RED 2 - WEEK 5
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)
THROW & CATCH COORDINATION
Players throw a ball underhand to each other while shuffling from the baseline to the net.
If too dificult: throw while standing still, shuffle after, repeat.
If too easy: use two balls per pair instead of one
PLAY - PRACTICE - PLAY
(40 minutes)
TEAM CONES
(10 minutes)
- use hands to throw or racquets to play, depending on skill
- collect cones, balls, or other items to keep score
- can be adjusted for semi-private by playing against each other
Fundamental Teaching Points
- sideways set up position
- recovery to ready position
- court boundaries
OVERHEAD SERVE AND 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
THROW TO VOLLEY
(10 minutes)
- players work in pairs: cooperation
- underhand throw to the volleyer
- introduce volley as a 'catching station'
Fundamental Teaching Points
- teach continental grip
- teach cross-step on volley
- teach contact point
GAME OF THE DAY
(10 minutes)
- players choose the game
- fruit salad, jailbreak, etc.
Fundamental Teaching Points
- teach fair play
- teach court boundries
- 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