Teaching a 11 yr old

[vkartikv]

I have been entrusted with the job of teaching and possibly getting my 11 yr old neice into the sport. Her sisters play bball and softball so she wants a sport of her own.

I hit with her about 2 times a week and I try not to act like a teacher but instead let her have fun. I have been trying to get her to hit a one HBH but she insists on having both hands on the racquet. I am more of an old school guy with s&v interests and the classic one HBH. Am I silly in trying to impose this on a 11 yr old beginner?

 

[TennisParent]

11 y/o one hander?

I have been entrusted with the job of teaching and possibly getting my 11 yr old neice into the sport. Her sisters play bball and softball so she wants a sport of her own.

I hit with her about 2 times a week and I try not to act like a teacher but instead let her have fun. I have been trying to get her to hit a one HBH but she insists on having both hands on the racquet. I am more of an old school guy with s&v interests and the classic one HBH. Am I silly in trying to impose this on a 11 yr old beginner?

It depends...If there is a good reason for you to believe that her game would be better served by going ohbh, go for it. If it is to suit your preferences, then I suspect that it is a vanity on your part driving this. I have an 11 y/o daughter that is a fairly advanced junior player. She uses a 2 handed bh. She is small for her age, 2hbh is much easier for to perform at this time. That being said, she is a superb volleyer, so I have been taking the time to teach her a slice one handed backhand so that she can (a) approach the net behind and (b) learn to volley one handed off that wing when she gets there (c) use as a variety shot during baseline rallies. You are one great uncle to be taking the time and effort to do this for the kid, so either way you are to be commended. Best of luck!

 

[Geezer Guy]

I suggest you try not to act like a teacher, but instead let her have fun.

Otherwise, you'll scare her away from the sport forever.

AFTER she gets hooked on the sport, and IF she requests it, then you can teach her the finer points of the game.

 

[Midlife crisis]

Am I silly in trying to impose this on a 11 yr old beginner?

Yes, unless this child is already very athletically gifted.

My son started playing tennis last year, also as an 11 year old. He was a 5' tall, 110 pound 11 year old, with four years of little league baseball and two years of weight lifting behind him. He still needed two hands on the backhand, because the tendency was to rotate the body and drag the arm along with it, resulting in a side-spinny shot that had an outside-in racquet path whenever he was rushed. This shot is almost impossible to time well, and I remember thinking this was really pretty reminiscent of the backhand of Jimmy Arias, which I recall looking rather uncoordinated. With two hands on the racquet, the trunk over-rotation problem went away.

There are many problems with kids playing at the net. One is that larger racquets allow easier topspin, and even if the shot is not over their head, it is hard for younger kids to have the shoulder strength to hit a head-high shot when they have to stretch for it, and especially so on the backhand side if one-handed. The second is that it is very easy to get a shot over their head, and moving backwards is not a skill that's easily learned. That's not to say you shouldn't teach them this aspect, but don't make it the staple of their game or they will get very frustrated.

Just let the child determine how they want to play. If they have a lot of determination and are willing to sacrifice some short term shot-making ability for long term gain (something that is VERY difficult and rare for kids to do), then you can start teaching them the proper way to execute shots, including grips, swing patterns, etc. Otherwise, just have them concentrate on good footwork so they can get to the ball, and let them swing away until they get a good feel for how the ball bounces and how they need move. That'll be more exercise, more fun, and if/when they get hooked, they'll have a good foundation.

 

[vkartikv]

That is exactly what I said in my post!! I am not trying to be a disciplined teacher at all.

My point: Everywhere I look, the women have the same playing style, 2 handed BH, baseline game, no class, no elegance, no grace for a woman. Look at Graf, that's personification of the woman's game. I would like that this be inculcated from an early age instead of reaching the point where she can't switch from 2 hands to one.

BTW, the courts she plays on are only high school courts that are vacant in the weekends, they are well kept and in much better condition than our college courts, so it gives me a good atmosphere to play in

 

[kevhen]

Let her hit with 2 hands. Let her enjoy the game. Play lots of mini-tennis without hitting the ball too hard. There is a reason why many women that continue to play have 2 hand backhands. If she asks you about serve and volley and approach shots and hitting one hand backhands and becoming like Stefi, Justine, and Martina N, then teach the one-hander to her. But don't force it upon her if she hasn't shown any interest.

 

[Freedom]

She can learn a OHBH later...it's just easier while she's younger.

 

[Geezer Guy]

This is what you ... SAY ...

