Teaching and adult beginner

[Ben42]

Teaching an adult beginner

My Wife has asked me to teach her to play, so I'm looking for some advise on how to proceed.

She's not particularly hand/eye coordinated, but she can move fairly well. Her expectations are not for competitive play, but just to learn enough to go for a friendly hit.

We started this past Saturday with me showing her an Eastern FH grip and dropping some balls for her to hit FHs with. When she seemed comfortable with that I tossed balls to her for her to hit. Then I fed her some with her at the service line, and eventually with her at the baseline.

She did much better than I thought she would. She made good contact and had a pretty good low to high swing. Of course she sprayed balls all over and needed a fairly consistant feed, but she had fun and didn't want to stop after an hour.

Now I'm wondering what to do next. Should I keep her hitting FHs until she gets a little bit of consistancy and can move to some balls? Should I introduce the BH now? Anyone have a simple lesson plan I can follow?

 

[Bungalo Bill]

My Wife has asked me to teach her to play, so I'm looking for some advise on how to proceed.

She's not particularly hand/eye coordinated, but she can move fairly well. Her expectations are not for competitive play, but just to learn enough to go for a friendly hit.

We started this past Saturday with me showing her an Eastern FH grip and dropping some balls for her to hit FHs with. When she seemed comfortable with that I tossed balls to her for her to hit. Then I fed her some with her at the service line, and eventually with her at the baseline.

She did much better than I thought she would. She made good contact and had a pretty good low to high swing. Of course she sprayed balls all over and needed a fairly consistant feed, but she had fun and didn't want to stop after an hour.

Now I'm wondering what to do next. Should I keep her hitting FHs until she gets a little bit of consistancy and can move to some balls? Should I introduce the BH now? Anyone have a simple lesson plan I can follow?

Intorduce both the bakchand and the forehand. Also, have her bounce a ball with her strings to continue to develop the hand eye coordination.

Add some movement so she can learn to setup, dont make this difficult and keep feeding.

In the early stages, you are developing strength and coordination and are looking for the following:

1. Maintaining a consistent grip.

2. A good shoulder turn

3. A good swing path, I use the pat the dog on the head (backswing), bring the racquet level at contact, then followthrough high with the hand in front of the forehead.

4. Changing the grip from the ready position to move several steps to hit a slowly fed ball.

Do not worry about the ball going in, she will know when she made good contact.

Watch her balance. There is a lot more you can do - oh make sure the sun is to her back when giving lessons.

Other coaches can provide more stuff for you to consider. Keep it simple and most importantly - help her to have a lot of fun!!!

 

[papa]

Although I agree with everything BB said, husbands teaching wifes generally spells trouble. At your first opportunity, you might consider getting a third party (like a coach) involved. Teaching your children is one thing but keep in mind your wife is your equal - on and off the tennis court.

Good day.

 

[FiveO]

Although I agree with everything BB said, husbands teaching wifes generally spells trouble. At your first opportunity, you might consider getting a third party (like a coach) involved. Teaching your children is one thing but keep in mind your wife is your equal - on and off the tennis court.

Good day.

Yep, to both BB and papa's input. Even if you consider a semi-private w/ the wife, it could be a better way to go.

papa,

I just asked my wife about this "equal" thing. Well, evidently that's not how she see's it. Don't ask.

 

[Kaptain Karl]

Good stuff, BB.

Ben - Same thing with my wife -- starting last summer. I got her to Mini-tennis pretty quickly. She loves it, and it's ME who must call "time" on the lesson. (Always stop while they're still having fun. They'll look forward to returning that way.)

- KK

 

[Kaptain Karl]

My wife and I work each other out at the gym ... hike together ... and she taught me Country dancing. She acknowledges that I'm more patient with HER, than she was with me. We handle it well. Others may not.

(I *did* tell her the first time one of us loses our temper is the *last* lesson this way. After that, I'll have a Pro friend of mine teach her. "So far, so good....")

- KK

 

[Marius_Hancu]

a subscription to easitennis.com is very recommended for beginners, it dissects and presents quite well the basics.

 

[Bungalo Bill]

I just asked my wife about this "equal" thing. Well, evidently that's not how she see's it. Don't ask.

Lol, I am an equal to my wife when she is not around...it is only when she is around I find myself wondering what hit me.

 

[Marius_Hancu]

start with the idea that adult people don't know what their bodies are doing about/around them

mini-tennis is great, but insist on feel, all beginners hit too hard. insist on finesse, face of the racket orientation at contact, using the strings more than her own power.

something else, insist on holding the racket with two hands before starting any shot. and flexed knees.

 

[Bungalo Bill]

start with the idea that adult people don't know what their bodies are doing about/around them

mini-tennis is great, but insist on feel, all beginners hit too hard. insist on finesse, face of the racket orientation at contact, using the strings more than her own power.

something else, insist on holding the racket with two hands before starting any shot. and flexed knees.

Good stuff Marius,

I just remembered something that also is something I look for in the beginning stages. The use or non-use of the non-dominant arm. This is especially a concern with me if someone elects to hit the onehanded backhand.

On the forehand or the onehander look at how they carry themselves in this area. Do they use the arm to help bring the racquet back or is it just dangling by their side.

 

[papa]

I think I'm in this discussion about as deep as would be advisable (for me anyway). I just hope some of you guys don't look back and conclude "hiring a coach" might have been cheaper. Just my two cents which is about all have if I continued to "suggest" prehaps "better ways" one (in this case the mrs) might incorporate to "improve" performance.

 

[Ben42]

Thanks for the advise, all. She’s really enthusiastic about hitting so it’s been a lot of fun so far.

I’m not worried about it causing any strife between us. I’m keeping it very light and just letting her guide how intense she wants to be. If she really wants to get serious, then I’ll bow out.