Lesson Plan for Kids
Kids have very different mind-sets, motivations, and physical abilities as compared to adults. We understand that kids are still in the midst of developing their motor-skills, hand-eye coordination, attention span, physical strength, movement and comprehension. With these factors in mind, our coaches proceed to create an environment where learning and engagement can take place.
The main objective of lessons here at Play!Tennis would be to introduce tennis to your child, sparking an interest in not only tennis, but exercise as well. We aim to provide your child with the necessary understanding and experience in the sport, allowing them to enjoy rallies and match play. Additionally, a good sense of sportsmanship, etiquette, courtesy and empathy would be developed throughout their lessons. Tennis is a great way to improve your child’s development in their early years. Lessons held by our experienced coaches are fun, engaging and progressive, allowing your little one to enjoy their time spent on the court!
Time during 1-hour lessons would be roughly split into 4 main categories:
0-15 mins – Warm-up/setting up of equipment
Warming up is important to ensure that the risk of injury is minimized during the course of the lesson. From basic stretching to mini-tennis, our coaches have a plethora of interesting and effective warm-ups.
15-35 mins – Drills
Drills are the core of any lesson plan. Drills allow for new techniques to be taught and cemented, as well as the correction of any incorrect postures or practices.
35-55mins – Games
We have included many different games that will be fun and engaging for your child. As drills can sometimes get monotonous, adding and element of fun and competitiveness to the lesson is important in keeping the lessons light and exciting.
55-60mins – Warm down/packing up
Warming down involves static stretches to prevent potential injuries or cramps after the lesson has ended. It is critical in ensuring the well-being and safety of the student.
Month 1 (Lessons 1-4) – Introduction to Tennis
The first 4 lessons would be an introduction to tennis. Basic groundstrokes, net-play, movement and footwork would be introduced to your child, allowing them to develop ball-sense and a basic understanding of the game.
Week 1 (Lesson 1) – Introduction
Kids would naturally be very curious about tennis during their first lesson, allowing them to touch and feel the rackets, tennis balls and understand the layout of the court is important to quickly satisfy their curiosity. Attempting to delve deep into the mechanics and techniques during the first lesson could prove to be needlessly challenging as young kids would be inadvertedly distracted by their new environment.
0-15 mins
Your child will be introduced to the coach, as well as any other students present at the lesson. Once they are comfortable, the coach will begin introducing the different areas on the court, as well as tennis equipment to your child. They will be able to hold, swing and play with the rackets, as well as feel and throw the tennis balls around. Familiarizing your child with the net, fence, posts and other areas on the court would be carried out as well.
15-35 mins
The coach will formally begin the lesson and introduce the different grip types that your child can adopt. The four main grip types, continental, eastern, semi-western and western grip types will be introduced, and we will find which grip suits your child the best.
Drills will then be carried out to test out their new grips and familiarize them with their equipment. Drills such as balancing the ball on the racket face would help with controlling the orientation of the racket face for your child. Bouncing the ball on the racket allows kids to understand the ‘springiness’ of the strings and rackets, as well as controlling the orientation and swing of the racket. Other drills will be carried out once your child has gotten the hang of the current drill.
35-55 mins
Games such as ‘Simon says’ can be carried out to help your child remember the different part of the court. For example, when the coach shouts ‘service-line’, kids can run and touch the service line, with the fastest kid becoming the winner. This can be used on other areas of the court as well, such as the baseline, fence, net or doubles alley. Other variations of the game can be employed as well. For the first month, coaches will introduce games that mostly do not require experience to enjoy, as it makes it more inclusive for our students.
55-60 mins
A warm-down and debrief will be conducted by the coach, which includes the stretching of major muscle groups that had been activated during the lesson. Additionally, a debrief with your child, as well as with the care-taker or parent would be conducted as well to answer and queries or to go over what had been learnt that day.
