Beginner training plan
Your first lessonI’ll show beginning students basic warmup stretches, how to grip their racket, and tennis footwork. I normally devote the first lesson to learning to hit volleys. I use progressive drills with shadow swings, ball drops, and across the net feeds. It’s the fastest and easiest way to learn.
Lesson 2-3I normally spend the second lesson on learning to hit ground strokes with progressive drills. I show them the correct grips, the check points to their body positions, weight transfer, etc.
The third lesson usually is devoted to the serve. I use much the same approach as learning the volley and ground strokes in lessons one and two.
These three lessons will enable students to become fundamentally proficient to enjoy playing points either with me or friends.
Lesson 4-10Additional lessons will be spent rounding out their skills to be more competent using the most common tennis shots; the overhead, drop shots, approaching the net, producing top spins, slice shots, etc.
Students come to me with different goals. Some will want to learn scoring systems, tactics and strategies. Others want to just have fun with their family and friends hitting the ball over the net. It’s important to keep tennis fun for everyone.
Lesson 11+By now students have shown they want to advance. They usually have a competitive nature. Mental toughness in tennis is unique, different from other sports. Learning how to compete under pressure and adversity separates the good from the best. I usually introduce these principles along the way if I recognize these traits in the student. But it’s not for everyone.
