Kittens and Mittens

Another mash-up today. Title contributed from one of my students - thanks, Zeb! Super flexible, fun for any age and ability. You will need some extra equipment: cones, spots, and some random way of generating low numbers such as dice or playing cards.

Players will hit from yellow cones.
Coach will feed from near/target side.

Set up two cones anywhere you want the players to hit from (yellow cones in photo). At net for working on volleys, at service line for approach shots, baseline for groundies, etc. Cones should be 4-6 feet apart forming a 'goal'.

Four Square Junior

I have written about a tennis version of the children's playground game Foursquare in the past. This

one is from Joey Rive in the Jan/Feb 2014 issue of Tennis Magazine.

You will need at least four players playing doubles. Divide court into eight boxes, four on each side. You don't need any extra equipment for this. Just use the the service boxes as two of the boxes. Extend the line dividing ad from deuce all the way to the baseline, cutting the back court in half as well.

Feed first ball and rally. Scoring as usual, plus no team may hit to same box twice in a row. For example, if team a hits to opponent's deuce service box, they must hit to one of the other three boxes on the next shot. Hitting to same box consecutively counts as an error; point goes to opponent.

Short, Mid, Deep

Short, Mid, Deep is one of several drill ideas contained in a recent TennisPro Magazine article by PTR Master of Tennis Oliver Stephens.

Players play singles and are challenged to hit 10 balls in a row short to short. Then 10 more mid court to mid court, and finally 10  more baseline to baseline. Ideally they will get to the point where they can use one ball and keep this pattern going for a long time. It is not spelled out in the article but I think Oliver intends that the players do not stop between transitioning from short to mid to deep and back again.

Get In The Zone

Maybe this is what we should call
the neutral zone

Tennis.com has a great article out on reducing errors. Naturally we all want to reduce errors. But I don't think enough players realize the commonly reported statistic that 80% of tennis points are determine by errors. I don't have any way of verifying this stat, but since it helps me underscore the importance of playing smart, I am going to keep using it until I hear otherwise!

The analysis of the tennis court and its various zones in the article is a must-read for players who are able to understand the strategy of using the proper shot at the proper time. This may be your advanced beginners and up. There are a couple of different activities in this blog that help players determine which shot to hit, or more to the point, which shots NOT to hit, depending on where you are on the court. For my students, the biggest mistake I see is that they are overzealous about hitting winners at the wrong time. A close second is the exact opposite: failing to end the point when they are in what I call the 'kill' zone (near the net). 

So I have concocted this zonal activity to reinforce not only the zones of the court but what should and shouldn't be done in each. 

Divide the court into thirds laterally. Baseline third is the defensive ('grind') zone. Net zone is the offensive ('kill') zone. Middle third is the neutral zone. Players play singles points from the baseline. They earn one point each time their ball lands in the baseline third (baseline to baseline). No points earned or deducted if player or ball is in neutral zone. Point deducted for any ball landing in offensive zone. Final twist: point also deducted if player is pulled into offensive zone but fails to put the point away. First to X wins (your choice based on level of players and size of group).  Note entire game could be concluded in a single point if you have a couple of moonballers on court together. Scorekeeping could be complicated so consider enlisting waiting players to help keep the score.

Depth Charge

Depth Charge appeared in an article from Tennis Pro magazine (December 2010) by Rob Antoun. It was suggested as a warm-up, but I love it for working on consistency and depth any time during the lesson. You will need some way to mark the back court in half sideline to sideline.

Players pair up to play singles. If you have an odd number, the odd player out stands at the net post to keep score. If numbers are even, one of the two singles players is keeping score as well as serving as a cooperative rallying partner. The non-scorekeeping player has one minute to accumulate as many points as possible as follows:

1 point for ball hit over net and into service box
2 points if ball lands in front half of back court
3 points if ball lands in back half of back court

Rotate until each player has had their turn. Player with most points at end of last rotation wins.

