My Coach - May 2011 issue

A SECTION DEDICATED TO TENNIS AUSTRALIA COACH MEMBERS Tennis Australia Coach Membership T: 03 9914 4191 F: 03 9650 1040 Email: coachmembership@tennis.com.au Website: www.tennis.com.au/membership

My coach

52 Tennis at any age: identifying motivators and expectations will help coaches offer the correct program for varied athletes.

54 What do you see? The backhands

of Stanislas Wawrinka and Feliciano Lopez demonstrate contrasting technique and courtcraft.

56 T alking Points: what’s the link between deliberate practice and specialisation?

59 F riends for life: inspiration from his own coaches saw Stephen Storer develop the passion to pass it on.

60 Coach corner 61 Coach drills

A SECTION DEDICATED TO TENNIS AUSTRALIA COACH MEMBERS Tennis Australia Coach Membership T: 03 9914 4191 F: 03 9650 1040 Email: coachmembership@tennis.com.au Website: www.tennis.com.au/membership

Tennis at any age

Everyone has a different reason for deciding to play tennis and most importantly a different expectation level. Finding this will help you offer the correct program for your varied athletes. By Daniela Toleski

I

t may be difficult to decipher, but if you look at the enquiry or joining spikes in your calendar more often than not, you’re sure to get an abundance of interest after the Australian Open has been viewed on television screens across the nation.

But what are people looking for when they call with an enquiry? Is it coaching or is it experiencing the competitive nature of the sport and the overwhelming feeling of sheer joy when they see their favourite players achieve success?

All in all it’s engagement and this engagement needs to be available for your athletes in any tennis program you may offer.

MyCoach

Juniors – new to tennis

Engaging athletes is a top priority for coaches.

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Australian Tennis Magazine | May 2011

Tennis as a product can be presented in so many ways but until athletes can participate like the idols they see on television, coaches need to manipulate the game.

This manipulation can help you to showcase the brand values that might have inspired a child to tell their parents they wanted to play tennis in the first place.

“They have asked to participate in certain brand values like they love the emotion of tennis, the love the athleticism of tennis, they love the competiveness of tennis. Whatever it is that has engaged them we have to give them those brand values within the coaching

lessons,” Tennis Australia Club Professional coach Pat Coburn says.

“And I think too often we overstate our position as coaches and we think we have to teach this person. The first thing we have to do is get them to engage with the sport and that is what brand values were they looking for and how can we give them those brand values ... once they are feeling good about tennis they’ll be certain teaching opportunities that come up and because they want to get better they will accept the advice.”

As a result of new gadgets and technology coming through, children these days will only keep participating while they’re still interested with an activity.

In turn, the attention span of athletes is becoming shorter providing a greater obstacle for coaches to overcome, with maintaining interest during lessons a factor you’ll need to contend with.

“I try and rotate every 10 minutes and obviously we’re talking about the youngies and the five year olds, they don’t have that attention span. This way they don’t get stamped doing something for long periods of time.” Tennis Australian Club Professional coach Arron Klumpp says.

“They just don’t have the work ethic yet, but by making it fun and quick after a little while you’ll be able to build their attention span.”

working for a reason,” Klumpp says. “They want to play tennis and want to do well in the sport so it doesn’t matter because they’re working towards a goal. Once they have a drive and passion for a sport it’s a different story.”

This is when practicing their serve, and only their serve, for an hour is attainable with no questions on the dedication they’ll show until they are satisfied with their particular stroke.

If athletes do want to pursue a professional career, and their talent is there, training opportunities are available through the statebased National Academies and the elite AIS Pro Tour Program.

Performance level squads also become another program that athletes could be involved with, but in terms of coaching it seems that the group lessons would be diminished by this stage if the athlete is serious about their tennis.

Also at this point a decision may be made by the athlete that they only want to participate in social competitions, while still being engaged by the sport.

The attention span of athletes is becoming shorter providing a greater obstacle for coaches to overcome, with maintaining interest during lessons a factor you’ll need to contend with.

This is something you can achieve with the kids’ starter program MLC Tennis Hot Shots.

With smaller courts, nets, racquets and lowcompression balls children can learn easily and have the chance to serve, rally and score right from the first time they play.

