Mission: Impossible

Top 5 great tips I learned at the 2012 PTR Symposium - this was easily one of them. Mike Barrell's (yes, he of evolve9 fame) presentation Message Sent, Message Received included many great tips on how to insure your tennis instruction will sink in with young students. But this was my favorite: when you label something 'impossible', it eliminates expectations and your students will try it without fear of failure. After all, if it is 'impossible', what do they have to lose? and if they do by chance succeed at an 'impossible' task, you can imagine their satisfaction. It's a Win-Win!

Now we all know even though our 10U students are young, they aren't stupid. You need to be careful about which tasks you label 'impossible'. Make sure you use it judiciously, for tasks that are at least moderately difficult if not moreso. Two exercises come to mind that lend themselves to impossibility. One is dribbling 'edgies'. Another is a serve exercise detailed here. Both are difficult for beginners, but not truly impossible. And if your students happen to succeed at it, they will be absolutely thrilled with themselves. Mission accomplished!

Overhand Serve Warm-Up

Extra points if you know
who this is

This exercise has been extremely useful to me as a player. Any of my students old enough to learn an overhand serve have learned this warm-up from me also. The goals of this warm-up are:

• literally warm up the shoulder joint prior to serving
• regulate the ball toss
• refine the throwing motion, central to a quality serve
• improve level of focus on toss prior to hitting serve

All good things! What's not to like??!!

Start at the baseline.

• Ask player to take one tennis ball and throw it overhand over the net with whichever hand they use to play/serve with. Look for a natural throwing motion, as if they are throwing a football or a baseball. Remind them the serve is a simple throwing motion, throwing racquet at ball. Look for a weight transfer or even a step with opposite (front) foot. 
• Now throw it as high as possible but still over net
• Now throw it as high and as FAR as possible over net - opposite baseline is ideal goal
• Now get two balls. First ball is in toss hand. Second is in serve/racquet hand. Toss service toss, letting it drop to ground.  Then throw second ball as previously instructed, as high and far over net as possible.
• Final challenge: Toss service toss. Try to hit this ball in the air with second ball, again with same throwing motion as high and far as possible.

At first this will seem nigh impossible no matter the level of player. But you will be surprised how often the tossed ball is struck, even upon the first time this activity is attempted. This activity is amazingly effective for teaching the correct throwing motion and enforcing the high level of focus required during the toss/serve. Remind student to recreate the throwing motion when they have racquet in hand and are preparing to serve.

And in case you are wondering, yes, I have hit the tossed ball on more than one occasion. :)

King of the Court

Full Disclosure: the hardest thing about writing this particular blog entry was choosing which picture of a crown to use. Tons of great graphics out there!

Full Disclosure #2: I have a little trouble confusing this game with Champs and Chumps. In the interest of making sure we all have the two straight, here's the scoop.

King of the Court (or Queen, if you prefer - I have tried to come up with a simple alternative name for this game that works for both girls and boys but so far, nada. USTA likes 'Champion of the Court' but it just doesn't have the same ring, does it?) is another simple game that should be in every tennis instructor's repertoire. Very simple, very handy, very useful, and popular with players of all ages. Works for singles as well as doubles. Individuals or teams must win two out of three points to become King/Queen. Among a competitive group with good camaraderie, this game could go on for days. Everyone wants one last chance to become King/Queen.

As you may recall, in Champs and Chumps, only one point determines the new Champ. In this version, if you lose the first point, you still have a chance to prevail by winning the next two points.

Note I have also seen this played with only one point determining the new King/Queen. In fact, on the USTA's website Top 10 Games Every Coach Should Know, they have this game played with one point in singles and best of three in doubles. If you play it with only one point required to become the new champ, then what is the difference between this and Champs and Chumps, you might ask? In C&C there is a group of Champs taking turns playing against the Chumps. In this game there is always only one champ (singles) or two (one doubles team) on the Champion side.

