17/02/2021
T D G F
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H L E N
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Chapter 1 (A bit about myself)
Hi all sports fans. I am going to share a few things about tennis with you ranging from Techniques all the way to stretches plus a little about devising a game plan in match scenario.
Few tips will range from techniques like the way you should hold the racket all the way to keeping fit and healthy also on how to protect your muscles after play by stretching them out for at least 15 – 20seconds every day regardless you play any sports. You must stretch out all the muscles to prevent injuries from taking place on that particular muscle group. As you the reader have read so far I am a keen sports player and that is why I decided to become a tennis coach as this is where my knowledge lies and it is a great way to pass my knowledge onto others who wish to proceed in becoming a tennis coach or try something new or wish just to improve their game by getting advice on someone who is in this field. It is a good learning curb to play in different matches both “singles and doubles” because you will come up against different style of play from many different players, for example you might come up against a player who likes to come into the net on ever opportunity this then means that you will have to find a way to exploit this tactic from working, I will give you a way to counter this tactic if they keep coming into the net try and play a “lob” this is a shot that goes over your opponents head leaving the back half of the court open with space.
When it came to tennis I like to enter many different match where possible to improve my game, also this is a good way to try different shot selection where I have been teaching in my lessons because in a coaching lesson you can’t really test the techniques out as it’s very repetitive. The only way the student can really test these new skills out is in a match play only then you will know if it works for example playing a backhand slice enables the ball to stay low forcing your opponent to hit the ball up and at the same time change the rotation of the ball from spinning backwards ( anti-clockwise) to spinning forwards (clockwise.)
By reading the first chapter I hope I have grabbed your attention making you the reader want to read on and find out more about this wonderful sport that I love playing. Believe me the further you read on the more interesting it will get. I have used many of these exercises and drills in my own coaching style and it really helps the player to understand why different techniques are used in tennis and how you can do all these simple dills with whatever equipment you have around the house.
Chapter 2 Movement
All sports have different technique which players should try to follow to make them a better player. Let’s take tennis as an example to improve a players technique, this sport starts from the feet and works its way up to the top half of the body. Let’s say that your heavy foot this means that you as a player are slow to reacting to the balls flight which then means that the ball is 1 of 3 for example you may make contact with the ball far too much in front of you making you as the player miss the ball due to early contact point this will force you in stretching for the ball. This means that you were not in the correct passion to make good contact with the ball, that’s reason No1, reason No2 could be that you have over ran the ball, forcing you the player to hit the ball behind you. That is why you should judge the balls flight before moving towards the ball and which shot you might play, this depends where the ball lands in the court. Third and final reason why movement is so important for all sports is because it all starts from your feet, if you are in a bad position to make contact with the ball it is more likely that you will force yourself to make an error.
Start between cone then go round the cone like the number “8”.
FIGURE OF 8 Start between cones player
Go round cones like number “8”
If the movement is bad it will be much harder to read the balls bounce for example if you are running to a ball too early you as the player will over run the balls bounce which will make your contact point behind the ball. Roughly one arm length from their chest this means that the player should have good balance and read the balls flight in time which should lead to good contact point with the ball; this works for all sports. Remember excellent contact results in having good footwork and reading the flight of the ball also at the same time judging where it will land this should allow you the player time to make the correct shot choice weather in Tennis, Cricket, or Football. When moving to the ball try and not to overrun it. If you do this you will be most likely out of position for next shot. This will be too close to the ball making contact late. This will make your body either doing two things one the ball is too close to your body making you to hit or kick the ball late or on the other hand if too early means that you are stretching for the ball and this could lead to out of position for the next shot in tennis or football. By stretching for the ball you as the player could course yourself serious injury.
Hit and Recover:
This footwork drill works for any sport but mainly this is for tennis as the player is always moving from “side to side, backwards and forwards” that is why this movement is called “Hit and Recover”. By working on this movement you as the player are improving your speed to be able to cover more of the court or football pitch in the least amount of time, also you are increasing your red blood cells to take in more oxygen over a short period of time meaning faster time for body to recover. For this movement to work you will need “CONES” or if you don’t have any cones to mark out where you need to be don’t worry you can use other things around the house, also if you don’t have access to a tennis club you can still do this movement from your house all you need is a bit of space to run from cone to cone sideways only. Stand behind Baseline or a few feet behind the cone/put down a string.
