Welcome to the Advanced Red Ball level at Five Star Tennis! In this class, players will elevate their skills by refining rally techniques and honing both technique and footwork patterns. The foundation of the class is built on rally-based drills, providing a focused and advanced training experience for your child.
Competencies – What we teach our players
Agility
- Maintain balance while shuffling side to side (Shuffles, cross-over step)
Balance
- Jump side-to-side and forwards with balance
- Frog jump (using arms) while landing softly in an athletic position
- Hop on one leg with balance
- Balance on one leg while bending over to touch cones in various positions
Coordination
- Catch a ball off of one bounce in a cone or with two hands
- Catch a ball one-handed (underhand) with the left leg and right hand off of one bounce
Speed
- Run with arms, coordinated, posture, and landing light on the feet
Ready Position/Recovery
- Athletic stance with wide base, knees bent, shoulders back, eyes forward, and on balls of feet
- Racquet above wrist with elbows away from body
- Recovery after shot to a poly spot or behind the baseline near center
Serve
- Perform 10 flip flops with continental grip
- Over arm throw to various locations of the court
- Throw ball up in the air with non-dominant hand and hit with dominant hand
- Begin point with underhand serve and overhand serve with no bounce
Volley
- Volley with the racquet above the wrist while stepping across the body
Forehand
- Perform 20 taps and tap downs using the forehand side of the racquet
- Throw ball underhand to various distances with dominant hand to mimic a forehand
- Drop hit with correct contact point and follow through into designated area
- Rally 3-5 shots consistently with coach
Backhand
- Perform 20 tap downs with the backhand side of the racquet
- Throw ball underhand with control with non-dominant hand while stepping with opposite leg
- Hit ball off of coach feed into designated area with correct contact point and follow through
- Rally 3-5 shots consistently with coach
Game Play
- Throw and/or drop hit a ball cooperatively to a partner into designated area
- Throw and catch rally with a big ball (using an action that represents a groundstroke)
- Count number of balls in a rally and try to improve score with each new rally
Score
- Call the ball in or out
- Count the number of hits in a cooperative rally
- Demonstrate where to stand when serving and returning
- Keep score using a simple scoring system (e.g. games to 4 to 7)
Sportsmanship
- Compete with others in a fair and friendly manner
- Demonstrate sportsmanship after winning and losing
Engagement
- Listening to the coach
- Trying to execute the drill the correct way
Energy & Effort
- Maintain effort throughout the entire duration of the practice.