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Tennis: cones

cones DRILLS
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Attacking forehands on the move

Coach feeds three balls per player from the basket. Players should aim to hit the targets (as in diagram - can use cones to mark out targets). The aim is to encourage players to progressively attack on the move.

Forehand Drills

Deep Forehand And Backhand Drill

Players will be fed 2-6 balls each. The balls are hit down the line into the target area as marked by the cones. The feeding can be varied i.e. higher, faster or with more spin.

Forehand & Backhand Drill

Hit the Cone

Start with one marker on the floor. The player must hit the ball upwards and get the ball to land on the marker, (5 points for each success.)- Now get the players into pairs, taking it in turns to hit the same cone (still 5 points each time.)-Now give them two cones, placed about 1-2 metres apart and get them to aim for each others markers (10 points)They must let the ball bounce before the hit it.-This is now a basic rally.

Coordination / Fun Games

Queen/King of Depth

-Both players have cones approx 2 meters in front of base line (depending on players skill level.-Players gain a point each time they hit between the cone and the base line. -First player to 11 points wins the game.To make the drill easier it can be played on one half of the court and later progressed to full court. The game can also be started with with a second serve.

Rally Drills

Rewarding depth

-Lines of cones are placed as seen in the picture above.-To make the drill easier it can be played on one half of the court and later progressed to full court.-If the ball lands in the service box a point is deducted.Ball landing between the 2 lines of cones = 1 point.Players gain 3 points for shots hit into the last quarter.-First player to 11 points wins the game.-The game can also be started with a second serve.

Rally Drills

Taking the ball early

-Both players have cones approx 2 meters in front of base line (depending on players skill level.-Players gain a point each time they hit between the cone and the base line. -One of the players has to stay on or inside the baseline. -With more advanced players both have to play on or inside the baseline.-First player to 11 points wins the game.-To make the drill easier it can be played on one half of the court and later progressed to full court. -The game can also be started with a second serve.

Rally Drills

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

Volleys

- Player plays two rapid fire volleys from either side, then goes to the back of the queue.- Set up targets i.e. cones.- Split step before volleys hit!.

Volley Drills

Cone Warm Up Agility & Fitness...

Set up a cone on the baseline, and if there is more than one player taking part in the session, you can set up multiple cones to be used, but ensure these are correctly spaced out.Players will use quick footwork to move around the cone in circles.

General

Balance touch cones Agility & ...

The player stands on the balance platforms. Cones are set around the player, with the player's goal to touch each cone separately without falling off the platforms.Balance platforms work best with this drills. If coaches don't these though use your creativity to find an alternative (stand on a bean bag for example).The important thing is to use something that is SAFE to stand on and ideally forces the kid to test their balance.

General

Warm up: touching the cones Vo...

Players warm up by running and performing dynamic stretches. The coach should ask players to perform exercises which will help to develop the skills related to the half-volley. In this warm up set up two cones about 1.5 metres apart. Ask your player to stand facing the cones, then reach down to the cone on his/her left with their right hand. Then return to the standing position before reaching for the left cone with the right hand.

General

Forehand with quick cones Move...

Player moves around the cones as fast as possible and hits a forehand down the line.

General

Random cones Agility & Fitness...

Cones are set randomly around the court. The player starts from the centre of the baseline and their goal is to touch each cone as fast as possible. Order can be random but player has to recover to the middle after each touch.

General

Target Serve Central Line Serv...

4 players,  4 cones or spots, basket of tennis balls. <p class="p1">4 cones set up in a line along the centre of each service box. <p class="p1">Two players take 2 serves each to the relevant service box aiming to hit the cones. <p class="p1">The next 2 players then take 2 serves each. <p class="p1">The drill continues until all balls have been used. 1 point scored for every cone hit.

General

Point the cone Agility & Fitne...

4 cones are set around the player. Coach faces the player and points out one of the cones. Player runs in this direction, touches the cone and recovers back.

General

Hit the Cone Coordination / Fu...

<BR>Start with one marker on the floor. The player must hit the ball upwards and get the ball to land on the marker, (5 points for each success.)<BR>- Now get the players into pairs, taking it in turns to hit the same cone (still 5 points each time.)<BR>-Now give them two cones, placed about 1-2 metres apart and get them to aim for each others markers (10 points)They must let the ball bounce before the hit it.<BR>-This is now a basic rally.

General

Move the cone Coordination / F...

Each player has own area with cones placed all around, and players start bouncing the ball up and they try to hit own cone. If the cone is hit, the player takes the cone and puts on the other player's area. The goal is to move as many cones to the other player as possible.

General

Topspin with cone Backhand Dri...

Cone is set near the player on the backhand side. The player imitates backhand stroke, and the player's goal is to lower the racquet's head and hit the cone while shadowing.

General

Backhand cross court with quic...

Player moves around the cones as fast as possible and hits backhand cross court.

General

Point To Cone Agility & Fitnes...

Player stands in the middle of the box, which is set up by cones. Coach points to a cone and the player has to touch this cone as fast as possible. Player recovers to the middle after each run.

General

Cone Serving Serve and Return ...

Players serve at the targets shown, taking two balls at a time and serving 1 first serve, 1 second serve at each target.After a certain amount of time players switch and repeat the same from the other side.The player with the most targets at the end of the practice wins the drill.If groups are large, players can take it in turns to serve one after the other, and/or also from the doubles serving positions.</div>

General

Tennis: Mini-returning skills ...