Circuit training Drill:
If you wish to add other equipment to improve stamina you can this is called “Circuit Drill”. This drill includes more equipment like more cones and a ladder. With this drill you can set up the cones or empty tin cans roughly shoulder width apart and jump over the cones/tins sideways, you can make this as big or small as you want, but I would recommend one length of a tennis court. A tennis court is 78ft (23.77m) in length. The courts used for singles matches are 27ft (8.23m) wide, while doubles courts are 36ft (10.97m) wide. At the next corner you might put a ladder there meaning that you will have to do short high knee steps this will increase muscles in the legs and increase speed. The third part of the court you could do heal flicks put your hands against your gluteus maximus palm outwards. The last part of the court you could skip it should look like a “V” this is where the two sides are opposite to each other for example when skipping your arms and legs should be opposite from each other. So when you jump your “left leg and right arm” should go up at the same time. By doing this training you as the player are improving you jumping because in “Tennis” you need to be able to jump high this results in “Serving” because you need to jump and hit the ball at the highest point and also at the same time you need to avoid making contact with the BL (Baseline) this will be a foot fault. Like I said you don’t need the correct equipment to do any of these drills anything you have around the house will work. Do this 2x. Each week you can change the equipment if you want to make it interesting.
Start Half way Heal Flick: to half way
Jump between cones side way
Ladder
Short burst:
This drill will help you to increase leg muscles as you are running over a short distance touching the lines on a tennis court. The way this works is that you start off behind the “outside tramline” run to the “inside tramline” and back, then you run to the “centre line” and back, then back to the start and run to the other “inside tramline” and back to the start and finally you run to the other “outside tramline” this is done over one court. Again if you don’t have access to a tennis club you can use house hold items to set this up in your garden, or anywhere there is plenty of room for you to do this.
Square footwork:
This footwork drill is slightly different to the short burst drill. All you need is 4 cones or anything that is similar to a cone and set it up in a cross: 2 on either side roughly shoulder width apart again and 1 in front and 1 behind, when set up it should look like a square. This task will help improve movement going side-side and backward-forewords as tennis is all about changing direction as quickly as possible trying to get back into passion ready to hit the next shot. You stand in the middle of square and move side-side/backwards and forewords: look at the diagram for help. You start in middle go to the right/left to start of then back to the middle, then go to opposite cone if you started with the left cone. Back to the middle then go forward, back to the middle then go back also facing in same direction never change direction, for example face the net at all time when doing this drill. When going sideways make sure you side step and always land on your outside leg to push off.
IMAGE: 1
player
Image: 2 Stand behind 1st cone go to right to 2nd cone shadow FH (forehand) down line. Back to first cone then move to cone “3” shadow BH (backhand) down line then back to the “1st” cone and start all again do this for 1 minute as a warm up. You’re moving in a “V” direction from 1 to 2 then 2 to 1 then 1 to 3 each time. Do this for at least 1 minute to raise pulse and heart rate.
Chapter 3 (Drills) – Tennis
FH (Forehand)
There are many different drills that you as the player or coach can use:
As a coach when warming up with your player and you notice that they can only hit the ball down the line this then shows me as a coach that the kind of drill I need to perform on this player is FH (forehand cross court) so that they are able to change direction when they want and try to win the point. When playing FH weather down line or cross court you must hit the ball in front of you. This is a FH drill all about direction. After a few minutes of hitting this shot you as the player should find this much easier and more confident in playing FH down line. As a coach nothing is more satisfying to see your client building in confidence which was known to be one of their weakest aspects of their game. To help your player to improve FH cross court, the coach might block one half of the court making the player hit ball cross court this will help them with direction of the ball and to use the whole court to their advantage in a match situation.