“We should be getting all kids playing modified tennis. So long gone are the yellow ball and teaching the kids with a yellow ball, we should just be using modified tennis and the main reasons are it’s just a lot easier for the kids to play with it,” Tennis Australia Club Professional coach Matthew Bull says.

Incorporating some MLC Tennis Hot Shots Challenge Events into your program will go that one step further by having the children participate competitively.

“We ran the first official modified tournament in partnership with Tennis West and I think the best thing about it is that it gives the kids something to work towards,” Bull says. “We have a tournament every term and it just means the kids during the term are working on their games knowing that they’re going to play in the tournament at the end of the term and because of that they just work a little bit harder in the lessons and obviously most of them do alright in the tournament on the day.”

They can test their new skills and as this would most probably be their first tournament

experience it adds value being delivered in a positive and friendly club environment.

Seeing a pathway from the red to orange to green stages gives young athletes some motivation to improve.

An enthusiastic coach also plays a role with the enjoyment level a child can experience.

“I keep them busy and don’t let them stand around too long,” Tennis Australia Club Professional coach Nicky Mayer says.

After 12 years old

After MLC Tennis Hot Shots young players can continue their tennis journey in various ways.

From the green stage, children can move to a full court with a regular ball. Children can play in weekly school and club competitions and enter Junior Development Series tournaments.

And from here the goal is to progress to the Optus Junior Tour.

While there is also the possibility for children to participate within the iconic MLC Ballkid program and rub shoulders with the idols they first saw on the television screens.

Then there’s the Talent Search program which has been designed to identify future stars, serving as an excellent platform to identify emerging talent.

“The others kids who are working harder playing nationals they don’t get bored they’re

adult programs

Then there are two categories to the adult participant – these could either have already been exposed to tennis or never participated in the sport.

If they’ve never played tennis before, the best option is to make the lesson enjoyable from the beginning. If you achieve this, you’ll have a better chance of retaining them.

“That three ball system can be used for kids and adults. Throw one of the green balls in that’s 25 per cent slower for an adult program and they’ll all be back next week with a friend because they had so much fun. It’s much easier to play,” Tennis Australia Club Professional coach Jamie Venerys says.

Other adults may just have an interest in cardiovascular activities with a tennis flavour or want to participate socially.

So engage your athletes based on their expectations and they’ll find it harder to walk away from the sport.

Fitness based tennis programs usually appeal to adults.

MyCoach

A positive and friendly club program will only add value to tennis programs.

Australian Tennis Magazine | May 2011

53

What do you see?

By the Stroke Master

1

Their heads are balanced with their eyes focused on the on-coming ball. The players will not see the ball at impact but will move their focus to the hitting zone.

1 4 2

2 The shoulder turn for both players is at least 100 degrees with the elbows spaced away from their body. The racquet is positioned high with the hands located between the hips and shoulders. This position allows both players to use gravity and drop below the ball before accelerating forward to contact. The single handed backhand is a circular swing where the majority of power is generated from the legs and shoulder.

3

5

MyCoach

6

3 The hitting arm of both players is slightly bent which allows the swing to be dictated from the shoulder and not the elbow. Too much bend in the elbow will result in excess movement (chopping motion) as they swing to contact.

The dimensions of the tennis court and physical law determine stroke production. The success of each stroke depends on how a players utilises the court and adapts his/her technique to the court’s magnitude. The court is almost two times longer than it is wide, however most players swing as if the court is shaped like a square. Both Stanislas Wawrinka and Feliciano Lopez show how a simplified swing that matches the court’s dimensions can be so successful. The court does not know what type of racquet you use, if you have your lucky tennis shirt on or if you swing right or left-handed.

4

The non-dominant elbow is spaced well away from the trunk and is placed high. Having the non-dominant elbow high enables the racquet head to stay on edge. Lopez does this more efficiently than Wawrinka. Wawrinka’s lower elbow position causes the racquet head to slightly open up. To successfully have the racquet face vertical at impact he will have to adjust the swing during the forward swing phase.

1 4 2

3

5 Both players have a strong base of support which allows the shoulders to rotate further than the hips. This rotation creates a separation angle putting the trunk muscles on stretch in preparation for the forward swing.

6 5

6 MyCoach

Both players have great flexion in their legs in preparation for the forward swing.

The energy stored will be used as explosive power.

