Tennis Coaching Guide Teaching Tennis Skills
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TENNIS COACHING GUIDE Teaching Tennis Skills Special Olympics Tennis Coaching Guide Teaching Tennis Skills Table of Contents Warm-Up ........................................................................................................................................................... 3 Cool-Down ........................................................................................................................................................ 4 Stretching........................................................................................................................................................... 4 Lower Body Stretches........................................................................................................................................ 7 Upper Body Stretches ...................................................................................................................................... 10 Hand-Eye Coordination................................................................................................................................... 14 Assessing the Player's Readiness ................................................................................................................ 14 Teaching the Skill........................................................................................................................................ 14 Drills for Eye-Hand Coordination............................................................................................................... 14 Racket Control................................................................................................................................................. 15 Assessing Player Readiness......................................................................................................................... 15 Groundstrokes.................................................................................................................................................. 20 Forehand .......................................................................................................................................................... 20 Teaching the Skill........................................................................................................................................ 20 Coaching Tips.............................................................................................................................................. 21 Faults & Fixes Forehand ........................................................................................................................... 22 Backhand ......................................................................................................................................................... 23 Teaching the Skill........................................................................................................................................ 23 Coaching Tips.............................................................................................................................................. 25 Faults & Fixes Backhand .......................................................................................................................... 26 Drills for Forehand and Backhand Groundstokes............................................................................................ 27 Volley .............................................................................................................................................................. 30 Assessing Player Readiness......................................................................................................................... 30 Teaching the Skill........................................................................................................................................ 30 Drills for Volleys......................................................................................................................................... 31 Serve ................................................................................................................................................................ 33 Assessing Player Readiness......................................................................................................................... 33 Teaching the Skill........................................................................................................................................ 33 Drills for Serves........................................................................................................................................... 34 Return of Serve................................................................................................................................................ 38 Assessing Player Readiness......................................................................................................................... 38 Teaching the Skill........................................................................................................................................ 38 Hitting with Movement.................................................................................................................................... 39 Assessing Player Readiness......................................................................................................................... 39 Drills for Teaching Movement .................................................................................................................... 39 Teaching Strategies.......................................................................................................................................... 41 Drills for Practicing Strategy....................................................................................................................... 41 Singles Strategy........................................................................................................................................... 41 Doubles and Unified Sports® Doubles ....................................................................................................... 41 Doubles Drills.............................................................................................................................................. 42 Sample Eight-Week Lesson Plan..................................................................................................................... 43 Short Court Tennis........................................................................................................................................... 45 Understanding the Game ................................................................................................................................. 46 Modifications and Adaptations........................................................................................................................ 46 Mental Preparation and Training ..................................................................................................................... 46 Cross-Training in Tennis ................................................................................................................................. 46 Home Training Program .................................................................................................................................. 46 Special Olympics Tennis Coaching Guide Teaching Tennis Skills Warm-Up A warm-up period should be the first part of every training session or preparation for competition. When possible, with a group of four or more, form a circle on the court and have players face each other with plenty of space for free movement. Warm-ups are much more likely to be effective in a group setting. Players make each other accountable, and communication in the circle builds team spirit. The warm-up starts slowly and gradually involves all muscles and body parts. In addition to preparing the athlete mentally, the warm-up also has several physiological benefits. The importance of a warm-up prior to exercise cannot be overstated. This is true even for a sport like tennis. Warming up raises the body temperature and prepares the muscles, nervous system, tendons, ligaments and the cardiovascular system for upcoming stretches and exercises. The chances of injury are greatly reduced by increasing muscle elasticity. Warming Up: Raises body temperature; Increases metabolic rate; Increases heart and respiratory rate; and Prepares the muscles and nervous system for exercise. The warm-up should include tennis-specific activities, such as short sprints, footwork skills and short court drills. Footwork warm-up may include side-to-side skipping in a similar way to the way one moves horizontally across the court during a game. Follow the leader in a group be creative with stepping and skipping. Warm-ups consist of active motion leading up to more vigorous motion to elevate heart, respiratory and metabolic rates. The warm-up period should last 5-10 minutes and precedes training or competition. The warm-up is a part of a balanced training program to include the following basic sequence and components. Activity Purpose Time (minimum) Warm-Up Heat muscles 5 minutes Stretching Increase range of movement 10 minutes Event-Specific Drills Coordination preparation for training/competition 40 minutes Cool-Down Reduces heat in muscles 5 minutes Stretching Stretching is one of the most critical parts of the