IMAGE 1: FH cross court:
Now that player is confident in hitting the ball cross court, you as the coach/other player may want to try and rally with player and try to change the balls direction going from down the line to hitting FH cross court and vice versa hitting cross court and you decide to hit the ball down the line due to space and your opponent is out of play for example they are out of court poisoning leaving their backhand side of the court open. To either finish the point off with a FH down the line for a winner or the player who is in control might play a drop shot, because they have opened the back court also they have opened the front of the court up to play a drop shot if they want to.
IMAGE 2: FH down line
Coach: feeds ball to player FH to hit down the line
Chapter 4 (Drills) – Tennis BH (Backhand)
With BH drill it’s the same principle as FH but there is a slight difference when performing this shot. As a coach i would teach all players to play double handed BH because you as the player will have more control over the ball, where as a single handed BH you have less control on the ball as you only have your dominate hand on the racket either right/left hand. When playing a BH the player must have their dominated hand at the bottom of the racket and non dominated hand on top of the dominated hand, whether you’re left handed or right handed. The dominated hand is on the racket as a form of support it’s the left/right hand that does all the work ranging from changing direction of the ball. For example many people and coaches would say that Rafael Nadal’s BH is better and stronger compared to his FH, he can really let loose on his BH side because he is naturally right handed but plays left handed. You can do the same drill for BH like you did for FH. This time you will teach the player to hit the ball cross court because it’s a higher percentage to play and also you are going over the highest part of the net meaningless unforced errors to be made. Whereas if you go down the line it is much harder due to that you are going over the highest part of the net and also you are leaving more angles for your opponent to play with. It’s the same principle as hitting a FH shot, when playing BH weather down line or cross court you must hit the ball in front of you and not behind. If you make contact with the ball behind you it is more likely that you will miss the ball making you as the player to make late contact and forcing the ball to go up in the air, the reason why this could happen is because you have over ran the ball that is why you should make contact with the ball in front of you when possible. By doing this you will get the ball deep and in the right direction for example hit the ball down the line or even cross court whereas if you hit the ball late it is more likely that the ball will land short in the service box meaning that area has now become an attacking area for your opponent to take control and win the point.
Image 1: Backhand cross court Image 2: Down the line
Coach: feeds ball to player BH to hit down the line
Chapter 5 FHV (Forehand Volley) - Technique
Playing a FHV it’s the same principle as playing a FH (forehand) but instead of letting the ball bounce you hit the ball in the air this will take time away from your opponent to finish the point off. Try and make contact with the ball in front and level with your chest, for example have the racket roughly 90 degrees with your elbow tucked into your chest but not too close just close enough. This shot is normally played at the net about half a meter away. When playing FHV make sure you have your weight transfer going forward as you approach the net from the FH side. If you are already at the net make sure you step into the ball making sure your chore is strong because that is where all the control strength comes from and make sure that your wrist is strong and not weak, (very wristy) this means that you as the player could injure yourself and also you will have less control on the ball. When playing a volley try to make sure that the racket doesn’t go past your Sternum (chest). If you do this it could lead to over hit the ball making it go out of play for example this could happen because you as the player have over ran the ball or on the other hand you are not very confident at the net meaning that you have to hit the ball harder to win the point. Take the racket back no further than your right ear (right handed players) this is the same for those who play left hand, and punch the ball making sure that you don’t go past your nose and keep the racket face slightly opened at 45 degree angle any opened than that the ball will go high giving time for your opponent to attack the ball.
Half a Meter away from net roughly. Or one racket length
All depends where the ball is coming from when your opponent hits it back for example if the ball is lower than your chest but higher than your knees this means you will have to slightly bend your legs to make good contact with the ball, in this situation your racket should be level with your hips still following the same rules with the elbow being close.
Step 1: face the net
Step 2: take racket back whist facing the net
Step 3: bring your left leg across your body
Step 4 : punch the ball making sure you don’t go past your nose.
For those who are left handed it’s the same principle instead of bringing your left leg across you bring your right leg across.
