HOME Tennis Drills Coordination / Fun Games

Tennis: Shake on it!

Thanks for everything! Sportplan has helped me to improve my tennis...

Andrea, Tennis coach

DESCRIPTION

Players work together in pairs, each pair using the double service box as their area and with rackets not needed.

Pairs start by standing facing each other and holding hands with their left hand as if shaking hands.

With one ball between 2 players, players 'rally' by patting the ball to each other using their linked arms as the net.

Pairs are working co-operatively to see who can get the longest rally.

Players must keep their feet moving to get in the right position for each 'shot', dancing around the ball with adjustment steps whilst still staying linked to their partner.

The pair with the longest rally after 5 minutes wins. After this pairs swap hands to attempt this with their non playing hand.

COACHING POINTS

This drill helps players to recognise where balls are landing and how they are bouncing and is a good warm up for co-ordination.

Notes:

Players must be motivated to stay active with their feet at all times and to start the next rally once one has broken down as soon as they can, to keep the heart pumping and the feet moving!

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OFTEN USED WITH...

Relay race:

This is a simple relay race through the cones with some fun variations for your players:

First person in each team balances the ball on their strings moving around the cones to the net and back (like an egg and spoon race)
The ball is then passed to the strings of the person next in line, who repeat the run
The first team to finish wins the race

Coordination / Fun Games

Speedy Gonzales:

This is a speed development drill for tennis.

Players line up along the outer tram line to start the race.

Players run to the inner tram line and return back to the outer line, without stopping they run to the centre service line and return again, and then continue also run to both tram lines at the far end.

The players will touch each line with their hand before moving to the next line.

Coordination / Fun Games

Table tennis rallying:

Players stand opposite one another in the service boxes and play the point out.

However, this time, the ball must be hit down into the court so that it bounces on the player's own side before it goes over the net (like in table tennis). The ball cannot therefore bounce before the opposing player makes contact with it themselves.

Points can be played up to 21 in this way.

Coordination / Fun Games

Round the World 2:

-Pick two teams, one team are the hitters, the other the runners.
-The hitters take it in turns to hit the ball over the net, back to the feeder or to a designated area.The coach has to choose the target according to players level of ability.
-The team scores a point each time a shot is hit to the agreed target.
-The runners take it in turn to run around the outside of the court, back to the team like relay race.
-Once all of the running team have done a round they shout stop, and the points of the hitting team freeze.
-The teams then swap sides and the new hitting team has to beat their score.

Coordination / Fun Games

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