I hit with her about 2 times a week and I try not to act like a teacher but instead let her have fun.

and THIS is what you ... DO ...

I have been trying to get her to hit a one HBH but she insists on having both hands on the racquet. I am more of an old school guy with s&v interests and the classic one HBH. Am I silly in trying to impose this on a 11 yr old beginner?

You SAY that you're just out to have fun, but in reality you're pressuring her to play in a preconceived mold that YOU have generated based on your biases and preferences.

Jeez - she's an 11 year old little girl. Just let her have fun.

 

[vkartikv]

Jeez - she's an 11 year old little girl. Just let her have fun.

That is why I posted this question, needed input on whether I was 'imposing'. Do I sense a very caustic tone in your post?

 

[Geezer Guy]

Well, I wouldn't say 'caustic', but I was kinda peeved at your "That is exactly what I said in my post!!" remark in your post #5 above.

 

[TennisParent]

That is exactly what I said in my post!! I am not trying to be a disciplined teacher at all.

My point: Everywhere I look, the women have the same playing style, 2 handed BH, baseline game, no class, no elegance, no grace for a woman. Look at Graf, that's personification of the woman's game. I would like that this be inculcated from an early age instead of reaching the point where she can't switch from 2 hands to one.

BTW, the courts she plays on are only high school courts that are vacant in the weekends, they are well kept and in much better condition than our college courts, so it gives me a good atmosphere to play in

I think I get where you are coming from...You don't want your niece growing up to be another mindless baseline basher eh! I'm with you there! For now however, she's probably not at the point where this is a concern yet. As other posters have suggested, just let her have fun at this point. As she progresses, I'm sure you can add the additional elements to her game (volleying, drops, lobs etc) that will make her a well rounded player. My kids have enjoyed great success against their more one dimensional rivals because of this. The 2hbh should not necessarily prevent development of an "allcourt" game, look at Hingis!
Perhaps more importantly, make sure she develops the proper (continental) grip for serving. It's much, much harder to cure an incorrect (fh) service grip if ingrained than to worry about converting to ohbh if needed IMHO.

 

[vkartikv]

I think I get where you are coming from...You don't want your niece growing up to be another mindless baseline basher eh! I'm with you there! For now however, she's probably not at the point where this is a concern yet. As other posters have suggested, just let her have fun at this point. As she progresses, I'm sure you can add the additional elements to her game (volleying, drops, lobs etc) that will make her a well rounded player. My kids have enjoyed great success against their more one dimensional rivals because of this. The 2hbh should not necessarily prevent development of an "allcourt" game, look at Hingis!
Perhaps more importantly, make sure she develops the proper (continental) grip for serving. It's much, much harder to cure an incorrect (fh) service grip if ingrained than to worry about converting to ohbh if needed IMHO.

Thanks for the suggestion. I did wonder if I was being a little too foreceful, even in a passive way but this will change it.

 

[cruzersi99]

At this stage your approach to let her have fun is excellent. What I would promote is that you spend a little time working on fundamentals. Spend the first 5 minutes playing some short court, then spend 10 minutes working on swing properties.

If she likes tennis then this should work.

Teach it in steps:

Trunk Turn / early preperation
Step
Swing part one - low to ideal contact (waist high)
Swing part two - Guide to followthrough

It's somewhat academy style, but if she's athletic and interested in learning this is a good way for her to build muscle memory.

Make her do this a few times, then move to feeding balls, and let her hit away. If she has a tendency to use two hands on the back hand then let her. Usually it's an easier stroke to learn. Once she has more body control, and more understanding of the swing (usually several months to a year) you can try and teach the one hand if she likes. Many pros who currently hit with a onehanded backhand evolved from two handers.

Teach her to volley but don't force her to move in yet, as you may introduce to many different concepts, and angles/ court coverage to soon.

Let her bash away.

 

[Fatmike]

the tendency was to rotate the body and drag the arm along with it, resulting in a side-spinny shot that had an outside-in racquet path whenever he was rushed. .

hehe... exactly my problem.... so I started to slice my BH when on the rush... not a good thing my coach said....

 

[Midlife crisis]

hehe... exactly my problem.... so I started to slice my BH when on the rush... not a good thing my coach said....

It's hard not to do this until you really have a lot of shoulder strength because initially the timing will be late as the contact point for a OHBH is further in front and requires some shoulder turn. My son does eventually want to go one-handed and so I have him doing a lot of bent-over reverse flies (he's up to sets of 10 with 10 pounds in each hand), and doing lat pulldowns and the straight-legged pulls (pulling the handle towards the abdomen).