Chapter 6 BHV (Backhand Volley) – Technique
Playing BHV is the same principle when playing FHV, there is a slight difference and that is when you as the player play BHV you must make the same contact with the ball in front of you and when made contact you must slit from the racket like a banana. This means that you have both hands on the racket and as soon as you make contact you take your none dominated hand off the racket this is like you are trying to split a banana. It’s the same for a left handed player. With a BHV your racket is slightly higher compared to the FHV which is more level with your chest whereas BHV the racket is kind of level with your head and your arm is much more at 90 degree angle, the racket face is still roughly at 45 degree angle and when playing the volley try and punch the ball whilst keeping your wrist nice and firm. When playing this shot try to make sure that your body weight is going forward. Take the racket back no further than your left ear (right handed players) this is the same for those who play left hand but instead of “right ear” it’s the “left ear”. All volleys played no matter if you play FHV or BHV must not go past your “head” where possible and make sure that your body is in an opened stance position and you are roughly 45 degrees and not 180 degrees.
Step 1: face the net
Step 2: take racket back whilst facing the net
Step 3: bring your right leg across your body
Step 4: punch the ball making sure you don’t go past your nose
Step 5: when making contact don’t forget to split from the racket like a banana (left hand comes off the racket)
For those who are left handed it’s the same principle instead of bringing your right leg across you bring your left leg across.
All depends where the ball is coming from when your opponent hits it back for example if the ball is lower than your chest but higher than your knees this means you will have to slightly bend your legs to make good contact with the ball, in this situation your racket should be level with your hips still following the same rules with the elbow being close.
Chapter 7 Serving (Technique)
In this chapter we will be talking about the serve and why it is an important aspect of tennis. The reason why this shot is important is because that is how you start of the point. Remember when serving you must stand behind the baseline sideways with your left foot just behind the line followed by your right foot just behind your left. If left handed its right foot behind BL and left foot just behind. Make sure the space between the two is not too wide apart from each other roughly a few “feet” apart.
Grip: This part is very important when serving some people have the wrong grip when they serve making they have less control and direction of the ball. As a player/coach you should have the correct grip which is “continental” (the way to remember this grip is imagine that you are shaking someone’s hand.) If you manage to get your “thumb and index finger” into a “TICK” shape on the racket this means that you have the correct grip.
Ball Toss: The ball toss is very important when serving, because if you get this wrong you will either make contact late forcing you the server to hit the ball down into the net. The second one is that you throw the ball too high making it harder to hit the ball when it’s too high or the ball doesn’t land in the opposite service box because you are trying to make contact with the ball when it’s too high. To get the best ball toss make sure you throw the ball roughly the same height as you are maybe a little higher, this will give you a rough idea where you should throw the ball. When throwing the ball up make sure your ball toss is not completely vertical and above your head, the ball should be slightly in front of you and make contact with the ball at the highest point and snap your wrist. When serving try and be in a “trophy”/tick position” and bend your legs when the ball is in the air, by bending your legs this will allow you to push up and hit the ball at the highest point. Ball
Step 1: Step 2: right arm
Bring left arm down
racket
Different contact point = spin
When serving you can put different spin onto the ball depending where your ball toss is. Straight up ball toss normally means a flat serve making ball skid through court. Ball toss behind means top spin this means you are making the kick up. For this to work you the server will brush behind the ball. To play slice you will need to make contact with the ball on the side. Think of a clock face when serving: 12pm = flat 1pm/3pm = slice and 10pm/11pm = kick serve.
Chapter 8 (Doubles play) – Intercept and Finish
Now you have read chapters 5 and 6 all about playing FHV and BHV its time to put it into play by applying it to a doubles drill. This drill works better with 4 people but it can still be done with 3 players and getting the coach involved. The way this drill works is that we have BL (Baseline) players rallying cross court on the forehand side only and the 2 net players will have to try and intercept the ball to play a FHV (forehand volley) into the space or try to aim the ball to the net player who is on the other side. If either of the net players moves too soon the baseline players has the chance to hit the ball down the line. The net player must NOT stand still and watch their partner rallying they must keep an eye on the net player as they are the one who is trying to intercept the point. As a net player you must move side-side towards the forehand and back to cover the shot down the line, this will enable both net players to play either a forehand volley to the other net player or backhand volley down the line, into the open space. After two minutes make sure that the players rotate clockwise so everyone has ago at intercepting: Baseline player moves to the net, the net player then moves to the other side of the court who will become the baseline player and the other net player then moves to the other side to the baseline. If there are only three players they move clockwise whilst the coach stands still. Image 1: 4 players Image 2: 3 players and the coach
Image 1:
Player 1 and 2 rallying
Cross court keeping ball away from net play.
