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Tennis: taking ball early

taking ball early DRILLS
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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.

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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!

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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.

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Take Pace Off With Control Vol...

Player stands inside the service box. Coach feeds balls alternating the sides. Player executes a forehand stop volley down the line and a backhand stop volley cross-court.

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Stop volleys down the line Vol...

Player stands close to the net. Coach feeds random difficult balls. Player responds with only down the line stop volleys.

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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

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

Strong hand Volley Drills - Te...

The player stands at the net and keeps non-dominant hand behind the body. The coach feeds balls to the backhand side. The player then executes backhand volley using only their dominant hand.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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One Unit Forehand Drills - Ten...

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

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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.

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Surprising inside out opener F...

2 players use backhands to rally together in cross court direction . Player A picks the right moment to surprise the opponent and hits forehand angle inside out. After putting the opponent outside of the alley player A takes the next ball and finishes with backhand down the line.Drill specifications:1-2 minutes and switch2 players can work on forehands and backhands at the same time so 1-2 minutes periods for switching are appropriate. Waiting players can perform some footwork exercises with the emphasis on running around footwork patterns based on crossover steps to improve the effectiveness of the angle shot while hitting.

General

Fast Rally - Maximum Contacts ...

<div class=&quot;practiceText&quot;>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.</div>

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.

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Length Rally Drills - Tennis D...

Can use this rally as a progression of &quot;Height&quot; drillPurpose:Understanding the importance of lengthStart with a coach feeding the balls from the other side of the net. Only shots landing deep of service line count as &quot;in&quot;. Progress to a rally with 2 Players full courtPlay up to 11 points.Feed underhand for 2 points alternately.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

Backswing Loop Forehand Drills...

The coach stands next to the player and keeps their racquet in a horizontal position. The player moves their racquet over and under the coach's racquet to imitate a forehand stroke.

General

Rally with 3 zones Forehand Dr...

2 players rally together in cross court direction. 3 zones are set on each player’s side (Red, Yellow, Green). Player has to hit particular shot according to the opponent’s balls placement. If the ball lands in the red zone player hits defensive/neutral shot. If the ball lands in the yellow zone player hits neutral/offensive shot. If the ball lands in the green zone player has to attack it.Drill specifications:30-60 seconds and switch4 players can work on the court at the same time while others can have different duties. Coach can put 2 players next to the net post and let them say “stop” when the ball goes over the net. This is the signal for the player and feedback at the same time of their perception time. If there are more players on the court coach can make them do some fitness drill or put them far behind the hitting players and work on ball perception on their own.

General

Contact With Coach Forehand Dr...

The coach stands in front of the player and keeps their racquet facing the player, holding it in the same position. The player imitates a forehand and moves their racquet forward to touch the coach's racquet.

General

Comfortable New Grip Forehand ...

Player inserts a pen between the hand and the racquet's grip. Player imitates forehand without changing a grip. In this exercise, the pen is a valuable tool that will do all the work for the coach. Every time the player tries to change the grip to the old one, they will feel it because of the pen. After imitating, the coach should toss or feed balls to challenge players at the early stages of grip's change.

General

taking ball 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!
taking ball early ANSWERS
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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

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

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