The Kids are Alright

Progressive tennis is a special program that teaches young children between the ages of 4 and 9 to play the game quickly, efficiently and with success. In progressive tennis, the court size, balls and racquet’s are scaled down to an appropriate size for young kids, and the proper execution of the fundamentals of the game is emphasized. The following progressive tennis drills are a great way to turn your kids into lifelong tennis players while having a great deal of fun along the way.

When selecting progressive tennis drills, make sure to go for drills that aren’t too complicated for young learners and contain variations for players that are more inherently skilled than others. Plus it will give kids a chance to track their progression throughout the season. Remember that these skills are not easy for some players, so always end each practice with a simple volley back and forth. Make sure to partner up kids with similar skill sets, and coaches can play with the lesser-skilled players.

Forehand for Kids

The first series of progressive tennis drills focuses on overhead strokes. To begin, have the kids stand in a line facing the coach with their racquet’s raised to their shoulders. Teach kids the proper point of contact for the ball, and gradually introduce a bigger swing before proceeding to any actual hitting.

To start off, have your players stand approximately three feet from the net. Lob a ball towards the player and have them hit it using the point of contact demonstrated before the drill. As players gain accuracy, have them take one giant step back from the net and try again. Also, once players have the hang of the overhead stroke, try throwing a few higher feeds to teach them to extend their reach.

First forehand, now backhand

Once kids have gotten the hang of the forehand stroke, try teaching the backhand stroke with the following progressive tennis drills. First, demonstrate the motion of the racquet using a very short backswing. Some kids may find it easier to use a shortened grip at first. Once your players understand the motion involved for ground strokes, the drills can begin.

First, have kids stand three feet from the net again and one by one give them a drop feed to hit using their backhand stroke. Once they’ve mastered their returns, try giving a short toss feed, followed by a feed from your racquet. Another variation for progressing players is to start approaching the ball with a few steps, followed by a short run once the steps have become too easy.

Remember that these are very young kids you’re dealing with, so they will require lots of patience and praise for a job well done. Any criticism given at this point must be done in a light manner. At this stage in the game, kids progress at varying levels, so make sure that each own player understands that they should only be concerned with beating their personal bests. Allow each child to set their own goals, such as ten volleys in a row or being able to hit the ball across the court, and write these goals out on large sheets of paper. Once goals are achieved, children will enjoy crossing their goals off the list.

For a free progressive tennis practice program, go to: http://www.TennisPracticePlans.com

Always wanted to learn how to play tennis, but have no idea where to begin? The best way to learn is to take a few classes or find a friend who knows how to play and hit the courts. But, if you’re afraid of looking like a novice, look over these basic rules and game tips before hitting the courts:

-The basic equipment needed: a racquet, tennis balls, and a tennis court.

-The lines painted on the court are:

Service Lines: The closest parallel lines to the net (on either side of the net).

Baseline: The parallel line furthest from the net is called the baseline.

The Alleys: The two long strips on both sides of the court, perpendicular to the net.

In singles tennis, the alleys are considered “out” so, if the ball bounces in them, it does not count. But, in doubles play, the alleys are “in.”

-Each game starts with a serve. The serving player starts behind the baseline on his right-hand side of the court and hits the ball into the service box (the box on the opposite side of the court between the alley and the middle court) on the other side.

-The ball must bounce once in this box for it to be considered a good serve.

-A server always gets two tries to hit the box.. If he misses both times, his opponent gets a point.

-If the serve goes in, the person returning must hit the serve either before it bounces (if he knows that the ball would be in) or after it bounces once. If it bounces more than once, the server gets one point.

The person returning must hit the ball over the net, and it can bounce anywhere on the opponent’s side of the court.

-The two players hit the ball back and forth until one person misses -The person who did not miss gets a point.

-The server switches sides for every serve.

-A player wins a game after scoring at least four points and wins by two.

-The next game, the other person serves and they continue to switch off, game after game, until someone wins the set. Generally, to win a set, a player must win at least six games, and two more than his opponent.

-A match is made up of a number of sets with player with the most sets winning the match.

Remember, this is only a basic way to play tennis, there are many other strategies and rules to learn to play a “real” professional style game. Regardless, just batting a few balls around can be fun and a great way to exercise!

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No doubt about it: “Tennis Raquets tell a lot about the skills and the playing style of a tennis player.”

Every player wants to feel comfortable with a racket and this feeling starts already before he has held it in his hand the first time.

That`s what a friend of mine stated when four of us were sitting in our tennis club recently while we watched the players on the court.

He recognized soon, the rest of us were astonished by his statement.

“What are you talking about?”, I asked him. (He is a well respected player that has more than twenty years of experience and usually doesn’t tell nonsense.)

Nevertheless he saw in our eyes that he had to explain it to us more detailed.

“Look,” he continued, “have you recognized the young woman over there on the court?”

Of course we did. She was a beautiful lady in her twenties that always impressed with her sense for elegant style.

She trained since about one year and was quite talented.

“She could make much faster progress if she used an appropriate raquet!”

I looked over to her and recognized that she used an high end pro raquet that one of the big names in tennis is using. Definitely not a beginners raquet.

As every experienced player knows, to guarantee improvement a raquet has to fit to the current playing abilities of a tennis player.

