Practice Manual For Coaches

Author:  Randy C. Cummings

Practice Objectives and Overview

Practice Requirement:

A requirement of this league is that the kids get one practice per week.  This is where you can work on their game skills, give some instruction on stroking the ball, court positioning, etc.   Practices should also be enjoyable.  Play some games, do some exercises, hold a few races.  The players should want to come to practice because they will learn something and will have fun.

Grips:

Grips are the foundation of tennis.  Teach the players the proper grips for the groundstroke and volley, and you will have set them on the road to enjoyable tennis for the rest of their lives.  Let them pick up bad habits (e.g., frying pan handle grip or extreme semi-western grip; index finger up the handle; or thumb not wrapped around), and the kids are going to be frustrated in future years because they can't stroke the ball properly.

Teach your players the Eastern Forehand Grip (palm comes down the strings and shakes hands with the handle, such that the center of the palm is flat against the flat panel (#3) of the handle.  The Two-Handed Eastern Backhand Grip has the non-dominant hand (left for righties) above the dominant hand, with the palm on the opposite flat panel.  Watch that the kids don't have their dominant hand above their non-dominant hand on the two-handed backhand.

Groundstrokes:

We try to keep things simple in VJTTA.  Ready position, unit turn to the side, show the logo, short backswing, swing forward low to high, racquet vertical at contact, long follow through out towards the target.  Try to discourage strokes and swings that deviate from these basic features.  Good fundamentals and proper form are essential to playing good tennis.  Use your PracticeHit Trainers in practice to help the kids groove correct forehand and backhand strokes. If your practice looks like it will be rained out, have all the kids come to your house and show them the DVD that comes with the PracticeHit.  They will gain a lot from it. 

Guidlines for Practice Sessions 

 Initial Practice Sessions:

Team work:  VJTTA Ralleyball is doubles play with a team format.  We need then to teach our players team work. At the very first practice, after introducing yourself and talking about VJTTA and your practice objectives, have your players introduce themselves to their teammates.  They should give their names and say a couple of things about themselves (favorite hobbies, pets, etc.).  It is hard to build team spirit if the players don't know their teammates. 

Explain to the kids how we rotate players in after each point and how a team wins a point with each successful hit.  Try to get across to them the notion that everyone will be contributing to the team's success and thus the need to be supportive and encouraging to all their teammates. 

The Grip & The Ready Position.  Kids learn best by first seeing what you want them to do, and then doing it themselves.  First show them the proper grip for the forehand.  Show them how to find it themselves.  Check to see that they are doing it correctly. 

Next show them the ready position (feet spread apart at shoulder width, flexed knees, back straight, etc.).  Have them assume the correct grip and cradle their racquet with their free hand while in the ready position.  Explain that this is the position you return to after each striking of the ball.

Now show them the distinctive features of a correct forehand groundstroke:  pivot, show the logo, move to the ball, short backswing,  swing forward low to high, contact, long follow through out toward target.  You can have them spread out and swing their racquets to practice this.  Take them through it verbally one step-at-a- time: "Ready position, forehand grip, pivot and show the logo, short backswing, come to contact with a shoulder rotation swinging the racquet low to high, long follow through."

Finally, demonstrate the forehand  by having an assistant toss you a few balls.  Hit these gently back to them (no need for a net between you).   Later, you can follow these same steps for when you introduce the backhand.

Toss and Hit Drills are extremely useful in getting across the fundamentals of stroking.  Divide the team into two teams.  One group is the tossers, the other the hitters.  Separate the two groups by about 12 feet.  Tossers simply toss a ball underhand to the hitters who gently hit the ball back to the tosser.  Tossers should toss the ball such that it bounces once before it reaches the hitter.  After several tosses/hits, the groups change roles, such that the hitters are now tossers and the tossers become hitters.  You may want the kids to first practice a couple rounds of just tossing back and forth correctly.

Have the tossers assist by calling out instructions to the hitters before they toss.  "Ready position," "turn," "show me the logo," "long follow through."

After doing the toss and hit on the forehand side, you can do it on the backhand side, following the same procedure as above.  The nice thing about these toss and hit drills is that it frees the coach to walk around and correct the players without slowing things down.  Watch for the correct grips, good shoulder turn and showing the logo, short low backswings, long follow throughs, etc.  It is easier to spot these things and correct them quickly when someone else is feeding and you are standing nearby the player stroking the ball.  Nip the bad habits early, and the kids will progress rapidly.