He still has problems doing this, so he's just decided to wait until he's grown a bit. But let me tell you, that side-spinny backhand is a pretty darned effective shot. It's hard to make clean contact returning it.

 

[Fatmike]

It's hard not to do this until you really have a lot of shoulder strength because initially the timing will be late as the contact point for a OHBH is further in front and requires some shoulder turn. My son does eventually want to go one-handed and so I have him doing a lot of bent-over reverse flies (he's up to sets of 10 with 10 pounds in each hand), and doing lat pulldowns and the straight-legged pulls (pulling the handle towards the abdomen).

He still has problems doing this, so he's just decided to wait until he's grown a bit. But let me tell you, that side-spinny backhand is a pretty darned effective shot. It's hard to make clean contact returning it.

yes it's effective but most of the time I send it out cause of 2 things; since I'm late on the ball, I hit it mostly down the line and since it had side spin it goes mostly out.

I dunno these exercices but maybe it's only because of the terms. My first langage is french. (btw, look at this awsome site, http://www.muscul.com )

I've always been told that doing musculation at an early age slows down groth... and not only slows it but stop it. Urban legend? Maybe. Check it out.

 

[vkartikv]

One more question - I got her a Head LM Radical Junior racquet which she seems to like (especially the paintjob). Is it alright for a beginner to use a jr. racquet which is an inch shorter than std. racquets or is a full length lightweight beginners racquet a better choice?

 

[TennisParent]

Jr Racquet

One more question - I got her a Head LM Radical Junior racquet which she seems to like (especially the paintjob). Is it alright for a beginner to use a jr. racquet which is an inch shorter than std. racquets or is a full length lightweight beginners racquet a better choice?

Is this the orange racquet 26 in long? That's a pretty good stick, my kid used to use it until last summer. She now uses and loves the Volkl Tour 10 Junior. Its full length at 27 in. and about midsize 100 in, 4 in grip. I think this will hold her off until she gets a growth spurt, pretty reasonable too, 59.95 here at TW. I also highly recommend the "Wonder Wedge" from tennisgeometrics.com, terrific product for teaching your niece the correct grips. You can also do some really fun things like colored string, and stencils of cartoon characters that little girls get a huge kick out of.

 

[Tim Tennis]

Great discussion, it is a hard decision as to a one or two handed backhand backhand to start kids off on. I guess there is no "right" answer.

One thought I had is if you could have one of her friends come out and hit with her. That might make it a lot of fun for her. It would be really neat if they both developed and ended up playing on a High School team at some point in the future.

Weight lifting? Midlife Crisis said, "My son started playing tennis last year, also as an 11 year old. He was a 5' tall, 110 pound 11 year old, with four years of little league baseball and two years of weight lifting behind him." Someone expressed a concern that it might be bad for him. I don't see it as a problem if he is using light weights and going for reps. It won't make that much difference until those "male harmones" start to kick in. I am sure Midlife Crisis knows what he is doing.

 

[vkartikv]

Is this the orange racquet 26 in long? That's a pretty good stick, my kid used to use it until last summer. She now uses and loves the Volkl Tour 5 Junior. Its full length at 27 in. and about midsize 100 in, 4 in grip. I think this will hold her off until she gets a growth spurt, pretty reasonable too, 59.95 here at TW. I also highly recommend the "Wonder Wedge" from tennisgeometrics.com, terrific product for teaching your niece the correct grips. You can also do some really fun things like colored string, and stencils of cartoon characters that little girls get a huge kick out of.

Yes, that's the one. I have pampered her by putting on a multi colour overgrip just to entyce her to play. This might be something I could use in the long run, but what are some of the best racquets in the market for juniors (lightweight, not too demanding, etc..)

 

[TennisParent]

Aside from the Volkl I mentioned, the Babolat Pure Drive Jr. is also a very good racquet for a serious junior. I forgot to ask how tall/big she is. My daughter is quite small for her age, she is sometimes mistaken for an eight year old! If she is a relatively mature 11 y/o you may consider a "game improvement' lightweight adult racquet with a smaller grip size like 4 1/4. Either the Volkl or Babolat are advertised as racquets that even a smaller adult can use, so I believe they are safe bets. Those are about the only two larger junior frames I have enough experience with to recommend. I don't believe TW includes these in their demo program, unfortunately.