Australian Tennis Magazine | May 2011

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Talking Points:

THE LINK BETWEEN PRACTICE AND learning Damian Farrow – Senior Skill Acquisition Specialist at the AIS and Professor of Sport Science at Victoria University, Bruce Elliott – Professor of Biomechanics at the University of Western Australia and Rob Leeds – Talent Search and Development Coordinator share their insights with Dr Machar Reid.

MyCoach

M

R: If I am stakeholder – a parent or a coach – though reading this (see April issue), do I run the risk of being confused a little bit. I have heard that deliberate practice is important yet I have also heard that what’s missing is unstructured practice. How do you reconcile that?

DF: It is a good point. I take a pyramid type approach, which may have been done to death but still has real relevance. It is that a broad base of experiences provides athletes a great foundation upon which they can develop more specific skills. So playing lots of different sports in an unstructured manner is going to serve you well as soon as you decide to specialise. And as long as it’s not too late, that’s going to be more than appropriate.

That’s certainly the message that I convey to parents but I appreciate that if they read the literature in isolation, they could easily take the approach that specialisation is the way to go. Equally though there is a lot of good evidence that a child’s psychology can benefit from diversification and unstructured play in the early years. Almost every week in the local paper I have noticed an article on the busy child syndrome ... it’s structured music one night, sport the next and then whatever else in two nights time. There are all these different activities but so few kids seem to be afforded free time to just play, to develop their own intuitive appreciation of different activities and skills. And that’s a really critical message that we need to convey to parents – and probably do a better job of it than we are at present.

RL: The modified environments like Hot Shots provide a pyramid structure of sorts.

They simplify the game for younger players and offer a very different type of game to that played by kids with adult racquets on an adult court. I know Damian has contributed

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Australian Tennis Magazine | May 2011

Children could have busy child syndrome with the amount of activities they participate in during the week.

to a paper recently that discusses repetition without repetition. It may sound a little funny but modified environments where kids are able to hit a lot more balls in game-like situations represent just that.

MR: Consistent with the tenets of ‘early specialisation’ is the perspective that the foundations of technique should be in place by the age of 12. In your eyes how does volume relate to the development of those foundations?

BE: With regards to practice, it’s the type of volume and what you are trying to develop within your stroke production that is most important. And while I agree with the premise that the foundations of stroke production should be in place by 12, I am not sure that you can achieve that unless you

are in an environment that provides players the opportunity to experiment with their technique in unstructured settings. By that I mean a player can hit one million of the same types of balls, virtually becoming a little ball machine, but still lack some of the basic ingredients (like rhythm) that form such a critical part of sound technique.

MR: Couldn’t we argue the counter to that though? That these modified environments almost homogenise game play so that kids are not exposed to the variation that might have existed in the past (with bigger racquets, new balls – old balls, hitting against the wall, out in the street and so on)?

DF: Nice of you to play devil’s advocate but no, I don’t think so. Children will typically go to these modified programs once per

MR: OK, independent of format (modified or not), let’s revisit just how important volume is though. It would seem that over time, the spotlight shifts from quantity of training to the quality of training back to the quantity and so on... does this relate to the difficulty that coaches experience in evaluating causeand-effect; what’s working and what’s not?

In this sense, how can tennis coaches best evaluate a player’s progress or learning?

DF: It’s a difficult thing to do because learning is typically delayed, you don’t always see it immediately. The first problem that then arises is that coaches often make assessments on the basis of a particular practice session that might have gone really well or really poorly in terms of whatever the focus might have been. Learning is something that you need to assess over a period of time, it’s gradual and it’s not going to hit you in the face. The second issue is one that coaches in all sports face – it is the need to set a plan for their player(s) and then establish a method of evaluating progress ... for example, the focus for player X over the next few months might be trunk rotation on the serve or being able to identify the short ball and attack the

Rhythm forms a critical part of sound techniques.

net. If a coach has those stated objectives in mind, it’s intuitive that training will reflect as much. Ultimately though the hard part comes in arriving at reliable and meaningful methods of assessing learning ... more often than not, this has to be in pressure situations both throughout practice sessions and in competitive formats. The point is that the learning may take 12 weeks and that it’s unlikely to be consolidated in a fortnight.

RL: It’s important for coaches to understand the difference between learning and performance. Learning happens over time and not in a day or two.