I try to introduce the grip, ready position, and the forehand in the first lesson.  The next lesson would review this and then introduce the backhand. The third session would review both groundstrokes and then teach the volley.

Self Feeds:

After the kids can hit a ball tossed to them by other players or a coach, they should try to put the ball in play themselves with a self feed.  To teach the self feed, divide the team into two or three groups.  Each player in the first group grabs a ball, comes up to the service line, and assumes a ready position.  Have each player turn slightly to their right (lefties to the left) and take their racquet back so the strings are now parallel to the net (the Show The Logo Position); the hand holding the ball is stretched out in front of them at shoulder level toward the right net post (the left net post for lefties).  The player releases the ball gently (don't let them bounce it).  As it bounces up, they step forward slightly with their left foot and swing through the ball from low to high, with their hitting palm and the racquet face going straight out toward their target.  After the first group completes a drop feed, the next group comes in.  Do several repetitions until all your players can do a self feed over the net with some consistency.

Once they can hit a self feed over the net, have them hit to a partner.  Divide the team into 2 groups, one on each side of the net.  One group is the hitters, the other is the catchers.  Pair them off and have the hitters do a drop feed, trying to hit the ball gently over the net to their catching partners.  The catcher should catch the ball after one bounce.  After catching the ball, they should toss the ball behind them so it is off the court.  After several hits (or when all the balls have been hit to the other side) change roles, and the catchers now do the drop feeds to the other side of the net to the new catchers.  Self feeds teach control while grooving a good low to high stroke.

Volleys:

Hitting a ball out of the air before it bounces, called a volley, is another skill your players need.  The technique is similar to the "show the logo" on the groundstroke.  That is, from the ready position, a player turns her shoulders about 45 degrees, such that she is now facing the right net post.  At the same time, she opens up her racquet so that the strings are now parallel to the net, either on the forehand or the two-handed backhand side.  The racquet should be tilted backwards a little so that the strings are facing up.  Now all the player has to do is get her racquet face in front of the oncoming ball.  The stroke is more of a block or a bump than a swing.  Indeed, the shorter the swing, the better the stroke; and once the racquet is parallel to the net the racquet doesn't move more than a couple of inches forward at impact.

The strings or logo should remain parallel to the net throughout the stroke.  The proper volley stroke is a short downward movement of the racquet, which puts backspin on the ball.  Tilting the racquet back accomplishes this.  If the players can put some backspin on their volleys, great, but for now just get them to block the ball on both sides as described above.

You can have the kids practice volleys by again dividing them into hitters and tossers, but this time have them on opposite sides of the net.  The hitters or volleyers will stand a few feet away from the net; the tossers will be a few feet further away.  The volleyers will present their racquets as targets for the tossers.  Have the tossers call out instruction to the hitters: "Ready position, turn, show the logo," before they toss underhand toward the target racquet face.

You as the coach can walk behind the volleyers and help them turn their shoulders 45 degrees to the net, get their racquet strings parallel to the net, and their racquet tilited slightly backwards.  A recommended method is to reach around them from behind and actually hold on to their racquet on the forehand side (your hand above theirs on the handle) and volley the ball for them.  This gives them a feel for how the volley should be stroked.

Have the hitters volley the ball up so that the tossers can catch the ball.  To do this, they will have to lay their racquet back a little, which will facilitate learning the proper volley stroke.  After several hits, have the two groups change positions (i.e., volleyers are now tossers and vice versa).

Practice Drills:

If you feel you need to do some hitting drills, keep them short and simple but realistic.  I think 5 minutes or so of hitting drills is beneficial.  It gets the kids warmed up and gets them in a tennis ball hitting frame of mind.  Below are a couple of drills that I use.

Have your team form a single line on the far right sideline about half way between the service line and the baselin.  (Older kids can start farther back).  The first player comes up to the back corner of the service box.  The coach can stand on the same side of the net as the player or can be on the opposite side of the net.  Feed each player 3 forehands along the service line, leading her so that she has to move laterally to her right to hit the ball.  The player should try to make her shot clear the net and land in one of the service boxes.

Players should recover to a ready position after each hit.  The first movement should be a pivot and a showing of the logo.  Players should line up in the opposite corner after they have completed 3 forehands.  Now have them hit 3 backhands in the same pattern.  Do a couple of repetitions of this drill.