Week 2 (Lesson 2) – Movement and Footwork
During the second lesson, we will focus on helping your child understand the mechanics of the game. These mechanics can include how the ball bounces, how the racket swings, how to position themselves, among many others. These fundamental mechanics will be the backbone of their tennis posture and techniques in the future.
0-15 mins
A quick static stretch will be supervised and conducted by the coach, followed by some light jogging or running around the court to get the blood pumping.
Dynamic warmups would be conducted involving the tennis ball. The coach and the student would toss the tennis ball to each other over the net, where the student would have to catch the ball before the first, second or third bounce, depending on the difficulty set by the coach. This warmup is great for helping the child get acclimatized to the bounce of the balls, giving them a better understanding of how to position themselves.
15-35 mins
After going through a refresher of the previous lesson’s topic of grips, coaches will demonstrate how to execute a forehand technique. The technique would be broken down into four parts, namely; preparation, backswing, contact point and follow through. By breaking down the technique into four parts, it would be easier for your child to understand and complete the technique. After getting the forehand technique right, the coach will proceed to incorporate tennis balls into the drill. Using the technique of feeding the ball by dropping it straight down, it allows your child sufficient time to prepare and anticipate the bounce and trajectory of the ball. Such drills will be carried out for the backhand as well.
35-55 mins
Games that encourage the understanding of bounce and ball trajectory would be played during the second lesson. The game of ‘Catch’, where the coach hits a ball high up into the air, giving the student one, two or three bounces to catch it, allows the child to work on their positioning skills and understand the motion and trajectory of the ball better. Other variations of the game can be employed as well. For the first month, coaches will introduce games that mostly do not require experience to enjoy, as it makes it more inclusive for our students.
55-60 mins
A warm-down and debrief will be conducted by the coach, which includes the stretching of major muscle groups that had been activated during the lesson. Additionally, a debrief with your child, as well as with the care-taker or parent would be conducted as well to answer and queries or to go over what had been learnt that day.
Week 3 (Lesson 3) – Basic Groundstrokes
The third lesson will be covering basic groundstroke techniques that are the backbone of any tennis player. Kids would develop the required hand-eye coordination skills and understanding of the ball to perform such groundstrokes. Our coaches will further break down the previously taught preparation, backswing, contact point and follow through to help your child perform such techniques.
0-15 mins
A quick static stretch will be supervised and conducted by the coach, followed by some light jogging or running around the court to get the blood pumping.
Dynamic warmups would be conducted involving the tennis ball and racket. Students will catch the ball that the coach feeds, after which they will perform an underarm forehand back to the coach. This warmup will proceed with increasing difficulty to acclimatize the student with movement, racket control and swing techniques.
15-35 mins
On top of going through what had been done for drills the previous lesson, coaches will incorporate the use of shadow swings and tennis balls with pace into the lesson. Shadow swings help build the necessary muscle memory for the student to perform good groundstrokes with appropriate technique. It also allows the coach to quickly identify any errors that your child might be unconsciously making during the motion. Introducing tennis balls with pace while hand feeding tennis balls allows your child to have a more realistic situation when attempting their groundstrokes. The coach will slowly increase the pace of such hand fed balls until the student has acclimatized to correct timings and swing patterns.
35-55 mins
Games that encourage the understanding of bounce and ball trajectory would be played during the third lesson as well. Variations of the previously mentioned ‘Catch’ game can be played, where the rules are changed such that the student is required to catch the ball with their shirt or catch with 1 hand instead of 2. Increasing the difficulty, coaches can feed the ball to the other side of the court, requiring the student to run further in order to catch the ball within the allocated amount of bounces.
55-60 mins
A warm-down and debrief will be conducted by the coach, which includes the stretching of major muscle groups that had been activated during the lesson. Additionally, a debrief with your child, as well as with the care-taker or parent would be conducted as well to answer and queries or to go over what had been learnt that day.
