There are many beneficial lessons that can be learned on or off the tennis court. Within every sport there are four requirements or ‘game skills’. They are tactical, technical, mental and physical. As we all know our country is notorious for having bad weather but you do not have to be on a tennis court to learn about tennis. There are many other ways of running sessions so that the player develops the necessary game skills.

Classroom based sessions will entail coach input into the various different tactics which a player can utilise on-court. The players may also be put into groups so as to discuss and discover tactical plots which will be conversed to the rest of the group through a presentation or discussion. Other resources such as, videos, magazines and books can be used to discover tactical awareness.

Other tactical work can be done on a sports field e.g. keeping a ball in a certain area or keeping the ball away from your opponent etc.

This is very much an on-court topic, as the player is working on racquet skills. Although, a lot of the players technical ability is dependant on their body positioning and motor memory patterns. This can be advanced through various different exercises e.g. open stance rugby throw mimics the body pattern of an open stance forehand, which can all be done on a sports field.

Classroom based sessions look more in depth at the theory of the technique, for example ‘How is spin created?’ and ‘What happens when I apply a certain spin to the ball?’ This relevant and up-to-date information will aid the player to understand the implementations of an action so as to further improve their technique when they are on-court.

An athlete must constantly be mentally applied, if they are going to improve. Many of these sessions will look at concentration, preparation, emotional control, motivation, nutrition and relaxation. Tennis is a very mental dominant game where the players are constantly trying to out think each other, so by applying the above skills, the child can progress and endure more success especially at a higher level of play.

Mental sessions also entail tennis knowledge e.g. history of the game and planning e.g. ‘what tournaments am I going to enter’ or ‘what do I pack in my kit bag for a tournament?’

There are four types of fitness required to play tennis. They are aerobic fitness (working on the players’ stamina and endurance), anaerobic fitness (working on the players’ explosive speed), strength and flexibility. There are many ways of improving in all these areas but to make the sessions more enjoyable, a games based approach will be adopted along with team / individual challenges and goal setting.

All you will need to come prepared with is a notepad and pen, and suitable outdoor clothing e.g. waterproofs, football boots, a drink, a towel and dry clothes for after.