Another good drill is to start the same way, but now feed one deep ball and then one short ball, forcing the player to move forward.  Do this on both forehands and backhands.  After a couple of repetitions, feed one deep, one short and then another deep ball.  Repeat.

You can do the same with volleys.  Have the kids line up on the corner at the service line.  They move toward the opposite net post on a diagonal and hit three volleys (the first one deep from the corner of the service box near where they started, the second about half way between the net and the service line in the middle of the court, and the last one fairly close to the net near the sideline).

After hitting 3 forehand volleys on this diagonal, they can line up on the other corner of the service box and again moving on a diagonal toward the net, hit 3 backhand volleys.

A final drill, either for groundstrokes or volleys, is to have them line up in the middle of the court, perpendicular to the net, starting behind the service line.  Have one player come forward a few feet and then give 3-4 feeds of random forehands and backhands, moving the player forward, backward, and side to side.

All of these drills can be expanded and made more challenging by placing targets on the court (empty tennis ball cans, cones, circles, etc.).  Trying to hit targets is fun for the kids, and it also teaches them to control the direction and depth of their shots.  Explain to them that hitting with more net clearance makes the ball land deeper, while clearing with less net clearance causes the ball to land shorter.  To make the ball clear the net more and land deeper, a longer low-to-high swing is required.  Shorter swings will make the ball land shorter in the court.

When doing these drills be aware of safety issues.  Players who are not hitting should stand far back from the player who is hitting the feeds.  Be aware of what the players who are waiting in line are doing while you are feeding.  They should be orderly and not swinging their racquets or doing anything that might cause injury to others in the line.

Practice Games:

Rather than spend a lot of time on isolated hitting drills, get the kids rallying and playing games.  Feedback from team tennis ralleyball leagues in California is that the teams coached by adults with little tennis experience often did better than the teams coached by more skilled tennis players.  The reason?  Coaches with little tennis experience had the kids playing the game rather than working on drills and techniques.  Once the kids acquired a few basic skills, they learned faster by playing than they did by rote drilling.

Teaching ralleyball and conducting practice games for matches will likely occupy much of your practice time.  With 6 or more players, you can divide them up and play a mock match between the two teams, giving instruction, advice, pointers, etc. as they play. 

A teaching technique that appears to be successful is to let them play a game for 5 minutes or so; then stop them to discuss your observations.  Pose questions or problems for them to solve.  For example, why are your rallies so short?  Why do so many balls go into the net or out of bounds?  Get them involved in figuring out what they need to change to become more successful and you will see their skill level rise.

Strategy:

Ralleyball strategy is really quite simple.  "Get the ball over the net and keep it inbounds."  "Hit most of your shots down the middle."  "Hit to the weaker player."  "Don't overhit by trying for winners (let the opponents make the error)."  In other words, control the ball.

The softer ball, modified court dimensions, and scoring system used in ralleyball naturally encourages the players to emphasize control, which is achieved by hitting groundstrokes correctly (show the logo, short backswing, swing low to high, long follow through).  In your coaching, try to emphasize this need for control and the linkage between control and correct groundstrokes and volleys.

Other Tennis-Related Games:

Playing ralleyball, while enjoyable and certainly necessary practice for your matches, might get a little old after awhile.  Described below are some other games that you can use to make you practices more interesting, challenging, and fun.

Mini-Doubles:

This is one of the best drills around and is excellent for ralleyball practice.  This is doubles play, with 2 players on each side of the net, one in each service box.  Decide which team goes first by spinning a racquet.  One player drop feeds the ball into play, serving to either of the opponents.  There are no double faults, so feed until the ball is put in play.  Play out the point.  When the point is over, the feeding player continues to feed until 5 points have been played.  Then one of the opposing players feeds for the next fice points; and the serve rotates among the players until one team gets to 15.  To promote long rallies, stipulate that the ball must strike the ground after crossing the net before it can be struck (i.e., no volleys).  Also, make sure the players don't keep hitting to the same person.  Have them move the ball around.

If you have two courts available, you can use up to 8 players.  If you only have on court, but 6 players, you can play triples, putting three players on each side and playing the service boxes and the doubles alleys.  Have 6 players and two courts?  Let two players play mini-singles, using just the two adjacent boxes.  If the skill level is high, they can play mini-singles on the diagonal.  Eight players and only one court?  Play teams of 4 against each other.  Each doubles team feeds for 5 point, and then comes off the court, replaced by their two teammates.  Use your imagination.  Better to share the court in some short rotation than have players standing around not playing.

