ORANGE 1 - WEEK 1
MEET & GREET
(2-3 minutes)
Talk to the kids and ask them questions about life outside of the tennis lesson:
- who is your favorite tennis player?
- what is your favorite sport?
- how is school?
- did you play tennis at home?
- do you have any pets?
- what is your favorite food?
etc.
Keep the conversation age appropriate
WARM-UP
(7-8 minutes)
LINE RACES
Teach players the names of the lines and court parts by showing and telling.
Ask players to run and place a foot on them.
Once they know a number of court parts, keep them moving continuously for 2-3 minutes to WARM-UP.
PLAY - PRACTICE - PLAY
(40 minutes)
THROW RALLY
(10 minutes)
- players attempt a consistent throw rally
- introduce technical elements to improve consistency
Fundamental Teaching Points
- sideways set up position
- recovery to ready position
FEED & RALLY
(10 minutes)
- players feed the ball to each other
- all feeds by hand: underhand throw
- f-hand and b-hand g-strokes
Fundamental Teaching Points
- teach correct grip for both sides (f-hand, b-hand)
- teach sideways set up position
- teach contact point (out in front)
- teach recovery to ready position
GROUNDSTROKE FEED & CONTROL
(10 minutes)
- players rally using forehands
- players catch the ball on racquet before hitting back
Fundamental Teaching Points
- teach correct grip for both sides (f-hand, b-hand)
- teach sideways set up position
- teach contact point (out in front)
- teach recovery to ready position
GAME OF THE DAY
(10 minutes)
- players choose the game
- point play also an option
- fruit salad, jailbreak, etc.
Fundamental Teaching Points
- teach fair play
- teach court boundaries
- keep it fun
WRAP-UP
(5-10 minutes)
COURT TAKE-DOWN
- players and coach clean up together
- teach the importance of keeping everything organized
SUMMARIZE & ENCOURAGE
Ask the players questions about the lesson:
- what did we work on today?
- what did you learn today?
- what is your favorite shot?
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- tell each player individually what was ONE THING they did great today and hand out Firefly Dollars
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- optional: coach target challenge for extra Firefly Dollar