Player 3 and 4 will try to intercept the ball
Player 2 moves to net, player 4 moves to baseline player 3 moves to baseline and player 1 moves to net.
Image 2:
Players 1,2
And 3 move
Clockwise
Chapter 9 Games for ages 3 – 5
Cross the river:
This is a great warm up game for kids as it makes them think and they get to learn the court layout. The idea of this game is to get from one tramline to the other tramline without getting hit by the ball. If they get hit they lose a life, when they have lost all 3 lives they then become a thrower they either stand on the same side the coach stands on or they stand in front of the net and throw as well this makes it harder for those who are still in meaning that they need to watch both side at all time. The ball must be thrown below waste. You have one basket/hopper of balls, they can only throw one ball at a time and must be underarm throw and not over arm. When at the other end they then run to the other side when the coach shouts “GO”
Image 1: Basket of balls Coach
Runners
The players must stay in front of coach or the person at the net who is throwing.
Line Game: This is also another good game for kids as a warm up. This games makes them understand what each line of a tennis court means and where they should run to when the coach calls a line out the kids should try to run towards that line for example inside tramline they need to run to it, might say “net” means that they need to run towards the net. Get 3 lives once all lives have been lost that child comes out and they are allowed to shout out which lines the other kids should go to the coach will also shout out the line to speed things up.
It’s the same layout of the court size just look at image 1 for guidance. In this warm up it normally requires more players but it can still be done with few players.
Pac-man: This is also another warm up game that can be used to raise the heart rate, with this game there is a slight difference to the other two games and that is to get the kids to make space for themselves whilst running on the lines and trying to avoid the other kid who is “Pac-man” and they have the ball. This game allows all players to run on the line and not cut corners there is one exception and that is there is an invisible line going from the baseline to the service line where they can run. To become “Pac-man” the existing “Pac-man” must throw the ball/tap any child who are running from them. You don’t have to use a ball to play this game; it’s just like “Tag”. Again look at image 1 to understand this game.
Tidy up the bedroom:
This game is more of a cool down game but it can be used for a warm up. The idea of this game is to be in teams and throw as many balls over to the other side of the court within 3 minutes and the team that has the least amount of balls on their side of the court wins. You must try and throw the ball over arm because this action will help you with your service action as you read in the chapter all about serves. You as the player should be in the “TICK” position and throw the ball up in front of you. As you can see from this game we are linking service action in. This game will use one basket of balls evenly spread out for both teams to throw over. If any balls go over to the other team when the time has ran out that team who threw the ball over will get a two ball penalty thrown back onto their side of the court. There is no court limit on this game what I mean is that the ball doesn’t have to land in the singles/doubles court it can be thrown anywhere on that court as long as the team who has less balls wins.
Ghost:
This game is more a hitting, catching and space awareness on the court. The reason why it’s call “ghost” is because the idea of this game is hit the ball in the singles/doubles court without the coach or the person who got caught to catch you out. If you become a ghost it’s your job to catch the ball “one bounce two hands” for you to go back in to become a hitter, the person who hit the ball now becomes the ghost and we keep going until there are no more players to hit the ball or we are running out of time. The coach hits the ball to the player for them to hit the ball whilst trying to avoid the coach from catching the ball. There is no limit on how many ghosts there is, the idea is to be the last person standing to win the game.