BE: I’ll take this from a different view point. Coaches can work on performance and that’s what they do on a daily basis. As a coach if I am developing the topspin that a player imparts on their forehand, I can look at particular performance variables on a dayto-day basis and make comment – over time, that feedback and those drills assist that behaviour to change and when that change is permanent, we have learning.

MR: Does that require a shift in the mindset of coaches? If I have a parent or child wanting to see instantaneous improvement, how do I as a coach get the ‘learning’ message across?

BE: Let the parent and child know what the plan is; where do we want to be at the end of this block of lessons, this period of time.

Then the only danger, and may be danger is the wrong word, is that I – as a coach – can be assessed. While this transparency (of having all parties knowing where we are going) may put a little more pressure on me to perform, in my opinion it also has the improvement and best interests of the child very much in mind.

Modified equipment allows young players to hit more balls, more often and in different ways.

MR: Damian, at the Australian Tennis Conference earlier this year, you said that learning looks and feels bad, while performance often looks and feels good. How do you think that concept is embraced or even operationalised by coaches?

DF: To be fair, I don’t think any misunderstanding of the distinction between learning and performance is merely limited to tennis and tennis coaches. In general, because of what we said earlier regarding learning taking time, we can get lured by short term impacts that don’t actually stay within the nervous system ... in other words, we often ask ‘what have I improved this week?’ or ‘what will I improve in this next session?’. Practically speaking though, if I hit 20 serves in a row to a particular spot and now I am going to be tested on that particular serve, chances are that I am going to go ok simply because I have just rehearsed what you’re testing me on. Now, if you expand that to a practice session where you have rehearsed something for an hour, odds are that you will get better at it but whether there is a legacy or permanence in the way that you have rehearsed it is debatable. And that’s where you really cannot assess learning based on that moment in time. I think it is a challenge and the education of the player and parent is really critical. Again, I come back to the formalised planning and assessment of the stated objectives over a defined period of time, forgetting about the temporary ups and downs. If that is done, I think everyone is going to have a better mindset to attack the problem at hand.

Next month: In the final instalment, the experts discuss the link between volume, skill development and injury.

Australian Tennis Magazine | May 2011

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MyCoach

week for 30 to 60 minutes. If that program is doing its job, it will create an intrinsic motivation in that child that leads them to want to play more tennis. The likelihood is then that the kid becomes creative because they want to play but no one else is around ... they say, ‘ah, here’s the garage wall, I’ll see how many volleys I can hit.’ In effect what you’ve described in the question will happen naturally once that intrinsic motivation is instilled through the well-run and enjoyable modified program.

Coach Talk

Cardio Tennis workshops

C

ardio Tennis is a whole new, fun way to play tennis and get a great workout. It’s less about forehands and backhands and more about getting players moving. It’s group fitness, it’s heart rate monitors, it’s tennis, it’s music and it’s fun.

WHY Cardio Tennis?

Cardio Tennis can liberate tennis and allow us to compete in the fitness boom. In 2010 Tennis Australia undertook national research to gain an understanding of participation in tennis among all Australians; the following points summarise just part of the findings: n The exercise motivations of several key market segments including ‘young adults’ and ‘young families’ for participation in sport and/or physical exercise changed post school age and it is more based around fitness based activities. n In these segments, activities such as gym Capital city Canberra Perth Melbourne Sydney Brisbane Adelaide

workouts and group exercise take ‘market share’ away from tennis. n Tennis needs to offer segment-based fitness programs that cater for the demands of these market segments ... enter Cardio Tennis.

Belinda Colaneri (left) Professional Development Coordinator conducted a Cardio Tennis workshop in Darwin recently.

WHEN is Cardio Tennis starting?

The coach launch of Cardio Tennis begins on 1 June 2011.

Tennis Australia Professional Development Coordinator and High Performance coach Belinda Colaneri will be delivering the following Cardio Tennis workshops:

Venue Day/date National Sports Centre, Lyndham Thursday 19 May 2011 State Tennis Centre, Burwood Wednesday 25 May 2011 Melbourne Park Sunday 29 May 2011 Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre Sunday 19 June 2011 Queensland Tennis Centre Tuesday 21 June 2011 Memorial Drive Tennis Club Saturday 25 June 2011

Time 9:30am–2pm 9:30am–2pm 9:30am–2pm 9:30am–2pm 9:30am–2pm 9:30am–2pm

Dates for Cardio Tennis workshop in Hobart and Launceston are still to be confirmed. For further details or to book visit www.tennis.com.au/coaches/education/workshops.