Progression
Too hard? use a smaller court or slower balls, and allow 1 point for in front of service box, 2 points for behind service box. For your youngest beginners, have them toss and catch instead of rally with racquets.
Too easy (or need more courts)? Shrink court in half lengthwise baseline to baseline and have four players playing two rounds of singles straight ahead simultaneously. Also consider subtracting points if balls are hit out or in net.

Skill Pyramid

Skill Pyramid is similar to the 5 Points drill but on steroids. Which of course I do not support in any way. But you get my meaning. Students take turns hitting 5 balls as instructed. There will be five rounds of 5 balls, each round progressively more difficult.

Students each get fed 5 balls. What they are to do with their ball depends on what you are working on during the lesson - forehands, backhands, volleys, overheads, etc.

In Round 1, the challenge is to hit each of the 5 over the net and in play
Round 2 - ball must be hit directionally per coach's instruction (deuce, ad, center)
Round 3 - ball must be hit to depth per coach's instruction (short or deep)
Round 4 - ball must be hit with spin per coach's instruction (flat, topspin, slice)
Round 5 - ball must be hit with correct amount of power per coach's instruction (drop shot, screaming winner, aggressive approach, etc.)

Dribbler

This game is harder than it seems. It is easily adaptable for different size groups and abilities.

Divide players into two groups at one of the baselines. Have a set number of balls for each team. One at a time, players dribble a tennis ball with their racquets up to the service line and hit it over the net. Note they must dribble continuously and hit the ball over the net without stopping the dribbling - the hit over the net must be off a dribbled ball.  If the ball does not go over the net, player must return to baseline and repeat attempt. First team to hit all of their balls over the net and in play wins.

Variation
For small groups, play as individuals rather than as teams.

Progressions
Easiest Have players dribble by hand with the 'bounce, catch' and toss ball over net.
Harder Divide target court into sections, awarding varying numbers of points. For example, ball landing in the service box is one point. Past the service line is two points. No Man's Land or deeper is three points. Team with most points when all balls are played wins. Another option: team's ball must land in team's half of opposite court.
Hardest Smaller, more specific targets are the only way players can earn points. For example, place hula hoops or cone circles at various positions on the court. Ball must land in the target to earn a point.

Adapted from The Tennis Drills Book by Tina Hoskins.

Update: I was astonished at the level of cheating during this activity. Things to watch for:

• Players carrying multiple balls to the service line. 
• Players ignoring/not replaying their net balls. 
• Players hand-feeding or otherwise handling the ball with their hands. 

Two On One

Be thankful you are not
facing these two in this drill

Two On One is a demanding activity, perfect for odd numbers of players. It's a simple concept with many potential variations.

Two players set up at the net. A third player is at the baseline across the net from them. One of the net players feeds the first ball cooperatively to the baseline player and they play out the point. Net players must cover their entire court; baseline player is only responsible for the singles court (no alleys).

This can be very frustrating and tiring for the baseline player, so my recommendation is a quick rotation after 3-5 points. The baseline player should be focused on not giving the net team much, if anything, to work with. The net players should be focused on putting the ball away whenever possible.

Variations

• Reduce the options for the players, such as no lobs or all forehands.
• Make it a cooperative activity similar to a league warm-up - net players must return all balls playable to baseline player so he/she can work on passing shots/lobs.

One Third-Two Thirds

If you want to get really tricky
and you have lots of throw down lines
try dividing the court like this

While we are on the topic of dividing the court, here's another drill from Aaron Fox. Rather than dividing it into halves as in Slash, try dividing it into thirds. Aaron suggests dividing it vertically but I think it would work horizontally as well. One player is allowed to hit into two of the opponent's thirds; the other player may only hit into one of the opponent's thirds. Throw down lines or cones will be useful for this activity.

Variations
Coach chooses who hits into 1/3 and who hits into 2/3
Each player chooses their own 1/3
Each player chooses for his/her opponent which 1/3

Progression
Too difficult? Have both players hitting into 2/3 of the court.
Too easy? Have both players hitting into only 1/3 of the court.

