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early DRILLS
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Early Return

Player 1 only has one serve. Player 2 is returning the ball whilst 1 metre inside the baseline or closer if the serve is short. Player 2 should be aiming for either target A or B.

Serve and Return

Fast Rally - Maximum Contacts

Players rally up and down the middle of the court cooperatively. They must try and hit as many contacts as they can within a timed one minute period, regardless of whether the ball goes out or in the net. This one minute period is repeated 5 times with 1 minute in between each repetition for players to recover and collect balls ready for the next working slot.

Rally Drills

First volley and live!

The coach feeds the ball from the basket to player 1 who is moving forwards to play a 1st volley. As the coach makes contact with the ball player 1 must split step and aim to meet and hit the 1st volley on or inside the service line. They must play this ball deep down the line, whether it is a forehand or backhand volley and once this ball has been made, the point is live. Player 2 moves to whichever side the ball has been hit to and attempts to pass player 1 down the line. The point is played out in this way, first to 11 points before the players switch ends.

Volley Drills

Restricted Space

Two players play out a point and they are not allowed to step outside of the back of the court (resticted area). If players do step into the restricted area they immediately forfeit the point.

Rally Drills

Run and smash

Every player with a ball each. They have to run to the net while bouncing the ball on their racket. when they get to the net they throw up the ball and smash it across the net after which they have to run back. First one back is the winner

Smash Drills

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

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

Taking the ball inside the court

Both players rally up and down the middle of the court from a central position. Every so often the coach shouts 'player 1' or 'player 2' and for the next 30 seconds that particular player must not step foot behind the baseline. Every ball they hit must be played with both feet in front of the baseline, however difficult this is.

Rally Drills

The loop and sneak: Cat and mouse!

Players are rallying up and down the centre of the court in the usual way. When either player decides to, they can change the flight path of the ball and hit an aggressive topspin loop to push the opposing player to the back off the court. The point is then live and the players play first to 11 points. The player who has hit the aggressive loop can wait to see what damage their shot has done to their opponent before deciding where to position themselves on the court. If the loop has been played well and deep, the player may look to sneak into the net after it as it is likely the opponent will hit a weak reply. However if the loop has not been hit deep enough it may provide the opponent with a slower midcourt ball so the player must be ready to defend if this is the case.

Lob

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

Taking the ball early: One up,...

Players rally up and down the middle of the court with 1 player at the baseline and one at the net. The aim of the drill is to hit as many balls in 1 minute as possible, counting as they go. The minute period is repeated 5 times with players resting for 1 minute between each repetition to recover and collect balls ready for the next drill. Players should continuously try to beat their own score each time, but this drill can also be made competitive by comparing the scores between other pairs of players.

General

Early Return Serve and Return ...

Player 1 only has one serve. Player 2 is returning the ball whilst 1 metre inside the baseline or closer if the serve is short. Player 2 should be aiming for either target A or B.

General

Forehand plus development Coor...

Coach rallies with player. Player alternates hitting forehand and catching/throwing forehand.

General

Restricted Space Rally Drills ...

Two players play out a point and they are not allowed to step outside of the back of the court (resticted area).If players do step into the restricted area they immediately forfeit the point.

General

Sharpening up! Volley Drills -...

Players 1 and 2 are at the net, player 3 is working from the baseline.The point is live as soon as the first ball is fed in from the volleyers with tramlines being out for both ends.However, the volleying players cannot hit a clean winner to win the point, they must force player 3 into making an error to score.Player 3 can do whatever they wish with the ball to win the point, they also win the point if they can make the ball bounce before the volleyers can get to it.

General

Doubles returning Serve and Re...

<BR>-Players are positioned in a doubles formation as seen in the picture. <BR>-The server will serve first and second serves as in a game situation.<BR>-The receiver will hit any of the returns as shown in the picture.<BR>-The players can play out the points after the return.<BR>-After approximately 6-10 serves the players swop round so that each player gets to serve and return and from both sides.

General

Using the Body Forehand Drills...

The coach and player rally together. Each player has to firstly touch the ball with one body part, and then he/she can hit it over the net with the racquet.

General

Depth of serve Serve and Retur...

