Re: Suggestions for a single court facility

Hi Franc,

As a USTA Recreational Coach Trainer I have experienced getting as many as
24 people playing on one court at the same time.

The materials you need might include the new foam trainer ball. You can find
Wilson Spinners at Oncourt Offcourt click:
http://www.oncourtoffcourt.com/pc/advSearch_P.asp?customfield=0&SearchValues=&exact=&iPageSize=10&keyword=balls&iPageCurrent=2&priceFrom=0&priceUntil=999999999&idCategory=0&IdSupplier=10&withStock=&IDBrand=0&order=1&SKU=
You can also use a pressure less ball for more skilled players. You'll find
these on the same page at Oncourt Off court.
Finally the court: play across the court instead of along it. This is known
as the Easy Court.

You can use caution tape to divide the court lengthwise.
Each area (backcourt, midcourt, and service boxes) can be its own court.
That makes 3 courts on one side of the net and 3 more on the other. Players
can play doubles on each court. That makes it 6 courts with 45 players per
court for a total of 24 players.

Star you session using the easy court. You can the progress to playing games
like triples then onto doubles. Afterward you can move onto to singles using
modified scoring like 2of 3 tiebreakers or 4 games short sets. Anything
longer would have too many players waiting on the sidelines.

I have used this format with juniors. One of my programs has a season ending
challenge. We had 120 kids ages (7 to 13) playing easy court doubles using
the pressure less balls on 12 courts at the same time.

I've also used it with adults. I used this exact format for a big fund
raiser we hold annually at my club. They liked is so much another
organization booked their tennis outing asking for the same format. (I also
used music).

You can learn about this by attending a USTA Recreational Coach Workshop in
your area. Visit: http://www.usta.com/news/fullstory.sps?iNewsid=174607 to
learn more about this exciting way to get players playing and get the most
out of your one court operation.


Joe Arias
President
Arias Tennis Corp.
www.ariastennis.com
Executive Director
Suffolk County Junior Tennis League
www.scjtl.org


Received on Fri Nov 10 2006 - 20:11:36 CST