Time:
45 to 60 minutes
Equipment:
Racquets, spots, cones, beanbags or Koosh balls, balloons or small beachballs, large and small soft balls,and tees or dangling balls
1.Welcome/roll call (3 min.)
2.Warm-up drills
Follow the leader (5 min.)
Everyone follows the leader around a circle of spots or cones. The leader may:
- Walk fast
- Jog
- Jog in a pattern in and out of cones
- Hop on two feet
Do animal imitations:
- Rabbit
- Pony
- Elephant
- Lion
Slow stretches (2 min.)
Have the children stop at a spot around the circle. Keep the class in sync by counting aloud while doing the following stretches:
- Hands reach for the sky and then down to the toes
- Arm circles forward and backward
- Trunk twists with airplane arms and feet still
3. Motor skills
Balloon or beach ball bump-up (5 min.)
Have the children keep a balloon or beach ball in the air, bumping it gently with their hands:
- By themselves
- With a parent-coach
Catching and throwing skills (5 min.)
With a parent-coach, ask the children to:
- Roll the ball back and forth
- Track and trap a ball that the parent rolls to either side of the child, then roll it back
Racquet introduction (3 min.)
- Remind the children to hug their racquets for safety when they are not active in a drill.
- Remind them of the racquet parts: Head, face, strings, throat and handle/grip.
Beanbag balance (5 min.)
Beanbags or Koosh balls are easier for young children to work with than balls. Have the students:
- Balance a beanbag on their racquets
- Walk to a spot with the beanbag on their racquets. Children may only be able to take a few steps without dropping the beanbag. Start with short distances and build up as they become more confident.
4. Racquet skills
Hitting (10-15 min.)
Use tees or a cable with several dangling balls separated by stoppers. Use spots to place the children in the correct sideways position, starting with the racquet slightly back, if possible, to hit a forehand, and let them hit a stationary ball.
- Parent-coaches can steady the balls between each hit.
- Keep the children motivated by counting aloud their number of hits. If they are successful with consecutive hits, give them a target to aim for, such as a set of cones or spots, or even the coach standing in front to steady the dangling ball.
Throwing (5 min.)
If you are using soft balls for hitting practice, before ball pickup, divide the children into two groups on either side of the net. When the coach says go, the children pick up the balls on their side of the court and try to throw them over the net. When time runs out (1-2 minutes), the team with fewer balls on its side of the court is the winner.
or . . . Play other fun ball pick-up games:
- Have the children load their racquets with balls, pretending they are building pizzas. Have them tell you what kind it is when they turn in the balls.
- Let the children load their shirts with tennis balls.
- Have a series of races where children pick up two balls at a time.
5. Final game/wrap-up/homework
Red light/green light (5 min.)
All children begin at the baseline and the coach stands at the net. When the coach calls green light, children move as quickly as possible toward the net. When the coach calls red light, the children must freeze. The game continues until a child reaches the net.
Practice suggestions:
Have the children do more games with balloons at home, either using their hands or a racquet to keep the balloon aloft by themselves or with a partner.