Week 4 (Lesson 4) – Net Play
Net-play will be covered in the fourth lesson. Net-play involves techniques executed at the net, where mainly volleys and smashes will be used to quickly end the point. Between net-play and groundstrokes, many students find the former easier to get the hang of as it does not require the understanding of the ball’s bounce trajectory. However, with that being said, net-play is harder to master as it requires a good ‘feel’ and ‘touch’ of the ball.
0-15 mins
A quick static stretch will be supervised and conducted by the coach, followed by some light jogging or running around the court to get the blood pumping.
Dynamic warmups would be conducted involving the tennis ball and racket. Students will catch the ball that the coach feeds, after which they will perform an underarm forehand back to the coach. This warmup will proceed with increasing difficulty to acclimatize the student with movement, racket control and swing techniques.
15-35 mins
Coaches will firstly explain and demonstrate proper volley and smash techniques to your child. The proper footwork of ‘stepping into the ball’ and ‘punching’ the volleys will be emphasized. As well as negating backswing and an abbreviated follow through. Students will also learn how to always be in the ‘ready position’, in anticipation of incoming balls. These techniques are vital in ensuring that the fundamentals are correctly cemented into the muscle memory of the student.
Net-play drills will have the student stand between the service line and net, roughly in the center. Coaches will then feed the ball towards their forehand or backhand volleys, and the student will put the ball away using their rackets. Smashes will be taught step by step as well, with the motion being broken down by the coach. Tips such as pointing towards the high ball for the smash will be elaborated on as well to help simplify the technique.
Dynamic drills where a combination of net-play can be done as well. With combinations such as forehand volley-backhand volley-smash, or forehand-forehand volley-smash can be implemented as well.
35-55mins
Games that encourage the understanding of bounce and ball trajectory would be played during the fourth lesson as well. The game of ‘Lava Ball’ can be played which encourages good footwork and positioning of the student, as well as reading and understanding ball trajectory. Lava Ball is played by having the student stand in a stipulated area, be it within the double’s alley or service box. Balls will then be rolled into the area, with increasing speed and angle. Students will have to avoid the balls in order to win the game.
55-60mins
A warm-down and debrief will be conducted by the coach, which includes the stretching of major muscle groups that had been activated during the lesson. Additionally, a debrief with your child, as well as with the care-taker or parent would be conducted as well to answer and queries or to go over what had been learnt that day.
Month 2 (Weeks 5-8) – Polishing of Basics
In the second month of lessons, lessons 5-8 will focus on the refinement of the basics that had been taught the past few weeks. The correction of errors, introduction of intermediate techniques and a greater emphasis on precision will be worked on during the month.
Week 5 – Service
During the first lesson of the new month, service will be introduced. Your child will develop basic movements and execution of the stroke, allowing them to complete their set of strokes required for match-play. Our team of coaches are equipped to break-down the complicated service motion, allowing your child to grasp the concept and rudimentary motion of a consistent and effective serve.
0-15mins
A quick static stretch will be supervised and conducted by the coach, followed by some light jogging or running around the court to get the blood pumping.
Mini tennis will be introduced during the second month of lessons, where your child will rally with the coach from half court. Standing at the service line, your child and the coach will rally back and forth. The aim of mini tennis is to ‘feel’ and control the ball before the start of the lesson. This allows for greater consistency and engagement of relevant muscle groups during drills and gameplay.
15-35mins
Coaches will begin service drills by first demonstrating and explaining the correct motion and form. An emphasis on natural movement will be stressed upon by our coaches. The service will further be broken down into 6 main components, namely; stance, toss, racket drop, swing, contact point and finishing. By breaking down the major components of the complicated motion, your child would be able to objectively understand the service process.
Coaches will begin the introduction of service by having the student toss a ball in an overhead motion to simulate that of a serve. The tennis serve is similar to that motion, with the addition of a racket. A common mistake students fall prey to would be overcomplicating the motion, which results in an awkward and unnatural service motion.
35-55mins
Coaches will teach service in a progressive way, where underarm serves are mastered first before introducing half swings, and finally moving on to full swings. Half swings are executed by having the racket up at shoulder height before tossing the ball. This allows your child to focus on the toss before taking the swing. This simplifies the service motion, creating an easier way to grasp its motion and concept.