Whoever wins the first round, that side is designated as the King/Queen side of court, and subsequent winners must move to that side. If you don't do that, and just let the winners stay on their side regardless of which side they are on, it gets confusing who is King/Queen.

Update: Duh! Over a year on, I finally have figured out the difference between these two games. K/Q only has one player on the winning side. Champs/Chumps has two groups of players on each end of court. So for example let's say you have a group of 8 players. In K/Q, you would have one player on the winning side and the other 7 trying to earn their way to be King or Queen. In Champs/Chumps, the group would be split equally with 4 players on each end of court. After each point, winner moves or stays on Champs side and loser moves or stays on Chumps side.

Champs and Chumps

A rose by any other name . . . 

If you are a tennis instructor and you don't know this game yet, shame on you. It's a simple little ditty. Singles or doubles, you make the call. One side is randomly designated 'Champs'; the other, of course, is 'Chumps'. Point is played out. Winner goes (or stays) to Champs side of court; non-winner goes (or stays) to Chumps side. Repeat. Equally good for singles or doubles.

The beauty is in the simplicity. Most levels understand this game easily. There are no tricks or hidden rules. You win the point, you are a Champ. You don't win, you are a Chump. The points usually play out quickly so everyone has plenty of opportunity to win at least once.

Recent trend is to give this activity the kinder, gentler name of Champs and SuperChamps. Theory goes like this: the word 'chump' is demeaning and insulting to some kids. This is the same trend that encourages us to say 'non-winner' instead of 'loser'. I understand and somewhat agree. I find myself saying 'non-winner' more and more often. But my players think Champs and Chumps is just funny-sounding, and I have not witnessed any ill effects from the use of this term so far. In fact, 'Champs and SuperChamps' is a sort of let-down because there doesn't seem to be any disincentive for either. They are fine losing because they are still some kind of champ, even though it may not be SuperChamp. So I will continue using 'Champs and Chumps' until it becomes expedient for me to switch. Meaning, if my boss tells me to stop. :)

2 Ball - 3 Ball

The best laid plans of mice and tennis pros . . . we have all experienced having a lesson all planned out, then someone doesn't show up, or extra players show up, and there goes your lesson plan! Never fear: your worries are over. 2 Ball-3 Ball is great for odd numbers of players. It can be used as a singles or a doubles activity. It also translates perfectly to any level player. I first played it as a league player at White Bear Racquet and Swim in White Bear Lake, MN, which I believe has since been acquired by the Life Time Fitness chain.

Since I learned it as a doubles player, let's use that as our example. Four players take the court. Extra players are waiting at the net post. Three of the players on court have two balls each tucked away in pockets/skirts. The fourth player has three balls. Whomever has three balls feeds the first ball, bounce or underhand feed (not serve). Play out the point. Player making error then feeds the next ball. Repeat. Whenever someone runs out of balls, they leave the court and the next player waiting comes in. Be sure this new player has three balls and starts the next point.

You have probably figured out that this is a great drill to emphasize consistency. The players who make the fewest mistakes stay on court the longest. For young players/beginners, make sure they hustle on and off the court. If they can't rally much, at least they should get a good workout running on and off the court! For my young players this also has a secondary benefit: reinforcing the importance of wearing clothing that has pockets or that can easily store at least two tennis balls.

105: Clever or Confusing?

This game was included in a very fine presentation on games for 10 and Under Tennis by Aaron Fox at the 2012 PTR Symposium in Orlando. I have seen it before at other training sessions. I have never used it, and here's why: although the concept is sound and it worked during Aaron's presentation, I think the scoring is too nonsensical and detracts from the enjoyment of the game (why 105 and not 100?). I have see adults stutter and stammer their way through this activity, more focused on trying to figure out the mental math than they are on hitting the ball. Sure, if you keep at it long enough, the players may figure it out. But in my experience if something isn't fun right away, you will lose their interest, they will get bored, stop trying, etc. Double everything I just said if your students are 10 and Under!

