally as a progression of "Height" drillPurpose:Understanding the importance of lengthStart with a coach feeding the balls from the other side of the net. Only shots landing deep of service line count as "in". Progress to a rally with 2 Players full courtPlay up to 11 points.Feed underhand for 2 points alternately.

General

Anticipation and tactical awar...

The court is marked out with cones into areas (e.g. red, amber and green). Players try to anticipate which area the ball is going to land in so that they can respond with the most appropriate tactical return. A buddie coach stands behind the player and tells them which shot they should play (ie. approach the net, lob etc.) depending on the area that they are hitting from i.e. where they are standing/ running on court as they hit the ball. Players will need to watch the body shape of the coach and the ball contact carefully to anticipate what type of shot is being hit and therefore where it is likely to land.

General

Rally to the Advantage Side Ra...

Coach stands in the advantage corner. Coach and player rally together before the coach moves the player around the court. The player's goal is to make all balls to the advantage corner.

General

Hit and move: Running drives R...

Players are working in threes with player 1 in a full-court and players 2 and 3 in the forehand and backhand corners respectively.Player 1 is hitting running drives, 1 forehand cross followed by 1 backhand cross.Player 2 is hitting a forehand line, and player 3 a backhand line.The pattern is played in this way for up to 3 minutes depending on the level of fitness of player 1.

General

Catching and Kicking Tennis Ki...

Drill to practice kicking accuracy and contesting the ball in the air.Split the players into two even teams with different coloured bibs (red and blue).Set up two squares (roughly 15m x 10m, with a 5-10m middle zone - see diagram). Split each team in half so half of each team is in each square.Players have to try to kick the ball to a player on their team in the opposite area to score a point.For each kick that is caught on the full by a team mate in the opposite area the team scores one point.The opposition team are trying to disrupt the catch by competing in the air or trying to distract the player catching the ball.PROGRESSION:Use one ball to start with then introduce multiple balls.Players kick with the ball with their less dominant foot.Catch with one hand only.Set a time limit on the time a player is allowed to hold the ball for before kicking it back (e.g. 2 seconds).The catcher has to pass to another player in their team to kick the ball.

General

GroundStrokes N/Movement and D...

Players start off on centre and hit 3 shots: Forehand crosscourt, backhand down the line and forehand crosscourt. (All shots back to coach position 3)

General

Keep It In The Trams Movement ...

Both players rally from the service line trying to keep the ball in the tramlines. However Player A must play one forehand then one backhand alternatively.The first player to hit it out of the tramlines wins the point. The first player to 11 points then swap.

General

Ball Sidestepping Movement - T...

Both players side step along the tramlines throwing the ball (underarm)to each other until they reach the net and then return to the baseline doing the same thing. Catching the ball after one bounce is a good start.

General

Swiss Handball Movement - Tenn...

This game requires two or more teams. Both teams are trying to place the ball into the opposing team's hoop, however they are not allowed to run with the ball. On receiving the ball, the player must touch the ground first with the ball and pass it to a team-mate within 3 seconds.

General

Respond to Drop Shot Movement ...

Coach tosses low and short balls really close to the net. Player sprints and responds with counter drop shots.

General

Short rally with footwork Back...

Coach and player rally together using backhand strokes from service line.Player has to run around the cone after every hit.

General

Rally with recovery Backhand D...

The player warms up backhand stroke and works on recovery, and rallies with another player. One player is using only backhand strokes. After each hit, the player has to recover to the middle and go around the cone.

General

Returning a drop shot down the...

Coach stands close to the net and feeds balls close to the net on the player's side of the court to mimic a drop shot. Starting at the baseline the player has to run and hit a return drop shot down the line. Cones should be set out to give the player a target to aim for.

General

Overhead Volley Volley Drills ...

The coach feeds 20 balls from the basket alternating between an overhead and a put-away volley.The players aim the overheads at the deeper targets and the volleys at the shorter targets, hitting cross-court and closing the net down as they do so.The coach can feed forehand volley then backhand volley alternately after the smash but they should also vary this and change the pattern - so maybe they will get another forehand volley instead of the backhand that they were expecting.Once the player has completed the 20 ball set they go around the far end of the court to pick the balls up, and the next player has their turn.Up to 5 sets of 20 can be repeated in this way.

General

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red SESSIONS
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Patience, concentration and hard-work Session!

Make your players working hard through game, set and match with this mental and physical stamina session.

Pre-tournament automation

Leave no stone unturned in your player?s preparation for their next tournament with this session

Hit the Perfect Forehand!

Don't get your player's feet in a muddle! Work on their footwork to hit the perfect forehand

Smash means the End!

Time the overhead perfectly and smash to victory with this session!

Serving wide to create the one two punch

This is the first part of this two-part attacking serving session - serving from the deuce court

Implementing down the line shot

Implement the down the line shot into your players? game and get them mixing up their play with this session

The complete backhand volley

Get your players to master the backhand volley and dominate at the net with this session!

Adapting to Different Points of Contact

To work on the forehand in different situations that require varying points of contact. To understand the necessity for technical adaptation when dealing with low, medium, and high balls.

Match Ready - Backhand Stroke

To work on technical and tactical aspects of backhand stroke from different areas on the court

Mid Court Shot Execution

Develop weapons that will allow for successful performance in the mid court area.

Challenge the serve to meet demands!

Make your players tactically aware and ready for their return of serve, hitting shot patterns to go on the front foot

Controlling points with backhand

Develop your players movement into their backhand to create combinations to transition from defence into attack.

Tactical aspects faced in the match

Develop tactical awareness to understand what shot to play, where to recover to and ultimately to create point winning opportunities.

Cross-court forehands - The baseline blaster

Improve this powerful and explosive stroke with your players so that they can hit the baseline and give their opponent the run-around!

Unpredictable Competitor

To coach a player with variety and a broader repertoire of shots so they are unpredictable to play against.

Points based on Forehand scenarios

Work on different tactical plays with your players on court, based on their forehand stroke, to catch the opposition off guard!
red ANSWERS
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Permanent lines for U10 tennis?

I would like to add permanent lines for Under 10 tennis and am wondering if anyone has any experience doing this and can help me avoid problems with adult members?

Archived User Coach

Green to Yellow Transition

My son is playing Green at the moment and in 5 months time he will be yellow..how soon do you think He should start training Yellow..

Archived User Coach

I'm coaching middle school tennis for the first time. Where to begin?

Coaching tennis to middle school athletes for the first time. How do I begin?

Rhonda R Lang Coach, United States of America

How do I use My Team?

Archived User Coach

Red tennis coaching benchmarks?

Hi All, I'm new to 10 and under tennis coaching and currently I'm coaching a group for red tennis and I need to measure the group progress.To know if I am doing fine in coaching them.for example after how many session they should be able to rally?

Ahmed Fadl Coach, Saudi Arabia

Red and orange ball

Where can I find red and orange ball progressive 5 to 8 week lesson plans

johm steck Coach, United Arab Emirates

I'm coaching middle school ten...

Coaching tennis to middle school athletes for the first time. How do I begin?

Rhonda R Lang Coach, United States of America

Permanent lines for U10 tennis...

I would like to add permanent lines for Under 10 tennis and am wondering if anyone has any experience doing this and can help me avoid problems with adult members?

Archived User Coach

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