 

[vkartikv]

Aside from the Volkl I mentioned, the Babolat Pure Drive Jr. is also a very good racquet for a serious junior. I forgot to ask how tall/big she is. My daughter is quite small for her age, she is sometimes mistaken for an eight year old! If she is a relatively mature 11 y/o you may consider a "game improvement' lightweight adult racquet with a smaller grip size like 4 1/4. Either the Volkl or Babolat are advertised as racquets that even a smaller adult can use, so I believe they are safe bets. Those are about the only two larger junior frames I have enough experience with to recommend. I don't believe TW includes these in their demo program, unfortunately.

About 5 feet, don't know about the grip size but assuming its not more than 4. Does TW have jr. racquet demos? Thanks for the info.

 

[TennisParent]

About 5 feet, don't know about the grip size but assuming its not more than 4. Does TW have jr. racquet demos? Thanks for the info.

It doesn't look like they have jr. racquets on their demo list online, but you could try calling. 4 should be ok, if too small you can always overgrip. Good luck!

 

[Midlife crisis]

Weight lifting? Midlife Crisis said, "My son started playing tennis last year, also as an 11 year old. He was a 5' tall, 110 pound 11 year old, with four years of little league baseball and two years of weight lifting behind him." Someone expressed a concern that it might be bad for him. I don't see it as a problem if he is using light weights and going for reps. It won't make that much difference until those "male harmones" start to kick in. I am sure Midlife Crisis knows what he is doing.

Studies have shown controlled weight lifting to be effective and non-injurious for children as young as six or seven. In the case of my son, he was really into baseball and wanted to hit the ball harder so he started working out with me when he was nine. It was always light weight, multi-joint exercises whenever possible. He likes doing it, and we've always talked about it terms of health maintenance, especially when involved with sports like tennis and baseball which often develop one side of the body and not the other. There have been no scientific studies that show that lifting stunts growth or hurts the growth plates, as long as it is done in a proper manner for that age group.

We've never emphasized strength gains, though who isn't going to be aware of their progress as they continue working out? I've had to continually hold him back from lifting as much as he wants to lift and I think I have that impressed onto him well enough so that now that he has access to weight lifting equipment at his school, I feel pretty confident he's not going to do something that will hurt him.

 

[Tim Tennis]

Studies have shown controlled weight lifting to be effective and non-injurious for children as young as six or seven. In the case of my son, he was really into baseball and wanted to hit the ball harder so he started working out with me when he was nine. It was always light weight, multi-joint exercises whenever possible. He likes doing it, and we've always talked about it terms of health maintenance, especially when involved with sports like tennis and baseball which often develop one side of the body and not the other. There have been no scientific studies that show that lifting stunts growth or hurts the growth plates, as long as it is done in a proper manner for that age group.

We've never emphasized strength gains, though who isn't going to be aware of their progress as they continue working out? I've had to continually hold him back from lifting as much as he wants to lift and I think I have that impressed onto him well enough so that now that he has access to weight lifting equipment at his school, I feel pretty confident he's not going to do something that will hurt him.

Thanks for the great information. I bet you two have a great time together. I can remember when I was a kid, yikes. It was always how much can you do.

 

[Midlife crisis]

Thanks for the great information. I bet you two have a great time together. I can remember when I was a kid, yikes. It was always how much can you do.

Yeah, it is a pretty good time, and he's most amused by the posturing that goes on in the gym. He's also at the age where he's starting to notice the lycra-clad bodies walking around. Last summer, we were bike riding on a trail near our house and a very shapely female rode by, leaning over the handlebars and showing a significant amount of cleavage. After she passed by, he turned to me and said "Whoaaaaa!!". I almost crashed from the laughing. I want my kid to grow up, but I also don't want him to grow up.

Here's a link to a consumer-based article on weight lifting for children:

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3076614/

 

[Tim Tennis]

Yeah, it is a pretty good time, and he's most amused by the posturing that goes on in the gym. He's also at the age where he's starting to notice the lycra-clad bodies walking around. Last summer, we were bike riding on a trail near our house and a very shapely female rode by, leaning over the handlebars and showing a significant amount of cleavage. After she passed by, he turned to me and said "Whoaaaaa!!". I almost crashed from the laughing. I want my kid to grow up, but I also don't want him to grow up.

Here's a link to a consumer-based article on weight lifting for children:

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3076614/

That is too funny. Maybe those "male harmones," have already kicked in.