55-60mins
A warm-down and debrief will be conducted by the coach, which includes the stretching of major muscle groups that had been activated during the lesson. Additionally, a debrief with your child, as well as with the care-taker or parent would be conducted as well to answer and queries or to go over what had been learnt that day.
Week 6 – Intermediate Groundstrokes
With the second lesson focusing on groundstrokes, your child will be taught how to control their racket head speed, swings and power to dictate the direction and depth of their shots. Drills and game which aim to encourage intentional hitting will be conducted during the sixth week of lessons. These drills and games will allow your child to develop and understand their power, swing patterns and contact points.
0-15mins
A quick static stretch will be supervised and conducted by the coach, followed by some light jogging or running around the court to get the blood pumping.
Mini tennis will be introduced during the second month of lessons, where your child will rally with the coach from half court. Standing at the service line, your child and the coach will rally back and forth. The aim of mini tennis is to ‘feel’ and control the ball before the start of the lesson. This allows for greater consistency and engagement of relevant muscle groups during drills and gameplay.
15-35mins
Coaches will begin drills be demonstrating and explaining how the different contact points within the swing influences the direction of the ball. Balls that go cross court would need to be contacted a little earlier, and balls that go down the line would need to be contacted a little later. Depth would also be demonstrated and explained, where a slower swing results in a less powerful ball, and a faster swing results in a more powerful ball. These aspects of direction and power lead to a good sense of control and intentional ball placement for the student.
Drills will be conducted for both the forehand and backhand, where different patterns, depths and power can be varied to simulate match conditions or to increase the difficulty of the drill. Your child would learn how to consistently be able to control their shots, maintaining an intentional momentum in their gameplay.
35-55mins
Simple games which incorporate such depth and power can be utilized by coaches to create muscle memory for your child. Games such as getting 5, 10 or 15 consecutive balls into a specific area of the court can be employed to train such techniques. Targets can also be set up to improve on accuracy. To increase difficulty, coaches can indicate the specific area of the court after feeding the ball. This decreases the amount of reaction and preparation time the student has to dictate the direction and power of their shot, hence improving their footwork and keeps them sharp during lessons.
55-60mins
A warm-down and debrief will be conducted by the coach, which includes the stretching of major muscle groups that had been activated during the lesson. Additionally, a debrief with your child, as well as with the care-taker or parent would be conducted as well to answer and queries or to go over what had been learnt that day.
Week 7 – Dynamic Play
Dynamic drills are introduced in week 7 to simulate the conditions of an actual match. Drills can often get monotonous and predictable, dynamic drills help break up the monotony and patterns of traditional drills. By switching up the type of ball that the coach feeds to your child, balls can become top spin heavy, deep, short, high, angled or even with back spin. This simulates the conditions of an actual match where no two balls are alike, requiring a great deal of flexibility and adjustments from the player to handle all different types of balls.
0-15mins
A quick static stretch will be supervised and conducted by the coach, followed by some light jogging or running around the court to get the blood pumping.
Mini tennis will be introduced during the second month of lessons, where your child will rally with the coach from half court. Standing at the service line, your child and the coach will rally back and forth. The aim of mini tennis is to ‘feel’ and control the ball before the start of the lesson. This allows for greater consistency and engagement of relevant muscle groups during drills and gameplay.
15-35mins
Drills can be in any combination of standard rally patterns and with any number of balls per drill. For example, a drill can have a forehand, backhand, approach forehand and volley. It can even be expanded further into retrieving a lob after the volley, which pushes the student back to the base line. The drill can then start again without a break until the student makes a mistake. These drills are meant to combine almost all aspects of your child’s fitness and tennis skills, requiring the employment of effective footwork, positioning, shuffling, swing, contact and a great deal of stamina.