TDL = Throw down lines<BR>Place some TDL 2 feet inside the service line<BR> - Player A only has one serve per point. <BR> - If they serve between TDL and the service line and eventually win the point they score two points but if the serve is short they will only score 1 point.

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

Threes - Two up and change Ral...

Player 1 is working in the whole court. They must hit 2 cross-court forehands followed by 2 cross-court backhands. Player 2 is working in the forehand corner and must hit 1 forehand cross followed by 1 forehand line. Player 3 is working in the backhand corner and must hit 1 backhand cross followed by 1 backhand line.

General

Serve And Body Ball Movement -...

Player serves the ball, and immediately after serving, the coach tosses a deep ball into player's body. The player's goal is to move back and hit with control.

General

Run and smash Smash Drills - T...

Every player with a ball each. They have to run to the net while bouncing the ball on their racket. when they get to the net they throw up the ball and smash it across the net after which they have to run back. First one back is the winner

General

Run Forrest, run! Rally Drills...

The coach feeds a drop-shot from the basket. Players 1 and 2 are at the same end as the coach and are positioned at the net.Player 3 must run forwards to try to get to the drop-shot and play it up to either of the players at the net.The players at the net must lob-volley the ball back over player 3's head. Player must then 3 run back to chase the ball hitting it again to either of the players at the net, who then drop volleys this ball.The point continues in this way until an unforced error is made or player 3 cannot run anymore!

General

One serve - Under Pressure Ser...

Player 1 has only one serve and the score is 30 - 30. The first player to win 3 games is the winner. If player 1 successfully makes the serve and wins the point they win the game. If not they only have 1 serve for the next point. If they win that point the game goes to sudden death.

General

One Unit Forehand Drills - Ten...

Player imitates forehand stroke, focussing on taking the racquet back with the non-dominant hand.

General

Offensive response to high bal...

The player stands on the baseline and the coach feeds high ball. The player moves forward and hits forehand in the air to the ad side.

General

3 progressive returns Serve an...

The coach stands on the service line (ad side), and the player starts from the baseline. The coach serves to the T, so that the players hits a forehand return cross-court. After successful hit into the zone, the player moves forward between service line and baseline, and hits another return. After successful hit into the zone, the player moves forward to the service line to execute another return.

General

Continuous 1 vs 1 (3 players) ...

1 vs 1, with a second person at one end who takes over as soon as the point has finished. Therefore 1 person plays continuously, whereas the other 2 switch every point.The player at the 2 person end starts with the ball and the other player starts on the left hand side of court. The ball is played crosscourt to the right corner for the continuous player to run onto. Players then rally until the point is won. Then revese the direction of the run in.Rotate between the 3 players so that each person has a turn at being the continuous player.

General

Table tennis rallying Coordina...

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.

General

Control The Backspin Rally Dri...

<span style=&quot;background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(50, 50, 50);&quot;>The player and coach hit to each other using backhand slice<span style=&quot;background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(50, 50, 50);&quot;>Before every hit, the player has to bounce the ball up with the racket to control the point of contact and allow for longer rally with backspin

General

Less Time For Reaction Backhan...

Coach feeds balls to the backhand sidePlayer hits backhand cross-court and as soon as player hits the ball, coach delivers quickly another ballThe second ball, player has to run around and hit backhand

General

Slice From High To Low Rally D...

Player stands on the baseline.Coach feeds high balls to the forehand side.Player hits forehand slice off high balls in different directions.

General

The loop and sneak: Cat and mo...

Players are rallying up and down the centre of the court in the usual way.When either player decides to, they can change the flight path of the ball and hit an aggressive topspin loop to push the opposing player to the back off the court.The point is then live and the players play first to 11 points.The player who has hit the aggressive loop can wait to see what damage their shot has done to their opponent before deciding where to position themselves on the court.If the loop has been played well and deep, the player may look to sneak into the net after it as it is likely the opponent will hit a weak reply.However if the loop has not been hit deep enough it may provide the opponent with a slower midcourt ball so the player must be ready to defend if this is the case.

General

'X' movement Movement - Tennis...

