Developing the hit
The game is played by 2 children - on a small court with a net or divide. these are small games 5-6 steps length & 4-5 steps width.
Each pair needs one tennis racket and ball between them. One child stands on one side of the court with the racket & ball with their partner on the other side
Round 1: Students will drop the ball for themselves to hit over the net/divide for their partner to catch.(coach will decide type of hit for students to play e.g. forehand, backhand) if the ball is caught on the full or after one bounce that pair get a point.
Differentiation – Allow the ball to bounce twice, for year 3-5 start them off with hitting a stationary ball of a tee that is mid height or along the floor (if you have older tennis racquets) taking away the divide between the two players and asking the students to stop the ball rather than catch the ball before it goes out.
Round 2: The child with the ball throws (feeds) the ball over the net/divide for their partner with the racket
The aim for the child with the racket is to hit the ball back over the net/divide for their partner to catch
Swap roles after every 5 minutes
Students to focus on:
Get into position to hit the ball
Controlled shot back to partner
Good underarm feed
Allow the ball to bounce before it is hit
Swing the racket back as the ball comes towards you
Swing the racket forward to strike the ball
Speed the racket is swung at effects how hard the ball is hit – experiment with this
use the slow bounce tennis ball, make the playing area bigger/smaller
use the slow bounce tennis ball, make the playing area bigger.