A word here about drills you see performed in professional presentations. They always run smoothly, don't they? And for good reason. The presenter is there to give you as much quality information as possible in a brief amount of time. If he has volunteers helping demonstrate the activity, they are either friends/colleagues/students familiar with the activity, or adult volunteers from the audience. Either way, their experience will be markedly different from your group of 8-year-olds trying anything for the first time. I'm just sayin'.

So here's how 105 works: Object of the game is to be the first team to win 105 points. Points are awarded as follows:

• Groundstroke winner: 5
• Volley winner: 10
• Overhead winner: 20
• Errors: 1 point for other team

Switch ends once one team has earned 50 points.

Much easier?

And by 'winner' we mean that ball is untouched by the opposition. So if the opponent hits a volley winner, and you stretch for it and make any contact at all (even if you net it or hit out), the team hitting that ball only gets 1 point (for your error) instead of 10 (for a clean winner).

This game can be played by groups or teams in relay fashion, with the player losing the point rotating out and replaced by a different teammate.

A particularly fun aspect of this game: when it looks like one team is running away with the game, coach can change up the rules to help even things out. For example, winning team must hit all backhands, or all of their balls must be hit deeper than service line. You might think the winning team would resent this erosion of their lead, but they seem to appreciate the challenge. Heaven knows the losing team certainly appreciates it! Seriously, this is a great way to keep the game going for as long as you want it to go without one team getting hammered over and over again.

I like this game and I really want it to work. Next time I try it I might just shrink it down to 21 with points given being 1, 2, and 3 instead of 5, 10 and 20.

Dribbling Perfection

Strange Internet Factoid: If you Google 'tennis ball' and  'dribble', you will get lots of hits of players in other sports - dribbling with tennis balls! Guess tennis balls are the perfect combination of size, bounciness, cost, and availability. Yea, tennis!

Dribbling is one of those great basic skills that I strongly encourage my students to perform any time they have a racquet and a ball available. When the arrive early, when they have nothing better to do at home (outside only!), walking from the car to the court, you name it. Dribbling has many variations to keep it from getting too boring or too easy. It is one of my standard homework assignments. First lesson for all of my students includes some form of dribbling.

• Foam ball/ages 4-6 - maybe it's not a true dribble but the idea is the same - I ask them to drop, then catch, the ball and repeat. For example, bounce and catch five times, then get a high 5.
• Red/orange balls/ages 6+ - the true dribble. I show them ups (repetitive bouncing of the ball into the air off the strings) and downs (bouncing ball on ground by tapping it with strings). 
• Progression: Dribble while moving along the lines of the court.
• Progression: combine ups with downs by tapping ball into air with strings, letting it bounce on ground, then tapping into air again, repeat.
• Progression: perform combo dribble with a partner. Stand a few feet apart. Tap ball into air, hoping when it lands on the ground it lands somewhere between them so that the partner can be the next one to tap it into the air. Repeat. Note this can also be done with younger players and foam balls without the racquets. Have them toss/catch after one bounce with a partner.

Sometimes we have a dribbling contest. For my beginners I let them decide which form of dribbling they will attempt. I set a time limit, usually one minute. Player dribbling the most times without a miss wins. If they miss, they start back at zero. They find this challenging because having to actually count the dribbles adds a level of difficulty.

Def not suggesting A-Rod is
a creative accountant. But we both
feel like crying when we have one on our court.

Caution: very sad to report every time I do this I have a 'creative accountant' in the mix. I usually ask everyone how many dribbles they completed. There is always someone who has figured out how to beat the system, listen to everyone else's score, and just pull a higher number out of thin air. I always try it this way first because it tells me a lot about my students. If there seems to be a discrepancy, I have two remedies. I would love to hear yours.

Remedy 1: Pair up the players. Have one doing the counting while the other is dribbling; switch and repeat.
Remedy 2: Allow the reported score to stand. Repeat the contest a few more times. Winner can participate each time but can only win once.