Image 1:
Player = stands half way from the baseline and net
Coach = coach stands about a third from the net
= those who are “LEFT” handed
= those who are “RIGHT” handed
Once you have hit the ball make sure you go run to back of line by going clockwise. All depends on the player majority of this age group players are right handed but there could be the odd player who plays left handed which then means the hitter will run anti-clockwise. Look at half moon line on diagram, and it will tell you which way you need to run.
Opposite Ghost:
This game is pretty much the same as “Ghost” but it’s ever so slightly different for example this game is more about hitting, making good contact point with the ball and also at the same time you are getting the player to chose a direction to place the ball and at the same time avoiding the players on the other side of the net from catching the ball.
The player who comes on the side where the coach is standing will get 3 ball to hit over and in, once all 3 ball have been hit that equals one point and they go back to the other side try to catch the ball “one bounce two hand” the idea of the game is to have fun bit of competitive most of all to see how many points the player can get in set amount of time. If you miss your first shot when you come round where the coach is standing you go back to the other side where the other players are waiting to catch the ball at this point the coach hits the ball high for the kids to try and catch.
Rules:
Leave your racket on the same side where the coach is standing next to the net in the service box.
Run clockwise
Pick up your racket and try to hit 3 shots over net into space.
players =
Coach =
3 FH in row = point
Catcher now becomes hitter
Once has hit the ball they should clockwise.
This is a fast pace game where the players need to be alert. Once player has caught the ball they then have 5 seconds to come with their racket to the side where the coach is standing to hit 3 FH, if they are not there within the time limit they go back to the catching side where they came from to try again and at this point the coach will feed the ball in. If the same player keeps getting the ball and no-one else is getting a chance only then the coach might shout out a player’s name meaning only they can catch the ball this means that those who are not catching the ball are now getting involved.
Chapter 10 games (age 11+)
Champions:
Champions can be played either “singles or doubles champion” which is spread over 2 courts depending on numbers. This game is played first to 4 points over the two courts you basically rally with the player who is champion until you the challenger win a point or the champion loses the point. This then means you the challenger has one point and you move to the next court to play the other champion on that court, if the other court is being played on you may carry on playing on the same court where you started so that there is no players waiting. Every time the challenger wins a point they should let the champions know what they are on. There is no set target number where you have to play to. Once one player on a court has reached a total of 4 points the challenger then becomes the new champion on whatever court they were on, which then means whatever score the other players were on now start again from “Zorro”. The points don’t have to be won in a row, for example if the challenger makes a mistake they don’t lose their points they keep whatever their score is and move to the next court for example 2 points they make a mistake they keep their score. It is the challengers who start of the point by feeding underarm and the ball can land anywhere in the “singles court if playing singles” this is the same for “doubles play”. Between each court there will be a line of cones to make sure that the challengers don’t cross if they do they will lose all the points making them start again, they have to run behind the baseline to prevent point loss. You cannot become a champion from the feed.
Court 1 champion = Court 2
Challenger =
Cones =
Around the World:
This game is a great way for the players to cool down and put some of the drills into play. This game works better with even numbers of players but still can work with odd number of players. One side feeds the ball to the other player on the opposite side of the court for them to hit the ball back. When you hit the ball you must run clockwise/anti-clock to receive the ball. If you miss the ball or hit it out you lose a life. The side that has odd number of players must feed the ball in for example one side of the court might have 3 players and the opposite team might have 6 players, the reason why the team that has odd number feeds the ball in is because when they hit the ball they run round to the other side and the player who got the ball hits and runs. This game is all about consistency and which play(s) can last the longest without making a mistake. You can do this over a number of courts it’s not just restricted to one court only it depends on the number of group size. If you run or jog slowly to the opposite side you risk not making it in time and forcing yourself to lose a life. When there is only two players left they will play out the point first to seven points wins. If even number it doesn’t matter which side starts the point off. But let’s say one side feeds the ball in to the other side and that player hits the ball back but the next person on that side misses or hits the ball out of play. (look at diagram to understand)
Players =
Player 1 feeds then moves clockwise whist player 2 returns the ball back to player 3 and moves to the other side.
Player 1 moves to where player 2 is and player 2 moves to
Player 1 side. Keep moving in a circle.