Tennis branded merchandise available online now

MyCoach

V

Save the date! 2012 Australian Grand Slam Coaches’ Conference

T

he 2012 Australian Grand Slam Coaches’ Conference will take place at Hisense Arena, Melbourne Park from 12–14 January prior to the Australian Open 2012. Go to tennis.com.au/ coachesconference for further details or email coachesconference@ tennis.com.au.

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Australian Tennis Magazine | May 2011

iew the full range online now at australianopenshop. com via the ‘Coaches’ section.

Qualified members must have their My Tennis ID ready to get the discount online.

Friends for life

Stephen Storer has been involved in more than one tennis role in Bendigo, but each position has helped him give youngsters a sporting chance for many years.

A

desire to pass on his passion for tennis all began at the Strathdale Park Tennis Club in 1970, when Stephen Storer was under the watchful eye of renowned coach Howard Welsh as a junior.

Storer became so inspired by Welsh that at 15 years of age asked how he could become a tennis coach himself. To his surprise, Welsh offered Storer an assistant position on the spot.

“I am always so thankful to Howard Welsh, who had the confidence in me to be a coach,” Storer says. “The one moment in my life I will always be so appreciative was the day he offered me my chance to be a coach. It changed my life.”

Welsh played a further part in forging Storer’s coaching career, encouraging him to complete his coaching qualifications in Melbourne with the Tennis Coaches Association of Victoria and in essence prepared Storer for the head coaching role at Strathdale Park Tennis Club after Welsh decided to retire.

Storer held this position at Strathdale

Storer has guided a number of people through their tennis paths. Currently Eliza Long and Leroy Miller are scholarship members of the Bendigo Tennis Squad.

Storer’s involvement has shown him that in order to become a professional tennis player it takes a lot of dedication and commitment, but the underlying factor is how it makes you feel.

“Always enjoy the sport of tennis, and if you’re serious about your tennis always think long-term, it takes many experiences both highs and lows to master the game.”

For the last nine years, Storer has been instrumental as a coordinator for the annual 24 Hour Tennis Marathon held at the Bendigo Tennis Association, raising more than $53,000 for local charities.

His time in the sport is also a telling factor of the positive dimension Storer can bring to the game of his athletes.

“From being involved in the sport for a long period of time, it’s quite easy to draw from the many experiences you have had as a player and as an observer of the game, this supports your base of being a positive influence for the players you deal with.”

Storer has a strong role with building the Victorian country base of tennis talent and will continue to do so for many years to come.

MyCoach

Park Tennis Club for almost 18 years, after which point he was appointed as the resident coach at the Bendigo Tennis Association and formed the Bendigo Tennis Academy.

“I always remember when I came here. It was such an awesome feeling, because I went from being a club coach to an association coach and I always remember saying that it was the next step in my development as a professional coach,” he says.

The Bendigo Tennis Academy is based at the Bendigo Tennis Association complex, comprising 30 hard courts, 13 Plexicushion, as used at Melbourne Park for the Australian Open, and 17 Plexipave. It boasts being the largest hard court tennis complex in the Southern Hemisphere.

“Coaching at one of the best tennis centres in Australia is one of the things I love about my career.” Storer says. “I also love being involved as an association coach and working closely with the manager Leon Retallick and the Board of the Bendigo Tennis Association.

“I enjoy being involved in the development of junior tennis players at an association and club level. These children are friends for life, many catch-up and say hello at later stages in their lives. I also enjoy coaching with my assistant coaches who are so helpful, loyal and passionate about the game of tennis.”

Storer has had a strong influence with his athletes who have had the potential to succeed – allowing them the opportunity to further develop by participating within mainstream Melbourne or Queensland based academies.

“Over the years I have exposed children I coach to High Performance coaches such as Kane Dewhurst and Vince Dattoli at the Vida Tennis Academy in Melbourne and Chris Steel at the Pat Cash International Tennis Academy in Queensland,” he says.