Dynamic drills are incredibly effective as the skills and muscle memory learnt during such activities can be translated well into actual match play. Therefore, many further lessons will have some sort of variation of dynamic drills as they have and will prove to be critical and effective in your child’s development.
35-55mins
Dynamic drills can be tweaked to have a competitive element by introducing incentives and objectives to the drill. For example, goals such as getting all the balls ‘in’ or getting all the balls beyond the service line can be the objective that your child has to achieve. Rewards such as getting to take a break or playing the student’s favorite game after the drill can be incentivized to encourage your child to do his best.
55-60mins
A warm-down and debrief will be conducted by the coach, which includes the stretching of major muscle groups that had been activated during the lesson. Additionally, a debrief with your child, as well as with the care-taker or parent would be conducted as well to answer and queries or to go over what had been learnt that day.
Week 8 – Topspin
During the last lesson of the second month, the intermediate technique of top spin and racket mechanics would be introduced to your child. Top spin is an essential tool that any player must have in their arsenal. Without top spin, it is difficult to remain consistent during rallies and match play. Understanding the racket mechanics of the generation of top spin is equally important as the player must be aware of how and why top spin is generated.
0-15mins
A quick static stretch will be supervised and conducted by the coach, followed by some light jogging or running around the court to get the blood pumping.
Mini tennis will be introduced during the second month of lessons, where your child will rally with the coach from half court. Standing at the service line, your child and the coach will rally back and forth. The aim of mini tennis is to ‘feel’ and control the ball before the start of the lesson. This allows for greater consistency and engagement of relevant muscle groups during drills and gameplay.
15-35mins
The coach will introduce and explain top spin to your child. The technique of brushing the ball from low to high to generate the forward or ‘top’ spin of the ball. Its importance and effect on the trajectory of the ball would also be demonstrated and explained to your child. To simulate the ‘brushing’ motion that players have to perform, coaches can place a ball between the racket and the net. The coach would the pull the racket up and over the net, dragging the ball along the strings of the racket and the net. This ‘brushing’ technique causes the ball to develop a top spin, and it can be seen when the ball drops over to the other side of the net. Balls with top spin will bounce higher than regular balls, almost as if they are ‘kicking’ off the ground. This demonstration can be done against the fence as well.
35-55mins
As mentioned previously, when top spin is effectively generated, the ball’s trajectory would have a steeper arc as compared to flat balls. This creates more consistency as it is easier to pass over the net, as it has an arc. Additionally, balls with heavy topspin are less likely to go over the baseline due to the arc reducing its depth. The coach and your child can play a game of mini tennis, where top spin is employed to keep the ball within the service line. A match can be played using mini tennis, requiring good control and use of top spin for consistency within a tight space.
55-60mins
A warm-down and debrief will be conducted by the coach, which includes the stretching of major muscle groups that had been activated during the lesson. Additionally, a debrief with your child, as well as with the care-taker or parent would be conducted as well to answer and queries or to go over what had been learnt that day.
Month 3 (Weeks 9-12) – Rally/Match Implementations
In the final month of the 12-week program, your child will be putting together what they had learnt the past 2 months. Gameplay tactics, rallies and match play will be introduced to allow your child an opportunity to put into practice the skills and techniques that they had accumulated. This will be an exciting month where the fruits of their labor can finally be experienced.
Week 9 – Rally
Rallying is the backbone of many matches, gameplay and casual sessions. Effective and productive rallying will put into practice essential skills such as footwork, groundstrokes, positioning, timing, contact points and fitness. A focus on consistency and precision will be important in developing muscle memory for your child.
0-15mins
A quick static stretch will be supervised and conducted by the coach, followed by some light jogging or running around the court to get the blood pumping.
Mini tennis will be introduced during the second month of lessons, where your child will rally with the coach from half court. Standing at the service line, your child and the coach will rally back and forth. The aim of mini tennis is to ‘feel’ and control the ball before the start of the lesson. This allows for greater consistency and engagement of relevant muscle groups during drills and gameplay.