Player stands on the ad side with a cone in hand. Coach serves from the ad side. Player then catches the ball inside the cone and throws it over the net. During the first few tennis lessons, it can be too hard for kids to return the ball with the racquet. So the coach has to adapt to this situation and still improve returning skills; using a cone is a great opportunity to imitate a returning environment and improve receiving abilities.

General

Drop The Volley Rally Drills -...

Set up as shown with three cones close to the net, with these cones being the player's target on their second shot. Player and coach stand at the net, and the coach feeds the ball to the forehand side.The Player hits a forehand volley to the coach who then hits it back to the backhand side, where the player must react quickly to backhand drop volley the ball cross-court, aiming to get the ball in between the three cones.

General

Rally and run around Forehand ...

The player stands between 2 cones. The coach and player rally with each other. The coach tries to hit all the balls between the cones, which the player then hits the ball and runs around the cone according to the stroke he chose. If the player hits a forehand he has to run around the right cone. If the player hits a backhand he has to run around left cone.Adding decision making skill to simple rally is a great way to teach your players how to act under the time pressure. If the player is able to maintain consistency while making right decisions, then they won't have problems with smart strategy during the match. It is important to design drills that are consisted of skills that players have to use during competition because the more similar the practice environment to the competitive one, the easier it will be to perform at the same level day by day.

General

Back to basics Backhand Drills...

Cones are set on the baseline. The player jumps over the big cone and lands with legs widely apart (flat cones between the legs). The coach feeds the ball to the backhand side, and the player hits backhand stroke.

General

Rewarding depth Rally Drills -...

<BR>-Lines of cones are placed as seen in the picture above.<BR>-To make the drill easier it can be played on one half of the court and later progressed to full court.<BR>-If the ball lands in the service box a point is deducted.Ball landing between the 2 lines of cones = 1 point.Players gain 3 points for shots hit into the last quarter.<BR>-First player to 11 points wins the game.<BR>-The game can also be started with a second serve.

General

Serve and jump over the cone S...

A cone is placed on the baseline. The player performs regular serve, where the goal is for them to jump over the cone while serving.

General

Move forward and recover Smash...

The player stands inside the service line between 2 cones, and the coach throws the high ball close to the net. The player moves forward, hits overhead and recovers to the cones.

General

Forehand recovery Movement - T...

Coach feeds the ball to the forehand side, with the player just behind the baseline.Player runs out, hits one forehand, recovers their position to the middle and runs out for a second and third time. After the third time they go past the middle as though the next shot is coming to their backhand.For the first two shots they hit the ball crosscourt and then the last one down the line.

General

Pop Up for Beginners Rally Dri...

Players rally together. Players have to pop the ball up before they hit across the net.

General

Taking the ball early Rally Dr...

<BR>-Both players have cones approx 2 meters in front of base line (depending on players skill level.<BR>-Players gain a point each time they hit between the cone and the base line. <BR>-One of the players has to stay on or inside the baseline. <BR>-With more advanced players both have to play on or inside the baseline.<BR>-First player to 11 points wins the game.<BR>-To make the drill easier it can be played on one half of the court and later progressed to full court. <BR>-The game can also be started with a second serve.

General

Backhand decisions rally Backh...

Player A stands in the ad corner, and player B tries to hit all balls to the ad corner. If the ball bounces in front of the cones, player A hits backhand down the line. If the ball bounces behind the cones, player A hits backhand cross court.

General

Warm Up - Racquet, ball and co...

Control over the racquet and ball is a primary step for learning tennis. Players have to perform many various exercises before they will be able to execute tennis strokes. Many skills can be developed in various patterns. In this particular drill, player bounces the ball up 2 times and catches the ball into the cone.

General

Relay race Coordination / Fun ...

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)<br /><br /> The ball is then passed to the strings of the person next in line, who repeat the run<br /><br /> The first team to finish wins the race

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

Volley Shadow Volley Drills - ...

Cones are set on the court.Player performs volley movement shadowing, paying attention to the footwork and racquet technique.

General

Catch and hit Smash Drills - T...

The player stand at the net, with cones set up in the deuce corner. The coach feeds a lob - the player moves to the ball, catches the ball in the hand, throws the ball up and hits overhead deep to the deuce corner.

General

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cones SESSIONS
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Doubles-Specific Practice

Work on the tactical and technical areas of the doubles game, making your players aware of the different priorities needed than in a singles match!

Nail the Inside Out and In Forehand!

Get your players hitting forehands like Rafael Nadal, and master the technical and tactical sides to the inside out and in forehand!
cones ANSWERS
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what drills do you use to teach contact point skills to mini reds

Ask a question and have it answered by Coaches from around the world and Sportplan's team of Experts.

liz Sharman Coach, England

What are good basic and fun drills to do with beginner/improvers?

What are good basic and fun drills to do with beginner/improvers in large groups (20-25)?

Lizzie Howard Coach, England

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 coach 14 girls (varying abilities) on just 2 courts?

How do I coach 14 girls, all of varying levels from beginner to advanced on just two courts?

Archived User Coach

How can I improve the consistency of my serve?

Does anyone have any drills or tips for improving the consistency of a player's serve?

Timothy Hutton Coach, Australia

I want to sketch a drill with the Chalkboard

Archived User Coach

high ball

hi what is the best drill to improve high ball contact point and footwork.

samala ashok Coach, India

Positioning on the court | Spo...

Positioning on the court can give us an advantage or put into really difficult situation. Players have to remember that right spot on the court is on the opposite side where they perviously hit the ball. can somebody please share some examples?

Nick Madahar Coach, Azerbaijan

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