Can anybody suggest drills for power hitting for a 9 year old.

[tennis24fun]

Somebody who's really consistent and is well adept at hitting with spins and angles. The next step is imparting power to the strokes. Any tips or suggestions on specific drills are welcome.

[tacoben]

I'm doing the same with my 10 yr. old daughter. What I'm having her do is to stand way back past the baseline 5-6 feet back (almost near the fence). I then feed her balls and require her to hit to the otherside of the court near the baseline. I use cones to mark her target. As a result of this drill, I noticed in my daughter's last tournament, that she was hitting "harder" and less prone to "paddy caking".

Also, I was rallying with a person who had attended the IMG (Bolletieri) Academy when he was younger. He said that his instructors there had him hit balls way over the fence as a way to introduce power hitting.

Keep in mind that 9-10 year old bodies come in varying sizes, so I wouldn't introduce "power" until they are able to, or limit it so in order to avoid any injuries. Good luck.

[TennisCoachFLA]

This is always a debate among coaches, power first or control first. We go with power first by having the kids do what Macci and some at Bolletieri's do with the little ones, let them swing away without much thought to where the balls end up. Of course they must keep their stroke patterns correct.

Others swear by control first.

We have a 4 1/2 year old girl who has been able to crush the ball since 2 years old. Now she is harnessing that power to hit targets on the court. She hits harder than kids who are much older.

But also there may be a 'talent' aspect to it. I have seen many kids of the same size and age, same strokes, same apparent coordination levels. And one out of 20 of these kids just pops the ball harder than the others from the very first time they hit a tennis ball.

As they get older there are many strength training programs to increase the power they have. Core training is key, the core is the link to transfer power. Have your local trainer design a safe core strengthening program for the child.

[BradBaughman]

Somebody who's really consistent and is well adept at hitting with spins and angles. The next step is imparting power to the strokes. Any tips or suggestions on specific drills are welcome.

focus on the strokes till there about 12 or 13 don't worry about power that will come with size and strength training later. fundamentals first second and third till there 12 the power will show up trust me! hope the best for you.

[tennis24fun]

I'm doing the same with my 10 yr. old daughter. What I'm having her do is to stand way back past the baseline 5-6 feet back (almost near the fence). I then feed her balls and require her to hit to the otherside of the court near the baseline. I use cones to mark her target. As a result of this drill, I noticed in my daughter's last tournament, that she was hitting "harder" and less prone to "paddy caking".

Also, I was rallying with a person who had attended the IMG (Bolletieri) Academy when he was younger. He said that his instructors there had him hit balls way over the fence as a way to introduce power hitting.

Keep in mind that 9-10 year old bodies come in varying sizes, so I wouldn't introduce "power" until they are able to, or limit it so in order to avoid any injuries. Good luck.

Thanks, will try that next time. I guess this will help him to deal with moon-balls better too when he gets pulled behind the baseline, though he's working on stepping in and taking those kind of balls on the rise (the timing is not there yet).

[TennisCoachFLA]

I see several posters acting like control first is the only right answer.

Rick Macci swears by power first, and he has a nice track record. Agassi's dad had him only concentrate on power for years. He built him a concrete court, set up several ball machines, and had him try to "destroy" (his words) every ball without worrying where they went.

So the coaches who helped Agaissi, Roddick, Pierce, Capriati, and the Williams sisters went power development first over control.

Several very successful coaches say that when you concentrate on strict stroke patterns first the kids NEVER develop their ultimate power.

So lets not act like any of us have the answer when we say control first.

[tennismike33]

I agree with many of the responses, power or control, chicken or the egg. As a coach I stress control over power, because I believe that getting the ball in play is paramount at any level. Hitting a tennis ball in control is more or less harnessing the power of your game with the power of your equipment. HOWEVER, there are shots where power is an instrument to be used. We run an inside out forehand drill, hitting it cross court, this is a total power drill. We have a national #1 9-10 year old player, he is learning to hit the power game, as his control is incredible. Hitting with power is a means to an end, many kids lack the confidence to hit out, if that is what you mean by power. If you ask your player to just "hit out" on his/her shots they will develop the power needed for todays game. From personal experience I always had power but until I developed control my ranking was low. To take a page out of golf, the greatest player, Jack, in his teaching videos always stressed building power first then gaining control of it.

[ClarkC]

I see several posters acting like control first is the only right answer.

Rick Macci swears by power first, and he has a nice track record. Agassi's dad had him only concentrate on power for years. He built him a concrete court, set up several ball machines, and had him try to "destroy" (his words) every ball without worrying where they went.

So the coaches who helped Agaissi, Roddick, Pierce, Capriati, and the Williams sisters went power development first over control.

Several very successful coaches say that when you concentrate on strict stroke patterns first the kids NEVER develop their ultimate power.

So lets not act like any of us have the answer when we say control first.

Yes, but how will these early power hitters, who are spraying the ball around, win those all-important 10 and under tournaments? Success in those tournaments could determine whether they get a college scholarship someday, right? :)

[tenniscrazed]

focus on the strokes till there about 12 or 13 don't worry about power that will come with size and strength training later. fundamentals first second and third till there 12 the power will show up trust me! hope the best for you.

Yes, oh wise one. Power will come. For sure. You must harvest the technique, and watch my videos and if you need lessons you can private you tube me. Is that how it works. Sensei

[BradBaughman]

Yes, oh wise one. Power will come. For sure. You must harvest the technique, and watch my videos and if you need lessons you can private you tube me. Is that how it works. Sensei

you wish you could shine my shoes dont you ,for get it they are wilson sneakers , but the proofs in the pudding and from what i can tell your pudding bowl is empty lol

[Barca tennis]

Somebody who's really consistent and is well adept at hitting with spins and angles. The next step is imparting power to the strokes. Any tips or suggestions on specific drills are welcome.

Just work on controls.
There should be no talk about building power at this age.
Control will bring power.
Coaches talking up power at this age are WRONG! OLD SCHOOL TRAINING.
Thanks Barca :)