15-35mins
The first activity on the day’s agenda would be to work on consistency on the part of your child. Together with the coach, your child would rally using heavy topspin and high net clearance in order to maintain consistency and high percentage shots. A good mix of forehand and backhand should be employed. Your child will focus on maintaining good posture and efficiency during such rallies in order to simulate match conditions. Balls should be kept down the center for the first portion of the drill to acclimatize the motions and movement of their groundstrokes.
Once your child has been acclimatized, cross court rallies for both forehand and backhand can be used to change up the direction, contact points and timings for the rallies. These drills help drive in the importance of consistency, not only in putting the ball back onto the court, but in maintaining steady shots with consistent topspin and power as well.
35-55mins
Games that increase the difficulty of such rallies can be conducted by our coaches to add a competitive element towards such drills. For example, coaches can vary the direction of their returns during such rallies, however, your child would still be required to direct their ball towards the coach. The coach could be standing either on the left or right side of the court. This increases the difficulty of the drill as your child would be required to move laterally on their side of the court, as well as control the varied directions of their return. Additionally, it is more physically demanding to constantly be on the move, requiring more intentional positioning and rigorous footwork.
Coaches can also add an additional rule whereby your child’s return has to fall deep enough past the service line. For example, all returns from your child has to fall in between the service line and base line, any return that falls short of the service line would not be counted. With such rules being implemented, coaches can encourage your child to strive for 15 or 20 or more consecutive shots to be rallied.
55-60mins
A warm-down and debrief will be conducted by the coach, which includes the stretching of major muscle groups that had been activated during the lesson. Additionally, a debrief with your child, as well as with the care-taker or parent would be conducted as well to answer and queries or to go over what had been learnt that day.
Week 10 – Gameplay Tactics (Serves)
Gameplay tactics is one of the most important assets a player can have during matches. Even if a player has impeccable strokes, being unable to use them intelligently will often spell their demise during matches. Gameplay tactics allows your child to make well informed shot selection and intentional ball placement during matches. This improves their understanding of the game and its mechanics, allowing them to develop holistically as a tennis player.
0-15mins
A quick static stretch will be supervised and conducted by the coach, followed by some light jogging or running around the court to get the blood pumping.
Mini tennis will be introduced during the second month of lessons, where your child will rally with the coach from half court. Standing at the service line, your child and the coach will rally back and forth. The aim of mini tennis is to ‘feel’ and control the ball before the start of the lesson. This allows for greater consistency and engagement of relevant muscle groups during drills and gameplay.
15-35mins
During matches, there are two main situations your child will find themselves in. Namely, serving and receiving serve. Therefore, it is critical that your child knows what to do during such situations. Understanding their strengths, advantages, as well as their weaknesses during such points will be crucial in their chances of winning.
Many tactics such as the serve +1 or serve +2 patterns can prove to be useful in ending the point quickly and succinctly. The tactic is employed during your child’s service game. After serving, an extra quick recovery is done, followed by an aggressive shot in the opposite direction after the opponent has returned the ball. This can be further exaggerated by serving wide, pulling the opponent away from center court, and finishing the opponent’s return down the line. Such tactics ensure that your child is able to take control of points, formulating game plans in their head to seize opportunities during matches.
35-55mins
A mock match can be played between the coach and your child to simulate actual match play scenarios. This encourages your child to employ tactics that he had learnt during the lesson. Such mock matches are good opportunities for your child to try out new tactics and game plans, as well as build up their confidence in their abilities and strengths. They allow your child to develop better reading and understanding of the opponent and dynamics during games.
55-60mins
A warm-down and debrief will be conducted by the coach, which includes the stretching of major muscle groups that had been activated during the lesson. Additionally, a debrief with your child, as well as with the care-taker or parent would be conducted as well to answer and queries or to go over what had been learnt that day.
