drill/game for helping improve balance on groundstrokes

[oreo47]

hello

I am doing a coaching tennis course and I have to set up a lesson where 2 players play in a half court (trams are in ) based on improving the ability of players to be well balanced when hittinggroundstrokes. There has to be 2 elements to the drill I have to set up: a cooperative and competitive practice. I am struggling to come up with a drill/exercise for both . I cant think of a scoring system for a game. The scoring of the game has to reflect the topic tittle so they cant just play points. . I need a game with a specific scoring system that is clear and not ambiguous .

i know the technical points for good balance is based on footwork, movement and bodyweight.

can anyone think of a game/exercise I could set up?

 

[lockbox]

What is "trams are in?" Why not go 3 cross, 1 down-the-line and see who keeps the ball in play the longest for points. 2 cross and 1 down the line. etc.

 

[oreo47]

What is "trams are in?" Why not go 3 cross, 1 down-the-line and see who keeps the ball in play the longest for points. 2 cross and 1 down the line. etc.

I don't get a choice in the set up in that it has to be 3 players playing on half a tennis court. So there is a rotation involved. One player down one end of the half court and the 2 others down the other end and they are swapping with each other. The tram lines are part of the court when they are playing. On a half court you can't do cross and down the lines unfortunately. The drill should test there balance in some way though. And there has to be a scoring system within the drill.

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

hello

I am doing a coaching tennis course and I have to set up a lesson where 2 players play in a half court (trams are in ) based on improving the ability of players to be well balanced when hittinggroundstrokes. There has to be 2 elements to the drill I have to set up: a cooperative and competitive practice. I am struggling to come up with a drill/exercise for both . I cant think of a scoring system for a game. The scoring of the game has to reflect the topic tittle so they cant just play points. . I need a game with a specific scoring system that is clear and not ambiguous .

i know the technical points for good balance is based on footwork, movement and bodyweight.

can anyone think of a game/exercise I could set up?

Here's one that doesn't require a racquet: pair off and have the "receiver" turn his back to the tosser. The tosser will toss in some random location and say "go". When he does, the receiver can then turn around and try to catch the ball before the second bounce.

 

[HunterST]

“Every other” is a good game. You alternate between cooperative and competitive ralllies. You do a cooperative rally and count how many shots you make. Then, you play a competitive point. The winner of the competitive point gets as many points as the length of the cooperative rally.

For example:
Cooperative rally goes to 12 shots.
Players play a competitive point and the winner gets 12 points.

Go to a certain number or play for time.

 

[oreo47]

Here's one that doesn't require a racquet: pair off and have the "receiver" turn his back to the tosser. The tosser will toss in some random location and say "go". When he does, the receiver can then turn around and try to catch the ball before the second bounce.

thanks for the idea but the whole idea is serve rally score in the coaching programme i am doing. so what ever exercise/game i do there has to be serving rallying scoring.

for the co op I will just do this: players feed the ball in underarm and rally with their partner. they must hit and freeze after every shot. they should be balanced when they freeze. they have to do this both 6 times in the rally to score a point cooperatively.

im still not sure what to do for the competitive.

what is the most common ball that causes balance issues? wide balls,deep balls, short balls?

 

[Dragy]

Put a hat on everyone’s head which doesn’t hold well. Make them play points. The one who’s hat drops looses 2 points. Score up to 10 for a winner.

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

what is the most common ball that causes balance issues? wide balls,deep balls, short balls?

For me, from most to least troublesome: short, wide, then deep [assuming I'm facing the net; if I have to chase down a lob, it becomes like a short ball in that I'm running forwards and even more difficult because I have to hit the ball in the opposite direction].

People in general are better at moving laterally than longitudinally, maybe bio-mechanically but certainly because that's what's practiced most of the time.

 

[oreo47]

For me, from most to least troublesome: short, wide, then deep [assuming I'm facing the net; if I have to chase down a lob, it becomes like a short ball in that I'm running forwards and even more difficult because I have to hit the ball in the opposite direction].

People in general are better at moving laterally than longitudinally, maybe bio-mechanically but certainly because that's what's practiced most of the time.

ye like djokovic is very good moving laterally but bad moving longitudinally.

besides wide stance,knee bend,2 feet on ground,shoulder +head alignment ,straight back/posture do you know any general good tips to be balanced when hitting groundstrokes?

footwork wise what would be the main key points to be balanced ?

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

ye like djokovic is very good moving laterally but bad moving longitudinally.

besides wide stance,knee bend,2 feet on ground,shoulder +head alignment ,straight back/posture do you know any general good tips to be balanced when hitting groundstrokes?

footwork wise what would be the main key points to be balanced ?

Commentary on Djokovic noted how his head stayed between his feet even when stretched which meant his center of gravity was stable. I tend to lean at the waist so I'm not nearly as stable. Then again, those guys can hit that stretch backhand and I fear I'd break something if I tried that.

Equally key is being able to recover: even though I may not be that balanced when hitting, I'm good at recovering [I'm not saying this is optimal; it's just the state of my game]. Using the outside foot as a brake and lifting the heel so I can pivot back in the opposite direction help me.

 

[dennis]

each player has to play with a drink in their non-dominant hand. If you spill any, you lose the point.

 

[Fintft]

ye like djokovic is very good moving laterally but bad moving longitudinally.

besides wide stance,knee bend,2 feet on ground,shoulder +head alignment ,straight back/posture do you know any general good tips to be balanced when hitting groundstrokes?

footwork wise what would be the main key points to be balanced ?

Being bouncy in general (on the balls of your feet) and not forgetting to split-step each time?

Another key points would be....low weight and strong legs :_)