Re: Clinic

Hello,

Assuming all your kids are beginners, I think the best way is to use tossing
and hitting drills. You divide the kids into 2 groups, one tossing and one
hitting. Then rotate roles. This frees you to move about and help the
hitters. Depending upon the skill level, you can do the forehand in an hour
or less, then the backhand in another 45 min or so, and then the volley in a
half hour. This leaves you an hour to do a couple quick hitting drills and
then maybe some mini doubles.

Our community tennis association does several clinics a year, often with
quite large groups. We try to keep it simple for our kids: unit turn/show
the logo, short backswing, swing low-to-high, and a long follow-through. We
also use Speedballs or Ralleyballs to make things easier, even for the older
kids. The most important thing is to make it fun for the kids.

You might check out www.vjtta.com, our new website for junior players and
their volunteer coaches, for other ideas on organizing and teaching large
groups of kids.

Good luck.


Regards,

Randy Cummings
Vestal Junior Team Tennis Association
www.vjtta.com


Received on Tue Nov 21 2006 - 00:30:14 CST