King/Queen of the Court:

This is a good game once the skill level has improved.  Have the kids guess a number that you have in mind.  The player coming closest to the number starts as King/Queen and stands on one side of the net at the service T.  The remaining players try, one at a time, to beat the King in a rally.  The court dimensions are the 4 service boxes only (you can lengthen the court for older kids).

The challengers line up behind the service line.  One player comes up to the T to begin the point.  The coach feeds to the challenger who must get the ball over the net and into play (give them several tries).  If the challenger wins the rally, she goes again.  If she wins the next rally, she replaces the Queen, otherwise she goes to the end of the line and a new challenger tries.  The reigning monarch gets one point for each challenger that is rebuffed.  After 5 points, let someone else be Queen.  Older kids can do a self-feed to put the ball  in play.  The ball must be hit so the Queen has a reasonable chance to get it.  Queen scores 1 point for each challenger she defeats.

Challenge the Champs:

Divide the group into teams of two, selecting one to be the Champs.  They assume a position on the service line one side of the net.  All other teams, the challengers, line up on the opposite side of the net.  Two challengers come up to the service line, drop feed a ball, and play out a point using the service line boundaries.  After the point, a new challenger team comes in.  The first challenger team to win three points replaces the Champs.

Team Challenger:

Divide the group in half, with each team standing behind the service line on each side of the net.  Using just the 4 service boxes for the court, one player from each team comes up to the T to play a point.  The coach feeds to one of the players and the point begins.  The winner stays on the court.  The loser goes to the end of his line and a new player challenges.  The coach always feeds to the new challenger.  A player can stay on the court for only 3 points and then must go to the end of the line, allowing a new player to take the court.  Keep track of the score.  First team to 11, 15, or 21 wins.

Alternating Hits:

This is similar to the team challenge above, but in this game the players on eah team alternate hitting the ball during a rally.  This takes a bit more skill, but it is good for developing footwork and is lots of fun for the kids.

Racquet Exchange:

Feeling mischievous?  This is the same as alternating hits, but each team uses only one racquet and the players have to exchange it with each other as they alternate their hits.  Lots of laughs on this one.

Roundabout:

This is a good game for the 11-12 year olds, especially after they have begun using the Gamma 1st Set Ball.  This is a singles game played in teams.  Divide the group into 2 teams, stationing each at or near the opposing baselines.  Start a feed to one of the players on one of the teams.  That player hits the ball over the net and then immediately runs to her right, around the net post, and gets in line on the other end of the court.  The player to whom the 1st ball was hit, tries to hit that ball over the net, and she too then runs to her right, around the net post, and gets in line at the other end of the court.  Players keep hitting the ball and running to their right around the netpost.  A ball might be hit back and forth over the net several times before a player makes an error and the rally stops.  Each time a player makes an error, they get one strike.  Three strikes and the player is out of the game.  Last player standing, wins.

 Hand-eye Skills:

Good hand-eye coordination is essential for developing good tennis skills, but kids don't always need to have their racquets to work on this.  You can use the following exercises as warm-ups when the kids first arrive or as a change of pace between drills and practice games.

Catching Drills:

Have the kids play catch with a ball that must bounce once between the two players.  Feed the kids pop-ups with your racquet and have them try to catch the ball, either after a bounce or in the air.  Feed to them and force them to back-up by stipulating that they must let the ball bounce twice before catching it.  Feed short and make them run to the ball and catch it before it bounces twice.

Movement and Footwork Exercises:

A good warmup when the kids are just arriving on the court for practice is the H-Drill.  From a line on the baseline, the kids with racquet in hand run one-at-a-time up to the net along the outside singles line, touch the net and then soft step backwards to the service line.  They then do a side slide step along the service line, facing the net, until they get to the center line.  They next go forward and touch the net, and then soft step backwards again to the service line.  Again, they side slide step to the far singles sideline, then go forward to touch the net.  From here they soft step backwards again back to the service line.  It looks like they are tracing out a big "H" on the tennis court.  Kids for some reason love doing this warmup.

You can also divide the team into groups and have the kids do relay races from the baseline to the net and back.  They can do this without a racquet, with their racqet, balancing a ball on their racquet, or bouncing a ball with their racquet.

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