Let’s say player 4 misses player 3 shot.
Player 3 stays where they are and player 4 comes and
join player 5 team
Now player 2 side start off the point as they only have
3 players.
If player 1’s side feed the ball in there will be a player on the other side to return the ball back, that is why the side that has odd number must feed the ball in at all times. If both sides have even number of players it doesn’t matter who feeds the ball in. When there are only two players left they play out the point and the one that makes the first mistake loses or if they have two lives they lose a life. The player to lose all their lives loses, and the other player wins.
Bluff (Service Box)
Bluff is a game that is designed for close compact play which is normally played in the service boxes but you can play this from the baseline if you wish to have a challenge both will help the players to improve their touch game like drop shot with an opened face roughly 45 degree angle. You can play other shots it’s not just volley play you can play a forehand/backhand if you wish to but there is one rule you are not allowed to hit the ball hard as this is all about control and touch only playing in the service box only. It’s the same rule for a smash you are not allowed to smash the ball hard into the ground but if you wish to play a smash you tap the ball down into the service box.
Rules: 1. To start of the game one player holds the ball on top of the net and hits the top of the net and the ball will drop either on your opponent’s side or on your side to start the point off. To serve you hit the top of net with racket frame.
2. There is no hitting hard
3. Tramlines are in if there are 4 players 2 players tramlines are out.
4. players usually play this game with 3 lives but you can decide in group how many lives you wish to have.
5. always clockwise/anticlockwise serve.
6. one serve each then the next player serves
7. you are not allowed to play the ball to your partner it has to go over depends who the ball is served to.
8. the server may serve the ball to themselves in their box or into their partners box for them to hit the ball over their opponents head making person run backwards depends which box the ball looks like it will land in.
If the server serves the ball and lands on the line the player in the left service box can say “mine” but leaves the ball this means the other player on his/her side will lose a life, the idea of this game to get your partner out and be the last player standing. If the ball clearly lands in your service box it means that you have to play the shot back either down line or cross court. You could serve the ball either cross court or down the line but it has to land in the service box and instead of cross court service box you might play it down the line service box and your partner could say “got it” but then leaves the ball and there is enough space for the player who’s box it went to can hit the ball back to either boxes on their opponents side.
Chapter 11 (Stretches)
After any sort of activity whether it is physical or even just a jog it is very important to stretch the body from head to toe to prevent any muscles from cramping up and further injury from taking place.
Neck exercise:
There are many different ways for you to stretch your neck:
1. Role your neck clockwise make at least 5 – 10 full complete circles, then role your neck anticlockwise and do the same motion as you did when going clockwise.
2. Push your neck down towards your chest this movement will stretch the top half of your neck making range of movement much smoother.
3. Turn your neck to the left whilst keeping your body facing in the same direction, this stretches the side of the neck hold this for at least 5 – 10 seconds and then repeat the same action to the opposite side.
Moving down from the neck to the body.
Arm/shoulder stretches:
1. Face your body in one direction bring either left/right arm across your chest and put the opposite arm behind the arm that you are stretching pull it across your chest and you should feel a stretch/muscle being pulled. Make sure the arm you are stretching is straight out in front of you to get the full effect of the stretch. Hold this stretch for at 10 seconds then relax that arm for 3 seconds and move onto the next arm. By doing this you are releasing any form of lactic acid from building up and also you will make the muscles bigger after each stretch.
2. The next stretch will be your bicep. Put your arm in a right angle position between your shoulder blade and put the other hand just below elbow of the arm you are stretching and pull towards you, when doing this you should feel a stretch/pull taking place. Hold this for at least 10 seconds before moving onto the other arm.
Next stretch is rotating the hips.
To prevent your hips from getting too stiff or tight after exercise it is best to rotate your hips clockwise with feet shoulder width apart by making big circles whilst having your hands behind your back mainly having palms in and located near the coxis bone (tail bone). After you have rotated your hip we slowly move down to the bigger muscles in the legs they are Quadriceps, Hamstrings and Calf Muscles.
