ORANGE 1 - WEEK 4
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)
CLEAN YOUR ROOM
WARM-UP with overhead throwing game, this is a.k.a. 'Garbage'
- two equal teams, one on each side of the court
- every player starts with two balls and throws them to the other side
- the team with no 'garbage' in their room wins
PLAY - PRACTICE - PLAY
(40 minutes)
SELF VOLLEY KEEP UPS
(10 minutes)
- players bounce the ball up on their racquets without dropping it
- next level: spin racquet with each bounce to use both sides
Fundamental Teaching Points
- teach continental grip
- teach contact point
- teach sideways position
CLIMB SERVE MOUNTAIN
(10 minutes)
- players serve from close to far from the net
- set up 8 spots for them from the net to the baseline
Fundamental Teaching Points
- teach trophy position
- teach racquet facing target
- teach contact point
SERVE & RETURN
(10 minutes)
- players serve and return to each other
- not a rally, only one serve and one return
- alternate between hand toss overhead and racquet serve to maintain a balance of success and failure
Fundamental Teaching Points
- throwing motion from trophy position
- teach continental grip
- teach contact point
GAME OF THE DAY
(10 minutes)
- players choose the game
- point play also an option
- king of the court, 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