The leader moves around the perimeter of the court changing forms of locomotion. Have them:

• Walk fast
• Jog
• High step or march
• Side shuffle
• Do crossover steps
• Hop on one foot, alternating

Have the children count aloud while doing the following stretches:

• Neck rolls -- roll six times to the left and six times to the right
• Arm swings -- do six rotations forward and six rotations backward with each arm
• Ready, set, stretch -- in a starter's block position, extend the right leg, then the left, and hold each for six counts
• Wrist rolls -- do six rotations forward and six backward with each wrist
• Touch toes -- reach for the sky and then to the toes six times

Pupils line up at the baseline and doubles sideline to walk and then jog the lines. The pattern is as follows:

• forward along the doubles sideline to the net,
• sidestep across to the singles sideline,
• backward along the singles sideline to the service line,
• sidestep across the service line almost to the T,
• up the center service line to the net,
• sidestep to just across the center service line,
• backward along the center service line to the service line,
• sidestep to the singles sideline,
• up to the net,
• sidestep to the doubles sideline,
• backward along the doubles sideline and
• sidestep across to the center hash mark.

Use spots and position parents to help direct children.

Place three racquets equidistant between the relay team and the net – one racquet on the baseline, one on the service line and one at the net. Place two balls for each child and parent on the racquet at the baseline. Children, or parents and children alternately, take a ball from the racquet at the baseline and run to place it on the first racquet. They return to the baseline to pick up another ball, bring it to the racquet at the net and return to tag the next person in line. The relay can be run in reverse to return all the balls to the baseline.

1. Demonstrate and have the class shadow groundstrokes with tracking footwork learned in previous lessons. Include the "shuffle, shuffle, turn, step, hit" sequence to both sides.

2. Demonstrate and have the class shadow the forehand volley from ready position. Show the differences in the pivot, step, contact point and hit (bump or punch) and short follow-through. Show the resemblance to a "high five."

Hang up to five dangling balls on each teaching cable and place spots to correctly position kids. In all drills, stress contact point in front of the children as they:

1. Hit a stationary ball steadied between hits by a parent-coach

2. Hit a ball gently swung by a parent-coach, who catches the ball between hits as the child regains ready position

3. Gently hit consecutive balls, using a compact punching motion and quick footwork to regain ready position between each hit

• Good drills for this are "10 Club," "20 Club," "30 Club" and "World Record."

One-on-one, parent-coaches should stand several feet from children and toss balls to the children's forehands for volleying, stressing the basics of ready position, a pivot with no backswing, step and punch. Children should try to hit directly back to coaches and keep their feet moving.

• Have a coach and student demonstrate before the class begins play.
• To keep balls from being sprayed around the court, position parent-coaches with their backs to the fences.

A good ratio for this game is one assistant or parent-coach who can control the ball well with four or six students. The coach stands across the small net from a doubles team and tosses balls for the children to volley. Let each child hit at least five balls during each turn.

• A parent-coach can keep waiting children occupied at a safe distance and rotate them in to play.
• Spots can help children understand their positions on the court.

Divide the children into two lines facing the net. Coaches toss balls to each child, one at a time, and the children hit a forehand volley over the net at a target. The winner can be decided two ways: the team with the highest number of target hits after a specified time or the team that reaches a specified number of target hits first.

Parents should participate in practices with their children, and everyone should warm up before playing:

• Bump-up tennis with and without a bounce
• Wall tennis -- groundstrokes
• No-net tennis -- forehand volley and groundstrokes