Slash

I'll take the slice on the deuce side please

Thanks Aaron Fox for this simple but versatile and effective drill, presented at the February 2012 PTR Symposium in Orlando. The object of Slash is to improve directional consistency, so it is for advanced beginners and up.

Divide the courts into halves. Singles play is confined to those halves. First player to 11 points wins.

Variations
Divide court in half front to back.
Divide court in half deuce/ad.
Divide court in half diagonally.

Note this simple drill can easily consume an entire teaching hour or more if you play first to 11, best 2 of 3 for each variation. Or, develop a series of lessons progressing from each 'slash' or division of the court. IMO the way they are listed above is also the progression of easiest to hardest.

Short and Deep

This game is from a PTR Kids Tennis manual, where it is called This & That. But I just couldn't see the connection between the name and the activity so I am simplifying things. This activity improves focus and the player's ability to judge where an oncoming ball will land. Works for all ages.

Coach or another player feeds ball across net. Other players are across net, ideally in a receiving position. They take turns calling out 'Short' or 'Deep' to predict where the ball will bounce. Any ball landing between the net and the service line is a 'Short' ball. Any ball landing between the service line and the baseline is a 'Deep' ball. Points are earned for each correct call. This game can easily be converted to a team activity.

Progression
Easiest: No rallies. Receiving players catch ball.
Harder: Players self-feed and play out the point, calling out 'Short' or 'Deep' for each ball as they play.

The Lob - easy as 1, 2, 3

Wildwood RC has some tips on the bunt lob

So many tennis students spend their clinic time grinding out ground strokes. While important, players should not live by groundies alone. Encourage your students to build an all-court game by introducing them to other shots like volleys, overheads and lobs. Here's an easy exercise to hone their lobbing skills. This is from a QuickStart coaches resource booklet.

You will need three players, or two players and a coach feeding balls. Station one player at each baseline and a third (or the coach) at the net as feeder. Feeder underhand tossed ball to baseline player across net. Baseline player hits lob over feeder's head. Other baseline player catches after one bounce. Rotate positions so that everyone gets a turn at lobbing or catching.

Keep It Deep

Yellow x's = cone locations
Red numbers = the four service locations

I first learned this game from Brian Clark at one of his USC-Lancaster Lancers summer camps. Originally it was a serve activity. I have used it often and have added some variations because its principles apply to other strokes as well.

Let's discuss the original first. It is a serve activity primarily designed to encourage deep serves. The way the scoring system is set up, it also helps players learn how to keep score.

You will need some cones. Place them inside the two service boxes, along a line about 18" from the service line.

Players get two balls per serve, just as in a real tennis game. They take turns serving from one of the four service locations at the baseline (out wide ad, center ad, center deuce, and out wide deuce). After each player has served two balls from each of the four locations, that is a complete round.

Points are awarded based on where the serve lands: 2 points for behind cones; 1 for in front of cones. Zero points for anything not in the correct service box. Whoever earns the most points per round wins that round and gets one point. In case of a tie, have a one serve playoff until someone wins that round. Added bonus fun: anyone hitting one of the target cones automatically wins that round.

Here's where it can get tricky: as you accumulate points, you are keeping score the same as if you were playing tennis. So one point would be 15. Two would be 30, three would be 40, and four would be a complete game. Players compete to see how many 'games' they can win. Activity can either be timed or completed when one player wins 6 'games', which would be a complete set in real tennis.


Variations
A deep ball is a good ball regardless of if it is a serve, a forehand, a backhand, a volley, an overhead, etc. You can make this activity work for any of these strokes by adjusting your cones/markers. So if you are working on deep forehands, place the cones 18-24" inside the baseline. Cross court returns? No problem - restrict play to the deuce or ad half of the court.

Adjust this flexible game to fit your needs. Just remember to give extra points for the deeper targets.