Juniors Lessons

The Right Approach to Tennis Drills, Part One

by Stefan Lundgren, TennisONE International Contributing Editor

Preface

I have spent the last two years working full time on a computer program, Computer Tennis - Practice Drills, which contains a number of practice drills (http://www.buller.se/usr/stefan.lundgren/ell-hs.htm). This work has lead to many questions and many rewarding discussions with knowledgeable tennis persons all over the world. During these two years I have also given a number of lectures on the subject practice drills, and these discussions and lectures are the basis of this series of articles.

Contents

• Part One: Thoughts about practice drills
• Part Two: Quality in the practice drills
• Part Three: Thoughts about kids' and mini-tennis practice
• Part Four: Thoughts about the planning of lessons
• Part Five: Planning of lessons for kids' and mini-tennis practice
• Part Six: Planning of lessons for juniors and seniors

Part One: Thoughts about practice drills

1. To start by deciding the goal of the drill: This issue is the most important and most basic issue when it comes to starting a practice drill program. It's very easy to come up with dozens of drills, but what distinguishes the good coaches is that they have a goal in mind.
   
   
2. To find drills where as many as possible (preferably the whole group) have meaningful assignments: Kids or mini-tennis players that are standing around during the course of a drill usually find the tennis drill boring. Even if the coach concentrates on one player, he or she can give meaningful assignments to the other players.
   
   
3. To avoid queues and long waiting times: For the same reason as above, but do notice that in certain situations a queue drill can be a good drill. If you, as a coach, have a lively group, the queue drill can be a good way to control the whole group at the same time. When using queue drills, it is very important to avoid long waiting times. This can be avoided by giving the waiting players assignments, for instance moving on the court.
   
   
4. To make sure that the goal of the drill appears early in the drill: A drill where the goal does not appear until the third or fourth stroke often means that the players will not make it that far and thus will not practice the stroke or the situation in question. It is much better to start the drill in the middle of a situation and avoid unnecessary mistakes that way.
   
   
5. To adjust a pre-defined drill so that it suits the current practice session and situation: A pre-defined drill does not always work out the way it was planned. To be able to adjust a drill by changing one or more details shows a coach's true strength.
   
   
6. To abort a drill that does not work: It is better to abort a drill than to let the players continue without succeeding. This failure can be devastating, since it is imperative that the kids and the mini-tennis players feel that they can succeed. Perhaps it is not necessary to abort the drill. Instead you can change the conditions or the goals. If you choose to abort a drill, try to do it in a "nice" way. Do not say that that this drill is not working so we are going to quit. Instead you can say that you are going to continue for another minute before taking a break.
   
   
7. To find drills where the players can compete against themselves: Try to avoid drills where the players compete against each other. A loss can be very hard to deal with for a child or a mini-tennis player, and things are not improved by the fact that the winning player most certainly will communicate his or her win to parents and players in a loud way. Over time it will, of course, be necessary and useful to learn to handle a loss, but be very attentive to the problems that might occur. Lead the players into competing against each other in a good way--for instance by starting to compete in teams or by competing against the coach.
   
   
8. To continue the drill even after two bounces and after the ball is out: This improves the quality of the practice considerably. The concentration and the fighting spirit increase and often the players think it is more fun to practice. Another advantage is that when the players are playing a match, they are used to fighting for every point, and the balls that bounce once or inside the lines are considered easy.
   
   
9. To get the ball started with the right kind of stroke: As a coach it is important to vary the spin and pace when getting the ball started or feeding balls. It is very easy for coaches to only hit easy balls without spin. Since the players usually do not get these balls hit towards them when playing against each other, it is better, as a coach, to imitate match situations by getting the ball started with topspin, slice and varying pace. The exception is, of course, when the player is practicing technique, and it is preferable to hit an easy ball without spin which makes it easier to succeed.
   
   
10. To use a short time for each drill: The younger the players are, the shorter time should be used for each drill. A six year old usually can not concentrate on one thing for more than two minutes, so you have to be well prepared for these practice sessions. If there are certain drills that you, as a coach, feel are necessary to practice repeatedly, you can get away from the concentration problem by returning to the same drill several times during a practice session.
    
    
11. To explain a little and show a lot: Few kids or mini-tennis players think it is fun to listen to a coach's explanation for long periods of time. For a coach it is usually easier to get the players to understand the stroke by showing rather than telling. The same thing can apply to drills. It is important to remember that small children are usually very good at imitating. For example, rather than lecturing a young player about the principles of a good serve, just let them start by hitting some serves and allow them to learn through their own actions.
    
    
12. To have a lot of breaks: Again, given the level of concentration among very young players, it's advisable to plan a lot of breaks in the practice session. A break does not always mean sitting still and resting. There are many ways to get the players to relax even while practicing.
    
    
13. The importance of succeeding and being praised: As mentioned earlier, kids and mini-tennis players find it hard to handle failure, thus it is extremely important that they feel that they receive praise and that they feel successful. Even players without any ball sense or talent can succeed during a practice session. As a coach it is important to find the situation in which this player succeeds, or else you risk losing a pupil.