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TennisOne Lessons 
Moving from Beginner to Advanced Play Training an 8-Year Old—Part Six David W. Smith, Senior Editor TennisOne If you have been following this series on training a junior player, (specifically, my daughter Kyla who is eight years old), you have seen the Advanced Foundation as the pattern of mechanics I teach, applied in real life and real time from the start. The Advanced Foundation is designed so that players won’t have to change specific patterns to reach the highest levels of play those individuals are capable of. We have covered the philosophy in this series and demonstrated the actual training methods that have led Kyla to hitting balls with skill and effect. The Advanced Foundation also allows players to “evolve” their stroke patterns, grips, and footwork to augment this foundation to fit their own personal perception of style, playing character, and idiosyncrasies. While such change is inevitable, it is never based on a player’s need to change because of inferior or inadequate methods learned. In addition, the Advanced Foundation allows players to move quickly to more prolific and dynamic drills and strategies. Such progressions include more aggressive footwork patterns, quicker transitions between strokes or shots, strokes with more and varied pace and spin, and other more demanding and challenging patterns. That is the progression I am undertaking with Kyla and I hope to demonstrate how many of these drills can be employed with players who have been playing tennis for less than a year. All-Court Training Overheads For kids, and especially young girls, the overhead can be a very difficult shot to master. Because swinging a racquet over ones head is very foreign, many players will try to hit the overhead using whatever form feels comfortable. Most will tend to face the net, lead with the hitting elbow, and swing at the ball by pulling the racquet down (Much like how players will first learn to serve if left on their own; something we covered in this series on training the serve.) The important thing with the overhead (like the serve), is to get sideways and use the continental grip. Players need to learn to keep the elbow high and let the racquet head pass the hitting forearm at contact instead of leading the arm through and pulling the hitting elbow downward at contact. I also remind players that, unlike the serve, the overhead does not require spin. However, even with this concept, players who try to hit flat too early in the swing tend to shift their grip to the eastern forehand grip and pronate too early. Learning to lead with the “edge on” or leading edge of the racquet, (as one would to hit a slice serve), helps players get the racquet moving over the hitting hand and allows them to pronate correctly.
Slice and Drop Shots Working the slice mechanics is important to employ early in a beginner’s development. With Kyla, we started with sharp angle slices, similar to the sharp angle volley drill we showed you in one of the earlier articles in this series. This allowed Kyla to perceive the slice not as something she needed to hit hard. As she developed the feel, we then worked on her slice in a down-the-line stroke, using the exact same form as the crosscourt. The difference is that we had Kyla turn her body more parallel to the sideline. The emphasis here is to keep the hitting elbow strong and straight and the racquet head up without it drooping as many players tend to do. We will add pace and movement as this shot is developed. Transitional Game Moving from specific stroke development drills to more game-situation drills should be done as soon as the player demonstrates some mastery of all the strokes that will be used in a transitional rally. (A transitional drill is one that incorporates very different stroke patterns such as a topspin groundstroke and then a volley, or a slice approach shot then an overhead.) Here are a few of the transitional drills I am using with Kyla. Topspin to Volley: Setting up in the back court area, Kyla hits a forehand or backhand topspin down the line, comes in behind the shot, and volleys my return--a live ball hit off her down the line shot, for a crosscourt winner. This drill can be done in any combination:
Volley to Overhead: Setting up with a backhand volley down the line, I feed Kyla an overhead to her forehand side which she either can hit down the line or crosscourt. Inside-out topspin to drop shot: After hitting an aggressive forehand inside-out topspin, Kyla must recover then look to run around the backhand again only this time hitting an inside-out drop shot. Rally Obviously, the ultimate goal is to employ all shots effectively in live ball rallies and, eventually, in competitive environments. It is not my goal to thrust junior players into competition before they understand the importance of utilizing their proper stroke and footwork patterns when playing in tournaments or playing challenges on our Academy Ladder.
I have used this situation to emphasize this importance: “If you play for six months and lose every match using proper skills and stroke components, how would you feel?” The usual response is: “Not very good.” Then I add, “Now, what if you lost every match for those six months but then the next four years, you not only won all your matches, but you won them while playing Number One for your school?” Everyone then gets this concept: That initially, good mechanics and advanced strategies are at first, not easy to master nor are they comfortable in competition. Yet, their consistent use, especially in competition, will not only make the unfamiliar more familiar, but through their continued application, the player will become more and more confident with such methods. It is then that the kids who work on hitting with good form become “players” instead of just “hitters.” As players employ proper mechanics in their rally attempts, the emphasis will move to hitting more and more consecutive shots without missing. The progression will then include hitting harder with more spin, and returning faster shots as well. Conclusion Given the proper skills and methods, any junior will be able to take their methods to higher and higher levels, giving themselves the best opportunity to become as highly ranked or successful as their desire, dedication, athleticism, and drive will take them! Letting kids simply “hit” balls over the net any way that feels comfortable will severely handicap them and prevent them from reaching their “personal potential.” The goal of becoming a top-ranked tennis player is no more difficult than pursuing a high ranking in any other sport. However, if kids—or adults for that matter—learn inferior methods either through poor advice or poor perception of what proper techniques are, then they will indeed fall far short in this quest. Your comments are welcome. Let us know what you think about Dave Smith's article by emailing us here at TennisOne .
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