If you run a program of tennis lessons, you want to engage your students. Every lesson. It’s easier said than done.
Making every tennis lesson effective and fun is tough. You’re already jumping from class to class and trying to be mindful of individual learner’s needs. Our list of 6 fun tennis games will get students engaged and make class time fly by for you too.
If you feel pressed for time and find it tough to come up with creative lesson plans we’ve got you covered. Check out our list of 5 fun tennis games to spice up your tennis lessons.
Let’s take a look.
6 Fun Tennis Games to Spice up Your Tennis Lessons
Here are 5 fun tennis games to try with your classes. No doubt you’ll think of others or ways to adapt these ones slightly for your students.
1. Hungry Crocodile
This is a volley drill for younger students. Line the kids up by the net to show them the volley movement. The kids are lined up by the net and can receive the ball from the coach at any moment.
They have to concentrate, which is a great skill in tennis in itself. If they miss a feed, they lose a limb to the crocodile.
First, they aren’t allowed to use their non-hitting hand. Then they ‘lose a leg’ and have to go down on one knee and so on.
With each shot they make, they ‘regain’ a limb. The last person not to be ‘eaten’ entirely by the crocodile wins!
2. Count Dracula
Have the kids stand in pairs either side of the service line. They count every time they hit the ball back and forth.
In the voice of Count Dracula, to make it more fun.
This simple repetition gets them used to hitting the ball without the frustration of beginners of hitting the net.
3. Running the Lines
This can be a warm-up or a drill to increase cardiovascular fitness. You don’t need any gear. Just the lines of the court, and the legs of your students!
Have them run non-stop from one far line to the other end, repeatedly for 5, 10 or even 15 minutes. These short sprints really improve their speed on the court.
You’ll tailor time and intensity by age-group and fitness level.
4. Target Practice
Form a pyramid of tennis balls in a set area of the court. Feed tennis balls and have the kids try to hit the target, knocking down the tennis balls.
They get great joy out of a bit of destruction, and you’ll be teaching ball skills in the process.
5. Dribblers
Have the kids each take their racquet and a tennis ball. Space them apart along the service line to avoid any accidental injuries.
Then have them dribble with racquet and tennis ball, moving to the net for older players. Younger kids can stay at the service line. You can also call for changes in speed up and back to increase difficulty.
6. Hit and Catch
With older kids, split them into pairs. One student serves using only their hands. Their pair has to hit it with the racquet, and the other is to catch the ball with the hands, like baseball but without a mitt.
This gets the racquet student seeing the importance of targeting where they are hitting the ball. It improves hand-eye coordination of their pair. Go for 20 minutes and then swap over.
Time to Serve up Some Fun
There you have it – 6 fun tennis games to spice up your tennis classes. It’s probably given you some ideas of your own too.
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