Tennis is a perfect sport for children; it’s fun, it’s good exercise and it’s relatively safe to play compared to slightly rougher ‘contact’ sports like rugby and football. Children who play tennis will see a marked improvement in their agility, coordination, flexibility, speed, and strength, as well as more psychological characteristics such as cooperation, discipline, and problem solving. In addition to playing matches, there are many smaller games you can play with your budding tennis stars to ensure they are on top of their game and give them a greater understanding of the fundamentals, ground rules and benefits of being able to play tennis.
count the blows
Focusing on teaching kids to accurately hit groundstrokes forehands and backhands, this is a great game for those who want to focus on individual shots. The children form a line behind the baseline, and one player at a time moves just inside the baseline toward the center of the court. From the opposite side of the net, hit or throw the ball over the net to the player’s forehand or backhand side and have them hit it to your side of the net. See which player can hit the ball in play the most times in a row.
hit and run
This game prepares children for long plays during games and is appropriate for school-age children who have some experience in the game. It is another game in which you only need a court, a ball and a racket, which makes it easy to practice free tennis. Have one student at a time line up in center court between the baseline and service line, and from the opposite side of the net, alternate hitting balls between two opposite corners so the kids have to run for hit the ball. and then immediately run back to the middle. See which player can hit the most balls in a row before shooting.
cell
Requiring at least four students, this is a great game to focus on accuracy for young players. The children line up at one end of the court, with the coach feeding from the other side of the net. Each child has a certain number of opportunities (depending on his skill level) to hit a forehand or backhand shot on doubles court. If they get one, they’re safe; if not, they are in jail and go to the other end of the court to try to catch a ball hit by another player. If they manage to catch, they go free and the player whose shot they caught takes their place in jail. With only one player left, try to make three shots that don’t get caught, before missing three. If they succeed, they win the game. If someone catches one of your shots, it’s a jailbreak: everyone is free and a new round begins.
Worldwide
One of the most popular games played in schools and children’s tennis clubs, it involves a larger group, with half the children lining up on one baseline and the other half on the other. The coach passes a ball to one of the boys at the front of the line, who must hit it over the net into the singles court and then run to the end of the line on the other baseline. The child in front of the other line must do the same, and the play continues, with each player returning the ball and then running around the court to join the end of the opposite line. If a player loses the ball, he loses a life; He starts his children in 1, 3 or 5 lives, depending on the difficulty level. When they have lost their whole life, they are out. Once there are only two players left, they no longer race around the net: they just play points against each other until a victor emerges.
With these games and more, you can build your students’ physical conditioning, speed, strength, and understanding of the game, helping them along their journey to becoming well-rounded players as they reach their teens and older years. adult. Of course, there’s no substitute for actual matches, so make sure they get lots of practice in-game too; However, these simple and fun exercises and games will ensure that your students stay abreast of the attributes necessary to maintain a high quality of play and develop skills that they can later transfer to their in-game tennis game.