Week 11 – Gameplay Tactics (Rally)
Following up from the previous week’s lesson on gameplay tactics, this week’s lesson will be focused on rally tactics during match play. For most players, they will naturally struggle with certain difficult balls during rallies. Be it a heavy and high topspin ball to the backhand, or a low slice to the forehand, all tennis players have their ‘foes’ on court. Therefore, teaching your child how to overcome such challenging shots would be critical in ensuring that they can continue to remain consistent on the court.
0-15mins
A quick static stretch will be supervised and conducted by the coach, followed by some light jogging or running around the court to get the blood pumping.
Mini tennis will be introduced during the second month of lessons, where your child will rally with the coach from half court. Standing at the service line, your child and the coach will rally back and forth. The aim of mini tennis is to ‘feel’ and control the ball before the start of the lesson. This allows for greater consistency and engagement of relevant muscle groups during drills and gameplay.
15-35mins
Hand fed drills are particularly useful in strengthening such weaknesses as they are able to be carried out with precision. Coaches can control the pace, direction, height and placement of the ball accurately, allowing the effective simulation of otherwise uncommon situations.
For example, in order to train returning high balls to the backhand, coaches can hand feed a few balls at waist height to your child at the baseline, before feeding a high ball to the backhand. Your child would then have to quickly reposition themselves further behind the baseline to tackle the difficult ball, changing their swing pattern, contact point and brushing. This simulates actual gameplay more accurately and allows your child to work on the necessary footwork and positioning during such drills.
35-55mins
Similar to the previous week, a mock match can be played between the coach and your child. During such mock matches, coaches would periodically return a difficult ball, allowing your child the opportunity to put into practice what they had done during the prior drills. This allows for a more realistic application of their technique and skills, increasing the likelihood of it being translated effectively during real matches. These mock matches help to increase the confidence and consistency of your child during matches and gameplay.
55-60mins
A warm-down and debrief will be conducted by the coach, which includes the stretching of major muscle groups that had been activated during the lesson. Additionally, a debrief with your child, as well as with the care-taker or parent would be conducted as well to answer and queries or to go over what had been learnt that day.
Week 12 – Match Play
As the final lesson of the 3-month program, a full mock match would be played between your child and the coach. This mock match allows your child to have a taste of what it feels like to play an actual match outside of lessons. It is common for players to feel more nervous and under-perform during actual matches, therefore, by having a dry run with your child, we hope to be able to better prepare them for any future matches that they participate in.
0-15mins
A quick static stretch will be supervised and conducted by the coach, followed by some light jogging or running around the court to get the blood pumping.
Mini tennis will be introduced during the second month of lessons, where your child will rally with the coach from half court. Standing at the service line, your child and the coach will rally back and forth. The aim of mini tennis is to ‘feel’ and control the ball before the start of the lesson. This allows for greater consistency and engagement of relevant muscle groups during drills and gameplay.
15-55mins
As full matches take some time, the main chunk of time used for drills and games will be utilized for the mock match.
The coach will briefly introduce and go through the proceedings of a conventional match, how to count the score, and where to stand/serve during points. The coach will introduce the idea of the tie-break/sudden-death/deuce, when to take breaks during the sets, as well as any other relevant details.
The mock match will begin with a handshake between the two players, after which a coin or racket toss will determine who serves first. Your child and coach will serve in alternating fashion between games, as per standard rules. If time permits, your child can go on to a second set during the lesson. Breaks will be taken for every odd numbered game, with an exception for the first game. Coaches will guide your child through the entire process, allowing them to ask questions and clarify any doubts about the rules of tennis matches.
Additionally, tennis etiquette would also be explained to your child. Such as apologizing if their shot skims the top of the net, disrupting play and causing the opponent to lose the point, and shaking hands before and after every single game as a form of good sportsmanship.
Your child will learn not only how to play good tennis, but also demonstrate and develop courtesy and empathy during matches.
55-60mins
A warm-down and debrief will be conducted by the coach, which includes the stretching of major muscle groups that had been activated during the lesson. Additionally, a debrief with your child, as well as with the care-taker or parent would be conducted as well to answer and queries or to go over what had been learnt that day.