Purpose:learn to move in an &quot;X&quot; pattern under pressure of movement.Coach feeds the ball in the sequence 1,2,3,4 for each player in turn. Coach feeds high deep balls to points 1,3 and shorter feeds to 2,4.Exact pattern of 1,2,3,4 maintained throughout.Player hits feeds 1,3 deep crosscourt. Feeds 2,4 down the line. Feed in sets of 16 balls.

General

Under pressure ground strokes ...

<BR>-Rally until a mistake is made by the baseliner.<BR>-Baseliners swap out on mistakes.<BR>-Volley player swaps after 2-3 minutes.

General

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early SESSIONS
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Attacking; Taking the ball ear...

"Should I stay or should I go?" - To help your players answer this question we work on attacking and getting up the court to dictate play!

Body and racquet under control

Develop balance and early footwork to maintain control of the body and racket head when hitting to all parts of the court.

Adapting to Different Points of Contact

To work on the forehand in different situations that require varying points of contact. To understand the necessity for technical adaptation when dealing with low, medium, and high balls.

Learning to take the ball early and inside the court

Get your players to take the ball at the top of the bounce, making the shot easier for themselves while simultaneously giving their opponent less time!

Mid Court Shot Execution

Develop weapons that will allow for successful performance in the mid court area.

Tactical aspects faced in the match

Develop tactical awareness to understand what shot to play, where to recover to and ultimately to create point winning opportunities.

Points based on Forehand scenarios

Work on different tactical plays with your players on court, based on their forehand stroke, to catch the opposition off guard!

Pressure Rallying - Movement and Concentration session

Improve your players' rallying under pressure and use a ticking clock scenario in this high-intensity movement and concentration session

Winning Without A Bounce

To work on technical and tactical nuances related to an effective net game and highlight the importance of control.

The Beginning of the Point

To work on different aspects of the serve and return and to engrain shots that players could call upon at the start of the point.

Controlled Pressure

Learn how to tactically put pressure on the opponent in different situations on the court.

Hitting On The Run

Teach your players how to hit correctly on the run without giving their opponent an advantage!
early ANSWERS
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Backhand grip

In Nick Saviano's book, Maximum Tennis, Andre Agassi is said to have a very 'soft' left hand on his backhand, and yet often I hear and read many tips suggesting a very dominant, or active, supporting hand for the two handed backhand. Especially now, with the more semi-open stanced players, what should I suggest when teaching the backhand to developing players?

Archived User Coach

What are usefull tips for a tennis lesson given to?

What are usefull tips for a tennis lesson given to kids 6 or 7 years old, complete beginners and in groups of 12 kids ?

Archived User Coach

Strategy to win senior 70´s tournament singles?

How to win senior 70´s tournament singles? Strategy?

Archived User Coach

What is the best way to share playing vocab at this site...

...where it will list and describe playing terminology such as shave, tackle-back, steal, forehand.

Ejaz Syed Coach, United States of America

perception of the ball

hi! I am a beginner coach, so need help! coaching a men around 45, he has trouble of understanding where the ball will land. he does backswing to early, to late, focusing to much on the ball and having trouble with footwork. any drills to make it easier to understand where the ball will land and how to prepare for it? thank you

Ekaterina Grib Coach, Russia

Animated tennis drills

Can I animate drills on IPad app?

Mattia Stoissa Coach, Australia

Invoice

Hi, My subsciption runs out in September but I have to use my budget in the next few weeks. Is it posible to get an early invoice for one more year of my current access so that I can pay it soon?

Nicola Coach, England

perception of the ball | Sport...

hi! I am a beginner coach, so need help! coaching a men around 45, he has trouble of understanding where the ball will land. he does backswing to early, to late, focusing to much on the ball and having trouble with footwork. any drills to make it easier to understand where the ball will land and how to prepare for it? thank you

Ekaterina Grib Coach, Russia

Backhand grip | Sportplan

In Nick Saviano's book, Maximum Tennis, Andre Agassi is said to have a very 'soft' left hand on his backhand, and yet often I hear and read many tips suggesting a very dominant, or active, supporting hand for the two handed backhand. Especially now, with the more semi-open stanced players, what should I suggest when teaching the backhand to developing players?

Archived User Coach

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