While practicing is a great way to improve your skill set, oftentimes it can be a very loathsome time and is not always mentally stimulating. If you’re looking to spice up practice time for yourself and your students, group games are a great option!
With group games, you can still teach the important skills you are looking to teach while also entertaining your students and stimulating the time. While these games may feel childish, they are also highly effective.
Here are some ideas of group games for group tennis lessons.
1. Target Practice
Separate your players into two teams, and place a large triangle of cups behind the back line. Putting two tennis balls in play, these teams must both try to defend their own pyramids of cups while also trying to attack the other team’s.
This will test various skills of your players. From hitting the ball accurately towards their opponents’ pyramids to also reacting to the fact that they are being attacked themselves, you are helping out many skills with this simple game.
The fact that there are two balls present will also test your players’ awareness and ability to stay calm under pressure. This is often a difficult task for younger tennis players, so this game is ideal for them.
2. The Mole
The mole is a fun and frustrating game that all players can enjoy. When practicing doubles, the coach will secretly designate a player as “the mole”. This mole will pretend that they are playing a good doubles match, but will secretly be making mistakes in order to make their teammate work harder.
This may seem like a counter-intuitive practice strategy, but actually has many merits. For one, it will help your students develop their composure in frustrating situations.
“The Mole” will also teach players how to step up their game in the face of the adversity of a rough patch by a teammate, improving their skills further.
3. Ping-Pong
Ping Pong is a game played by two teams of 2 or more players each. In this game, each player hits one shot at a time. After their shot, they go to the back of a “line” off-court, and the next player replaces them.
In this game, players will need to have constant attention on the ball and in the game, as switching is a crucial part of this. They will also have to quickly adjust and move to the ball when they come out of line and into the game.
Ping-Pong is one of those group games that focuses a lot on movement and attention. It is a difficult game, but truly skilled players can actually rally very well in it and usually succeed.
The Benefits of Group Games
Group games are a great change-of-pace activity for long tennis lessons. They can promote skill development while also adding an aspect of fun and competition.
There are many other group games and tennis training strategies that you can use for yourself and your players’ benefits. If you’re interested in learning even more about tennis coaching, be sure to visit our blog.
