Program Characteristics

This program is designed for all those people who want to learn tennis in an autodidactic way, through chained and organized tennis sessions. The Programs are secuenced from beginner’s level all the way to high competition.

Successful tennis performance requires a mix of player talent and player development. This development requires a player to understand those aspects of sport science pertinent to tennis if he is to ever reach an optimal level of performance.

In the early stages of training, parents and coach can coax the individual into developing some parts of his skills. Ultimately, the athlete determines this development himself. Desire is the basis of motivation. Knowing how to desire is a mystery that is rarely solved, but in the end it is always up to the individual athlete.

Up until puberty the emphasis in player preparation should be on developing stroke production, enhancing coordinative ability and enjoying the game. Those players post-puberty, who wish to develop their game fully, must integrate off-court strength/endurance/power training into their programs.

This means that for the athlete, conventional resistance exercises in the gym may not be enough to allow a full return to competition. Often what are needed to bridge the gap are plyometric exercises for the muscles & joints that mimic tennis-specific movements.

Plyometrics usually involve medicine balls of various weights. Plyometric exercises have two advantages. First, they are performed fast, and second, they involve stretch-shortening cycle movement patterns.

This means they are much more sports-specific than conventional resistance exercises. In particular, plyometric exercises for the rear-shoulder and external rotator muscles are very useful because they provide eccentric training for these muscles. This improves their ability to control the shoulder during the powerful concentric actions of the pectorals and anterior deltoid involved in serving.

Flexibility training methods should be a permanent feature of player preparation to maintain the appropriate muscular length-tension relationship that provides for injury prevention and optimal power generation.

 STAGE
 LEVEL
 CHARACTERISTICS
ITF 10
  BEGINNER’S


• Introduction to the variations of grips
• Groundstrokes and volley
• Service and overheads
• Coordination drills and footwork
• Introduction to scoring, rules & point system
• To gain the knowledge of tennis etiquette and safety
• Self evaluation - keeping track of your personal improvement in the game, and later the matches you will be playing.
ITF 9
   PERFECTING
• This module will help players establish foundation in basic strokes.
• Introduction to the various spins, contention and set-up plays (singles and doubles).
 • Techniques practice and correction.
• Footwork (movements, stance and recovery)
• Rally (rally from service & baseline ie an all-court game)
• Introduction to Rules of tennis, point system, foot fault etc)
• Match play
ITF 8
 TECHNIQUE .
• This is a more challenging course for players who have mastered the basic strokes of tennis and are able to keep the ball in play consistently.
• Understanding control, consistency, spin, power and placement.
• Special strokes, ie volleys, overheads, approach, half volleys, drop, lop & other specialty shots, tactics for initiating plays and attacks (singles and doubles)
•To hone these skills through the fires of practice and competition.
ITF 7
  COMPETITION


• Practice of footwork and specific tactics (singles and doubles).
• Know when to change, how to change and why to change a strategic approach.
• Court Positionings -- serving & return of serve
• Volleys, Overheads, Approach, Half Volleys, Drop, Lop & Specialty Shots
• Match play

This program contains all the technical and tactical aspects of serious tennis; from beginner’s level to competition. These excercises have been planned by stages, focusing on different levels of assimilation and the progression of the excercises.

Each of the stages consists of 20 sessions. In each session a different technical – tactical excercise, or the progression of a previous excercise, is worked on.

All the technical and tactical excercises are explained in full detail with easily understood descriptions, demostrations and videos, also accompanied by drill sessions.

* The following order of development produces the quickest and most lasting results:

- Conceptual definition: Theory and technique.
- Descriptive development: Weakness identification and correction; an individual assessment, demonstrations, and stroke development exercises

Remember:

• Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterward. - Vernon Law

Practice sessions must be approached with a sense of purpose. That means asking yourself some very basic questions. How much of an investment, in terms of both time and money, can you afford to make in your tennis? If you want to get the most out of your court time, knowing how many hours you can allot to the game will allow you to plan appropriately. When you do play, try to remember that tennis is like every other sport, in that if you wish to improve your game you must work at it, give it concentration and remember that essentially it is a sport and good excercise. Go to a tennis court and practice the various movements needed to be competitive. This will give the player "court sense"

Running is excellent for the legs and lungs with distance for stamina and sharp bursts of short sprints to keep a player conditioned for the many short bursts of speed neccessary getting to the net, moving across it, back to the backcourt for lobs and for the many points a good player must scramble for in top company.

Weight training can help improve your serve and overheads.

Exercising and stretching in general can help reduce injures. Physical conditioning is a necessity - sprints, sliding, crossovers, jumping rope, etc. Work on developing fast feet.