What are Good Tennis Drills?
Tennis drills are being used by tennis players of most levels. Tennis drills are needed for many reasons. The best tennis practice drills provide repetition, match experience, and fun. They may also be employed to improve footwork and endurance. Every day tennis coaches worldwide look to think up new tennis drills for beginners as well as advanced players. There are two main different kinds of tennis training drills which are used today.
The image that comes to mind when one thinks of tennis drills is an instructor constantly feeding balls to a bunch of people. This type of tennis drill is called "dead-ball drill". Although it's still used today, it is probably not the most effective way to prepare students for matches. Players only hit one or maybe a few balls every so often, and they don't participate in a point. Individuals who practice "dead-ball drills" way too much perform really poorly in matches. It's mostly because the instructor feeds the balls perfectly to the students. Consistent feeds prevent players from adapting to various kinds of balls. "Dead-ball drills" however are the most useful types of footwork drills. They can keep a large number of players moving when they are designed well. Cardio tennis drills are perfect examples of the fitness benefit of properly designed tennis drills. "Dead-ball drills" also make great beginner drills considering that the most effective way to acquire proper tennis technique at first is by repetition.
The most efficient but also most desirable forms of drills are live drills. Usually the instructor or even a player puts the ball in play and the point is played out. Live tennis drills also have a purpose or goal that the players try to achieve. Often the goal is to simply win the drill. In other cases participants cooperate to reach a common goal such as keeping the ball in play for a certain amount of shots. Tennis drill experts debate even today whether competitive or cooperative tennis drills are more effective. The actual answer is probably a good mixture of both types of tennis drills.
Properly designed tennis drills offer a very important ingredient which is fun. Every tennis coach should attempt to make drills game-like and engaging. Boring and mundane tennis drills can drive any player to certain burn-out. It is essential for instructors to keep up the attention and interest of students with fresh tennis drills and games. It can be challenging for tennis instructors to think of new tennis drills again and again. Tennis coaches seem to be not wanting to share their drills and keep them to themselves. This is very counterproductive. All tennis pros would gain from sharing their knowledge rather than guarding it.
One great tennis drill is called "Rush and Crush". Players split into teams of 2. A random team starts on side A at the baseline (the coach may ask a trivia question to decide first team). The rest of the teams get in line behind one another at the baseline on side B. The coach feeds a short ball to the first baseline team, who approaches the net. If they win the rally, they're fed a volley. When they win this second point also, they're fed an overhead smash. When they win all 3 points, they get to be the new defenders on side A. When the current baseline team loses the point, they proceed to the end of the line. Teams only earn points on side A. Teams retain their points even when they lose their position at the net. First team to 15 points is the champion. This is a great doubles tennis drill.
The image that comes to mind when one thinks of tennis drills is an instructor constantly feeding balls to a bunch of people. This type of tennis drill is called "dead-ball drill". Although it's still used today, it is probably not the most effective way to prepare students for matches. Players only hit one or maybe a few balls every so often, and they don't participate in a point. Individuals who practice "dead-ball drills" way too much perform really poorly in matches. It's mostly because the instructor feeds the balls perfectly to the students. Consistent feeds prevent players from adapting to various kinds of balls. "Dead-ball drills" however are the most useful types of footwork drills. They can keep a large number of players moving when they are designed well. Cardio tennis drills are perfect examples of the fitness benefit of properly designed tennis drills. "Dead-ball drills" also make great beginner drills considering that the most effective way to acquire proper tennis technique at first is by repetition.
The most efficient but also most desirable forms of drills are live drills. Usually the instructor or even a player puts the ball in play and the point is played out. Live tennis drills also have a purpose or goal that the players try to achieve. Often the goal is to simply win the drill. In other cases participants cooperate to reach a common goal such as keeping the ball in play for a certain amount of shots. Tennis drill experts debate even today whether competitive or cooperative tennis drills are more effective. The actual answer is probably a good mixture of both types of tennis drills.
Properly designed tennis drills offer a very important ingredient which is fun. Every tennis coach should attempt to make drills game-like and engaging. Boring and mundane tennis drills can drive any player to certain burn-out. It is essential for instructors to keep up the attention and interest of students with fresh tennis drills and games. It can be challenging for tennis instructors to think of new tennis drills again and again. Tennis coaches seem to be not wanting to share their drills and keep them to themselves. This is very counterproductive. All tennis pros would gain from sharing their knowledge rather than guarding it.
One great tennis drill is called "Rush and Crush". Players split into teams of 2. A random team starts on side A at the baseline (the coach may ask a trivia question to decide first team). The rest of the teams get in line behind one another at the baseline on side B. The coach feeds a short ball to the first baseline team, who approaches the net. If they win the rally, they're fed a volley. When they win this second point also, they're fed an overhead smash. When they win all 3 points, they get to be the new defenders on side A. When the current baseline team loses the point, they proceed to the end of the line. Teams only earn points on side A. Teams retain their points even when they lose their position at the net. First team to 15 points is the champion. This is a great doubles tennis drill.
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You can find a number of good sources available on the internet about tennis drills. This article provides good info on finding new tennis drills.