Welcome to Academy Orange Ball at Five Star Tennis! Admission is by invitation-only or with approval from the Program Director, as this level initiates young players into the High-Performance pathway. It’s a unique opportunity for dedicated individuals ready to elevate their tennis skills. Welcome to a new level of excellence!
Competencies – What we teach our players
Agility
Maintain balance during multi-directional movement and change of direction
Balance and Coordination
Maintain balance during single leg exercises
Show complex coordination of hands and feet
Jump rope
Speed
Sound running form
Ready Position/Recovery
Use of ready position with racquet above hands and elbows away from body
Use of cross-over and shuffle steps depending on distance from recovery position
Recovery after shot based on optimal position and situation
Serve
Serve with a continental grip with a coordinated, balanced, and rhythmical action
Control the serve to different positions based on tactical decisions
Use of flat and slice serves
Net Play
Use a continental grip with rm wrist at contact while getting the outside leg behind the ball
Volley back to a baseline player with depth
Recognize a short ball and move into the net quickly
Use of front foot hop footwork to approach on lower balls
Follow the direction of the ball to the net and time split-step
Finish the point with a soft angle volley
Able to hit an overhead to the deuce and ad court
Slice
Slice groundstroke with continental grip and racquet above wrist
Groundstrokes
Return down the middle or cross court off of aggressive serves and attack off of weaker serves
Use of topspin with consistent control of depth and direction
Begin understanding offensive and defensive situations
Recognize short, neutral, and deep balls
Take balls on the rise
Use various forms of footwork: open, semi-open and square stances depending on situation
Build points with the purpose of creating open space
Begin using specialty shots (e.g. drop shots, lobs, passing shots)
Score
Understand various scoring (tie breakers, regular/no-ad)
Engagement
Listening to the coach
Trying to execute the drill the correct way
Energy and Effort
Run for every ball
Maintain effort throughout the entire duration of the practice
