tennis lessons...first time coaching..need help

tennis939

Rookie
okok let's face it. economy sucks here and knowing my luck, its quite bad.
I was patiently waiting for the "you got job" call but tough luck, i didn't get a single call...

since i have no job and i needed money to pay my rent for my apartment back at my college, i decided to teach people tennis. The age group is around 10 to middle schoolers who wants obviously wants to get better. 15$ per hour...(that's cheap and reasonable b/c it's my first time) and whatyaknow? i just got a call from a dad who wants his children to learn from me...

the kids are...13 yr boy and 10 yr girl.. they were on and off with tennis in their life...

crap im nervous...
its my first coaching and im trying to plan out how to teach both of them in an hour...

this is my plan...
i have a feeling they know what's backhand and forehand so im gonna start them off by feeding them balls (slowly) and let them hit over the net. they would be at the service line...

*while doing that fix their strokes

Then make them move back? depending on their level...

Next:
im gonna make them run and hit a forehand...it just go over the net

lalala pick up the balls!!!! =]

last: GAME!
don't we need some sort of game in a lesson cuz overall tennis is a freaken game..not just hitting over the net for the heck of it..

i really can't think of a game right now but ....should i give them candies and prizes at the end??


and thanks for the advices if u guys have any!!
 

user92626

G.O.A.T.
I don't know about other learners but I improved so much when I work on consistency and placement. Basically try to hit with average or light power and make 20 shot rallies and decent placements, 1 foot around the all the lines.

Since your kids have a feeder (you) they can also drill running and hitting at the same time. Can't imagine if they will not improve.
 

Solat

Professional
here is a lesson plan outline I would for new clients

0 - 5 mins : mini tennis warm up, you rally with both clients at the same time in the service boxes, will give you immediate indication of level
5 - 12 mins : (if they can rally) warm up game, first to 40 points, 1pt per stroke they hit in a rally with you, 5 bonus pts if they win the rally. Run around the net and pick up a ball after each rally. Fun game, gets them moving and allows you to look for weakness in a controlled rally situation. (if they can't rally skip this step add more time to tech)
12 - 25 mins : FH technique, demo, key points, feed 3 or 4 in a row per client, analyse & correct. Ball pick up
25 - 38 mins : BH technique, demo, key points, feed 3 or 4 in a row per client, analyse & correct. Ball pick up
38 - 50 mins : 1 client at each end, feed to one, try to get partner to rally back. reaffirm tech/key points, switch ends/ repeat, ball pick up
50 - 60 mins : Target Game, set up targets (possibly use prizes/candy as reward) challenge clients to hit to target / target area, make it to easy rather then too hard so they feel good and feel accomplishment. Ball pick up, chat to parent and take payment (have appropriate change for the next largest bill above your going rate), schedule next lesson
 

tennis939

Rookie
i forgot! around 2 mins of stretching! that's important cuz i remember i strained my leg cuz i didn't stretch before my lesson

to user: yea im gonna try to make them run to the middle hit a forehand..make sure its in the court and make them run to the corner and hit a forehand...slow pace since i have a 10 year old.. but 1 hour goes by real quick so i might have to pace stuff up a bit..


to solat: yes yes ill def tell them key points and the target game sounds good...but ill try it depending on their level. im thinking of around the world type of rally..since i got two kids they are a team and have to beat me in a rally. they take turns hitting the ball to me and yes there will be rewards

finally guys i greatly appreciate it thanks lots!
if anyone else have advices..feel free too kk?
 

masterxfob

Semi-Pro
i've been helping a coach with lessons and i'm surprised at how much i've picked up from him over the past couple of months. there are lots of things that you don't naturally spot right away, and working with someone who knows how to spot the problems is vital. i now understand when i make a mistake, why i made the mistake. i can watch someone play and see why they aren't achieving what they want; to a certain extent. after all, i'm still learning.

for group lessons, my coach guided me through the first couple i gave and then gave me control after i got comfortable. i help with semi private lessons, primarily focusing on a persons weakness/problems. it's been a couple of months, but i've had to turn a few people down for lessons because i don't feel comfortable with my teaching ability.

basically, i recommend that you don't give lessons. there's a lot more to it than you would think and it will show if you do not know what you're doing. besides, $15/hour is hardly worth the cost of transportation, balls, and your time. especially when teaching kids that young, balls will be flying everywhere.

regardless of what you decide, good luck.
 

Failed

Semi-Pro
okok let's face it. economy sucks here and knowing my luck, its quite bad.
I was patiently waiting for the "you got job" call but tough luck, i didn't get a single call...

since i have no job and i needed money to pay my rent for my apartment back at my college, i decided to teach people tennis. The age group is around 10 to middle schoolers who wants obviously wants to get better. 15$ per hour...(that's cheap and reasonable b/c it's my first time) and whatyaknow? i just got a call from a dad who wants his children to learn from me...

the kids are...13 yr boy and 10 yr girl.. they were on and off with tennis in their life...

crap im nervous...
its my first coaching and im trying to plan out how to teach both of them in an hour...

this is my plan...
i have a feeling they know what's backhand and forehand so im gonna start them off by feeding them balls (slowly) and let them hit over the net. they would be at the service line...

*while doing that fix their strokes

Then make them move back? depending on their level...

Next:
im gonna make them run and hit a forehand...it just go over the net

lalala pick up the balls!!!! =]

last: GAME!
don't we need some sort of game in a lesson cuz overall tennis is a freaken game..not just hitting over the net for the heck of it..

i really can't think of a game right now but ....should i give them candies and prizes at the end??


and thanks for the advices if u guys have any!!

Those kids won't learn that fast, probably. You should teach them the forehand grip and make them bounce the ball at start for hand-eye coordination. Then let them drop a ball in front of themselves and hit it on the other side of the court. Hitting live balls can be extremely frustrating to beginners and your job is to keep the customers coming back, especially when it comes to children. Don't even think about making them hit a forehand at run because all that happens is the kids getting furstrated as well as the people on the other court. Before you do the self-feed and hit a ball drill you should show them a slow version of your own forehand a couple of times and repeat whenever necessary. Focus on cheering the kids. It is vitally important! Don't focus so much on the technique but more on the kids actually having some fun. If the kids pick up on how to hit a forehand over the net somewhat consistently you may try to play a game of minitennis BUT not on a whole court. As you progress to the point where these kids can hit 70% of real slow feeds from the baseline over the net you may start teaching them the basics of backhand for example.(This all totally depends on their skill level) I just coached two adults yesterday and they were complete beginners and bouncing the ball on their strings took sometime for them but in the end they begun to learn how to follow through and hit through the ball, next time we'll try to work on topspin and etc.
 
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CoachingMastery

Professional
The OP is one of the reasons I wrote COACHING MASTERY...there are many who want to teach tennis, sometimes only know enough about the game that they destroy the chance for their "students" to become skilled players, or simply lack any ideas in how to best train students of all ages and abilities.

There are dozens of resources too that you can look at including USPTA with many pages of help, tennisone.com with resources for those who teach, tennisplayer.net, fuzzyellowtennisballs.com, hi-techtennis.com and others all which offer great resources and a wide range of advice.

There are dozens of books that are available, usually inexpensively on selling web sites and some of the best books are here at Tenniswarehouse. Unfortunately, too many pros of all levels of experience don't expand their knowledge base through reading. But, you can!

Good luck to you AND to your students.
 
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