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Racket Sports

Racket Sports

Children will gain a basic understanding of the rules and concepts of Tennis.

Children will be able to strike a ball either off a tee or on the move from a bobble feed

Activity 1:

Battle Ships - Tennis Game

5 mins

Method:

  1. You'll need 2 teams (1v1 or 2v2)
  2. Each team can have 3 targets 'battleships' - 3 cones or 3 hoops, which they place down in their half of the court (the court should be small so that the targets are close together).
  3. Using an underarm throw or an underarm serve, try to hit your opponents battleships. If you hit one of them, you get to take their battleship and put it in your half of the court.
  4. The game is finished when all of the battleships have been won by one team
  5. Start the game again - or find a new opponent to play

Teaching Points:

  • Use controlled arm movements to ensure an accurate throw or serve
  • Look at the target before you throw or serve. If throwing the ball, remain focused on the target. If serving, look first at the target and visualise the strike you'll need to do and then focus on the ball you are striking

Equipment:

Tennis Balls, Cones or Hoops

Catch Tennis

Activity 2:

5 mins

Method:

  1. Set up a 'net' using whatever equipment you have. If you don't have a net, a line of cones will suffice.
  2. Mark out the outer lines of your tennis court. The size will depend on the number of players you have and their size
  3. To serve, stand at the back line of the court and throw the ball underarm over the net so that it lands in the opponents half of the court.
  4. The receiver can stand anywhere and has to try to catch the ball before it lands a second time.
  5. Once they have caught it, they return the ball back over the net ensuring that it lands in the opponents half of the court.
  6. This carries on until a team scores a point. Points are scored if; the ball bounces twice or more before it is caught, the ball doesn't make it over the net or the balls first bounce on the other side of the net is outside of the opponents half
  7. Swap serve each point
  8. You can play with however many players in a team as you want

Teaching Points:

  • Learning the rules - how are points scored? (See method)

Equipment:

Markers/Cones, Net, Tennis Ball

Activity 3:

Top-Spin Forehand Ball Strike Off Tee

15 mins

Method:

  1. You'll need a tennis ball, tennis racket, plastic cricket stump in a base and a cricket tee - place the tee on top of the cricket stump
  2. Place a goal or some cones to make a target to hit the ball into, you'll want this to be a safe enough distance away to have children stood in the target to stop the ball
  3. The hitter should stand to the side of the ball, far enough away from the ball that their arm needs to be almost at full stretch in order to reach the ball with the racket
  4. Anyone else in the group (small groups of approx 4 children) should be stood in the target to try and gather the ball after it has been hit
  5. The hitter should use an upward swing with the racket head pointing down at almost a 45 degree angle to create the top spin as the racket brushes up the back of the ball
  6. The outcome will be that the ball is likely to go downward rather than over where a net wouldve been due to the fact that the ball is stationary when it is struck. This is fine.
  7. Have 3 hits each and then rotate round with another playher taking their turn to hit.
  8. Repeat for desired duration.

Teaching Points:

  • Brush up the back of the ball with the strings of the racket (racket angled downward, swing direction upward)
  • Line your front foot up to be parallel to the ball so that the strike will go straight when struck. Your body weight transfer through the swing ensures this, otherwise the ball will be hooked off to the side
  • Strike the ball with a powerful swing, you are aiming to play with power and the top spin ensures that the ball would drop into the opponents side of the court in a match

Equipment:

Tennis rackets, tennis balls, cones, plastic cricket stumps, cricket batting tee

Activity 4:

4 Way Fun Tennis

25 mins

Method:

  1. Set up a bench in the 4 corners of the room, they should be against a wall, they are for the hitting teams to sit on.

  2. In front of the bench you'll need a hoop with 5 tennis balls in

  3. In front of the hoop you'll need a spot marker for the hitter to stand on + a tennis racket (each corner should be a different colour - red, blue, yellow, green)

  4. In the middle of the room you'll need 4 cones, with a foam tennis ball on each

  5. Split your group into 5 teams (You'll need 4-6 players per team, you coul make it 3 way if you don't have enough players)

  6. 4 teams will be the hitters and one team the ball collectors

  7. The coach should be the ball Feeder in the middle of the room - if playing with older groups, the ball collecting team could be bowlers and 4 of them could bowl at same time

  8. Divide the playing time you have by 5 as you'll need each of the 5 teams to take a turn at being ball collectors

  9. The batting teams should be on the benches in the corners, they need their first player to hold the tennis racket and stand on the spot

  10. The coach then feed the 4 balls, one at each batter, in quick succession

  11. Batters try to hit the ball (makes no difference if they hit it or not or where it goes if they do)

  12. When they've tried to hit the ball, they can run to any other team and steal a tennis ball and bring it back to their teams hoop. If they have time they can then go and steal another

  13. The time they have ends when the ball collecting team have returned the 4 foam tennis balls back onto the 4 cones in the middle

  14. The first batters then join the back of their batting queue and the next player gets ready to bat. Repeat this process for the time you have.

  15. Hitting teams score a point for each tennis ball they have in their hoop at the end of the time and the ball collecting team get a point each time they get the 4 balls back on the cones

  16. When the time for the innings finishes, count how many points each team has and then swap the ball collecting team with a hitting team

  17. Do this until all teams have been ball collectors

Teaching Points:

  • Ball Striking - Use one hand to hold the racket, keep your head still and watch the ball

  • Strategy - think about which teams have the most points and steal their points!

Equipment:

Bench

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