“These coaches set a high level of excellence in what they demand of their players. Once the children have experienced this, they realise I also am seeking the same professional approach to their tennis.”

lub alia C orer en St nis Austr h p e Ten e: St oria Nam cations: h , Vict c ifi demy Qual sional coa nnis Aca for the g e s ennis Profe Bendigo T f Coachin endigo T o B : Club Director cademy, oaches e C A r: Othe o Tennis h, Tennis ber (sinc m c ig e a d o n m c e ry n B ia tena ictor ciatio t Cen and Asso tion of V n e m cia rn ch Asso Gove as a coa is n is ) alian 1984 s: Austr es to tenn 00), Ten ach of o rd 20 Awa for Servic players ( ia – Club C l r ) Meda r to youth ion Victo is (2000 t o nn ment es Associa ices to te v h Coac ar for ser e the Y

Stephen Storer was insp ired by renowned coach Howard Welsh.

Australian Tennis Magazine | May 2011

59

Coaches’ corner

D

eclan Pearce, Tennis Australia Junior Development coach, led a Fun Day at Rainworth State School, Bardon in

March.

The main objectives were to increase awareness about MLC Tennis Hot Shots and other programs offered by The Gap Health and Racquet Club in both schools and at the Centre, and also to raise funds for the Leukaemia Foundation’s ‘Shave for a Cure’.

More than 100 tennis enthusiasts attended the day. Pearce lead the way by shaving his dreadlocks, while an additional 10 coaches and other staff took part either colouring their hair or being waxed.

Other activities held on the day included: n An adult and child Hot Shots tournament n Red, orange and green Hot Shots demonstrations and an exhibition match n A fastest serve competition n Beat the coach competition n Hit the target n Sausage sizzle n Silent auctions for various prizes n Crazy hair done by Bossy Hair, Bardon.

Pearce aimed to raise at least $2000 for the Leukaemia Foundation, but is happy to report, that he has raised $3250 to date ($1400 of which came from the Fun Day).

Donations are still being received.

Declan Pearce lost his dreadlocks but raised more than $3000 for the Leukaemia Foundation.

Like this drill? Want more?

G

MyCoach

ail Aiken will be presenting, ‘Fundamental Perceptual Motor Skills – The building blocks to what?’ at a number of Professional Development Workshops across the country, coinciding with Tennis Australia Local Advisory Group forums, including:

State NSW ACT Qld SA Vic

Forum date Professional Development Workshop Sunday 22 May ‘Fundamental Perceptual Motor Skills – The building blocks to what?’ – Gail Aiken Thursday 2 June ‘Fundamental Perceptual Motor Skills – The building blocks to what?’ – Gail Aiken Wednesday 6 July TBC Friday 15 July ‘Fundamental Perceptual Motor Skills – The building blocks to what?’ – Gail Aiken TBC TBC

For more information on your Local Advisory Group, please visit tennis.com.au/coaches/membership/benefits/communication.

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Australian Tennis Magazine | May 2011

The pathway to fundamental motor skills

By Gail Aiken, founder and CEO of mPowerdome Focus: Locomotion Stage: explore (3–4 years) Equipment: ropes, flat markers Time: 15 mins

Objective To fully develop fundamental locomotor and perceptual motor skills

Description 1 Children are working on both non-locomotor (balancing) skills and locomotor (hopping).

• Children balance on one leg. Then, close their eyes and see if they can still balance. Repeat on the other leg.

• Children try to hop over ropes laid flat on the ground.

Repeat on the other leg.

• Set up a hopscotch course using flat markers, where the course indicates. Children hop through the course, landing with two feet on the markers where the course indicates.

• Allow children to create their own hopscotch course.

rope rope

Description 2

rope

LEAP LEAP

rope

rope rope

LEAP

LEAP

rope

Children are working on lateralisation through crawling as well as the locomotor skill of leaping.

rope rope

LEAP

Description 3

rope

This small game brings together the locomotor movements covered in descriptions 1 and 2, as well as body control and core development, through lying on the ground and then getting up quickly to move again.

sardines sardines

starfish starfish

• Children move around the court using locomotion, as designated by the coach (run, hop, leap).

• Coach can call out any of the formations (pictured left) for starfish starfish children to form on the ground.

sardines eel

starfish

eel

eel

eel Australian Tennis Magazine | May 2011

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sardines

• Set up a series of ropes flat on the ground for children to crawl over. No body part should touch the ropes.

• Children leap over the ropes.

• Arrange the ropes like a crocodile’s jaw, as indicated.

Children leap over the smaller end of the jaw first and gradually work up to leaping over the wider part of the jaw.