Key number seven is all about keeping things visually and kinesthetically stimulating for you and your players. Here is the thinking behind this very, very important process.
A tennis court has 490 feet of lines. Actually, if you added up exactly 490 feet of lines, they never change. Never have I walked on a court and said boy, is this an interesting tennis court? You ever do Heather? I mean, you ever look over some of the courts here and say, boy, that one looks interesting, may be we should play on that one? No. Can you imagine golf if every single hole was a rectangular grass that was flat with the bunker in the same spot, and the green was the same, and the trees were identical, who would play, it would be visually boring. So we need to bring on to the court visual aids. Whatever you decide to use; I am going to be sharing some, but use something, that's my point. Visual aids, kinesthetic aids, to get people experiencing a different perspective. Create interest.
The fact that all tennis courts have the same 490 feet of lines is one of the benefits of tennis. Wherever you go in the world all the tennis courts look the same, no difference. But while this is a positive thing, the negative is that it can make tennis visually boring. Adding visual aids to practices, drills sessions, and lessons makes tennis more interesting. No doubt about it. Let's look at some examples of visual aids that can be adapted for tennis.
Note that these first two examples use four numbered cones that designate each of the four quadrants of the court. The cone itself is not the target, that's important to realize. The quadrant is the target, so don't pay attention to my lucky shot coming up.
Here we go. One, missed it, one. Three, four.
Other ways to create visual targets include using ropes to designate target areas and movement guides. You can even create a dynamic perspective change by covering the net.
Hit it cross court in between the rope and a single side line. When we do, we score a point. As soon as one of us individually scores three points, we go to feed. I think we want to feed, because we are getting a good workout. What do you think? Five, and here we go.
One, brilliantly done. Two. Three.
So then I would rotate.
Transcription by:
Scribe4you Transcription Services