Since the seventies, when producers began to use other materials than wood, raquets were developed as high-tech instruments with many different parameters.

Every one of them should be customized for a person individually.

At least head size, weight, length, grip and material are the important ones.

For each player has his own playing style, his own experience level and his individual technique when he chooses the right one he can improve his playing to the next step.

With the wrong racquet playing gets harder as it had to and one could loose the fun while practicing with it.

In fact the typical tennis injuries like tennis elbow often are caused by a raquet that doesn`t fit to a tennis players needs.

Back to the young woman: My friend stated, she would do better if she used a bigger head raquet because she still was a beginner.

“Maybe,” he mentioned, “when she purchased it she didn`t have the best advice.”

“Or,” – I replied – “she simply was attracted by design, colours, brand and the image of ‘her’ raquet.”

I have to admit then she’d be much like me. Ok, a bit different because I always consult an expert or my trainer which one was the best for me at my current playing level.

If I have the choice between various fitting models I choose the one that “speaks” emotionally to me.

I pick the one that gives me a feeling of confidence and being a winner.

More irrational I decide primarily by its look.

Am I comfortable with the colours, the design and the brand?

I have to feel good about it to want to play it and not to loose the joy of training with it.

When I can say “Yes” to all these questions inwardly I take it in my hand.

If it still is feeling “right” I have found my racquet for the next season.

I admit that that is a highly emotional driven approach but for me the choice of tennis raquets is based on feelings and emotions.

Gado Wager

As a passionated Tennis Player Gado Wager is sharing insights and advice about Tennis on his Blog:

[http://tennis-raquets.sampasite.com]

Their are ten easy steps anybody can take to get them into a tennis court and playing the game. I am going to outline those ten steps, and show any beginner how to get started.

So, what’s the first step, numero uno?

Step 1: Get involved, it is far too easy for you to read this guide and than store tennis as a day dream. Sign up for a team, you’ll be way more likely to stick it out and learn the game. Their are plenty of welcoming organizations out their which would love to get you involved.

Still with me? Lets continue..

Step 2: Volleys are what you’ll be learning first, so go get a racquet and practice hitting the ball back and forth.

A volley is a shot you’ll hit fast, so you’ll want to practice only swinging your racquet one to two feet.

Step 3: Practice serving, gosh this is a lot of practice isn’t it? If your not having fun practicing tennis probably isn’t for you.

Learn to serve consistently to the right area on the court, it is one of the two mini ‘boxes’ closest to the net; on the opposite side of you.

Step 4: Now that you can volley and serve a bit, practice to volley better. Learn to volley the ball to exact places on the court.

Here is a fun game to help you improve, it is called ‘Volley Tennis Game’. That is a horrible name, but the name doesn’t matter.

You set up four locations on the tennis court, and whichever one you hit the ball in gets knocked ‘out’. Pretty much you have to hit the ball in all four locations before you can reset.

Step 5: Technique, the dreaded word. Learn to serve with actual technique. Your serve power shouldn’t be coming from your wrist, but I bet it is for you.

It is difficult but necessary to learn that the serve power comes from your legs and arm, not your wrist at all!

Get a book on tennis or hire a coach, but the sooner you learn this the sooner you prevent yourself from injuries.

I’ll suggest a resource for you at the end of the article.

Step 6: Pay attention to the ball!

This one is understated, it is far too easy to become wrapped up in yourself and not focus on the ball.

Another thing, don’t wait for the ball to bounce before you run at it. Watch your opponents swing, predict where the ball is going, and start moving to that spot.

Step 7: You have to learn to split step.

For a beginner, I think it is best to jump slightly on the balls of your feet, doing so balances your weight. You can then move in any direction without having to readjust yourself first.

Step 8: Learn about the grips, I’m not going into them here because it is far too complicated a subject. Your grip is an extension of your playing style, so get some information and pick the right one.

Step 9: Training, their are entire books about tennis training. I suggest sprints, sideways walking on a treadmill, and backwards walking.

You need to be fast on the court, adept at movement. Think Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.

Final Step 10 This is completely optional, but it helped me a lot. Their is a video e-book which has 40+ videos that show you all six basic serves, all the grip options, and everything else a beginner needs to know about tennis.

You choose the package you want, they are priced between $20 and $40. For me this was a great alternative to shelling out $600 for a personal trainer, and I believe the information in here is of high quality. Plus they have a money-back no explanations needed guarantee to help insure trust and quality.

After I first learned the game, I felt like I couldn’t improve at all. I was in sort of a tennis players plateau, where I couldn’t penetrate the skills I needed. This e-book helped me find my way out, and helped make me a great player.

I wouldn’t want to shove this e-book down your throats, but I think highly of it. If you’d like more information about it visit the squidoo lens below.

Article by Johnny Scarpelli, a personal trainer at X-Sport fitness in Illinois.

Playing tennis is my hobby, and getting my family to watch my games is what keeps me going. The admirations in my wife and children’s eyes when I play is what makes my life worthwhile.

I owe a lot to tennis, it helped me kick an addiction to a drug, but I won’t get into that right now. Tennis saved me from losing my family, so I love spreading word about the sport and helping create new players.

Contact info: Seds0@hotmail.com

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