A short cut to the rally.

A simple drill program that will enable your beginners to hit the ball consistently over the net

People who become interested in tennis would love to step onto a court and begin rallying from the baseline with a partner.

Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way. Unless the beginners have some kind of idea about what they are doing, they are going to spend most of their time chasing errant shots all over the gym or court. Instead of enjoying a pleasant experience, they will become discouraged and think of quitting.

This doesn't have to happen, especially in a controlled environment. As a beginning tennis instructor at the junior college level, I have discovered that both teens and adults can be taught the kind of ball and racket control that will enable them to rally in a relatively short period of time.

All it takes is a few simple drills and cues on the basics: foot position, racket movement, and ball contact. In a very short while, the inexperienced beginners will be having fun hitting the ball consistently over the net to one another.

We believe most beginners have problems sustaining rallies because of one major flaw - poor preparation for the shot. Because they do not know what to focus on and do not have the ability to judge the speed of the ball and its direction on the approach, they invariably swing at the wrong time - too early, too late, rushed, and off-balance. All the missed and errant shots explain why beginners are always looking to put another ball into play.

We initiate the teaching process with a lesson on the ready position, the proper forehand grip, and the pivot and cross-over step. Once these essentials are ingrained, we are ready to move into the drill program designed to develop a consistent forehand stroke.

I BALL TOSS AND HIT, USING AN IMAGINARY CLOCK.

The Tosser (A) and Hitter (B) set up on the service box line close to the singles boundary line.

The Hitter sets up in the ready position, with head up, knees bent, and weight over the balls of the feet. He envisions himself in the middle of the imaginary clock, with 12 o'clock straight ahead facing the net and 6 o'clock directly behind him.

The Tosser can develop a consistent toss by tossing the ball straight along the singles' sideline.

First Cue by Coach to Hitter B: "Begin your pivot and cross-over step (from the ready position) on the release of the ball."

Second Cue to Hitter: "Move racket to the short-swing position, no farther than 4 o'clock waist-high on the imaginary clock."

The Hitter, after making his cross-over step, is in a side-to-net ready-to-hit position (perpendicular to net), focusing on the bounce of the ball as it comes off the ground.

Third Cue to Hitter: "Make contact with ball at 2 o'clock by accelerating the racket and aiming the ball and the racket-head at the retriever (C)."

POINTS TO EMPHASIZE IN SHORT GROUNDSTROKES:

1. Keep racket slightly open in the backswing.

2. Contact ball with a locked wrist and a quick sweeping motion.

3. Follow through (toward the retriever) with the racket-head, closing the racket face to create some topspin.

4. Finish the swing with the racket-head facing up.

5. Move back immediately to the ready position for the next toss.

II BEGINNING RALLY, THE NEXT STEP IN THE TEACHING PROCESS.

Players A and B now set up in the middle of the service boxes, as shown in Diag. 2.

1. Player A puts the ball into play by bouncing it, bringing the racket back to a 4 o'clock position, and hitting the ball so that it lands halfway between the net and Hitter B's forehand side.

2. Player B, following the previous cues, take a pivot step as the ball bounces, but does not swing at the ball. He/she stops the racket waist-high at 2 o'clock, allowing the ball to meet the still racket.

3. Player B reverses assignments with Player A. He bounces the ball and hits it to Player A who pivots and brings the racket to the "block" position waist-high at 2 o'clock.

Once the players can perform this one-shot rally drill consistently about 6 to 10 times without mistakes, they will move the next level - the two-shot rally:

1. Player A hits ball to Player B's forehand.

2. Player B makes return shot to Player A's forehand.

3. Player A follows all the cues to make a forehand return, but stops his/her racket at the block position waist-high at 2 o'clock.

The two-shot rally must be performed consistently without mistakes about 5 to 10 times before moving on to the three-shot rally. The students can keep following this procedure up to a six-shot rally.

III LENGTHENING THE GROUND STROKE.

Once the students begin gaining ball-control, the instructor can have them rally for two minutes, to see if they can rally 10 times using only the forehand on the short court.

The students can then be told to take three big steps back into the back court and then follow the same cues, starting with the one-shot rally, but this time reaching back to a 6 o'clock position.

After learning to rally from three-fourths the length of the court, the players may be allowed to move back to the baseline.

It will usually take just a few sessions for the students to learn how to perform the one-shot rally from behind the baseline, using the singles sideline to help guide the flight of the ball.

The players will then be ready to reach back for a full backswing and to experience the fun of hitting the ball back and forth with a measure of control. This is the kind of experience that will keep the players interested and motivated.

The next step will be to teach the backhand groundstroke in the same fashion with just a few variations in the teaching.