Quadriceps: The way you should stretch your “Quads” is mainly done after you have fan for a long time continually without stopping, by stretching you will release and prevent lactic acid from building up in the muscles. The way to perform this stretch is to stand on one leg and bring the other leg up by keeping your back straight and keeping both “Patella’s” (Knees) together whilst trying to get your heel to touch your “Glutinous Maximums” (Bum) whilst keeping your hand on top of your foot, whilst doing this you as the player/coach/participant should feel a stretch taking place in your “Quadriceps”. Hold this stretch for at least 10 – 15 seconds before moving on to the other leg and do the same before moving on to the next muscle which is the “Calf-muscle” located behind the “Tibia bone”.
Calf-muscles: Next stretch for the legs are “Calf-muscles. To perform this stretch you lean back in a “V” stance having your back leg bent in a 90 degree angle and lean back whilst keeping the leg you are stretching straight and you should feel a stretch.
Figure 1:
Front leg straight. Back leg bent and slightly to the side of body.
90 degree angle look at figure 1 to see.
Hamstrings:
This muscle is one of the longest muscles in the human body and it runs all the way from “Glutinous Maximums” all the way down to the bottom of your “Calf-muscle”. Get your legs in a “V” shape lean on back leg keep front leg straight and point toe upwards and you should feel a stretch.
Figure 2: back leg 90 degree toe pointing up
Front leg straight 180 degree
After 5 – 10 seconds switch to the other leg and do the same.
Ankle stretches:
This stretch is all about making your ankles stronger where possible. To perform this exercise you stand on the balls of your toes with heel about 2 – 3 cm of the ground and start to rote your ankle either “clockwise” first or “anti-clockwise” whatever you do first make sure you rotate in full circle motion for at least 3 to 4 minutes then rotate the ankle the other way and perform the same method. Once you have done this for one ankle make sure you then switch to the other ankle and do the same. This will reduce any swelling and pain from building up in the joints.
Groin Stretch: Squatting stretch.
There are many different ways to stretch your “Groin muscle”. This stretches out the muscles inside of the groin and hips it will also help to make your hip more flexible and much stronger. With this exercise I will provide the reader with at least 5 different ways for you to stretch your groin and also tips on how to prevent injury from taking place.
Figure 1: Both hands on top of thigh and slowly squat down
whilst keeping back straight and tows pointing forward.
Stand and have your legs in “H” position whilst keeping your chest and shoulders away from your ears throughout the stretch and whilst doing this you should feel the muscles stretching. The stretch is called “Squatting Groin Stretch”
Stretch number 2 is sit on the floor and get your feet to touch each other “soul to soul” in a “V” shape whilst having your hand on your ankles and use your elbows to slowly push your legs down towards the floor if you are unable to do this you can also get someone to push down slowly on your legs whilst you are holding your ankles. This is also known to be called the “Butterfly” because your legs look like butterflies wings.
figure 2: Butterfly Stretch:
Sit on your “Gluteus” bring legs in towards chest heels touching
each other and push down with elbow whilst hold
ankles.
Another good stretch for this muscle is sit on the floor both legs out in a “V” shape and slowly lean forwards whilst keeping your back straight and try not to bend your legs, you should feel your groin stretching as you slowly move forward. Hold for at least 10 – 15 seconds and slowly bring your back up, rest for 20seconds and perform the same action again but this time hold the stretch for 20second – 25seconds and slowly each time try to increase the time of holding the stretch.
Figure 3: “V” Shape Stretch:
Sit on floor and have your legs out in a “V” shape.
Back “VERTICAL” and straight. Now slowly lean forward.
Legs in a “V” shape
Soccer Flex stretch:
This is also a groin stretch which stretches the inside muscles of the groin area. Whilst performing this stretch you are also stretching your quadriceps without thinking that you are stretching another muscle in the leg and that is quads. To perform this stretch you have your legs wide apart in a “V” stance and the side you wish to stretch make sure that leg is straight and you lean on the other, for example if you are stretching groin and the left leg is straight this should mean that the right leg is roughly 90 degree and leaning on that leg. Hold for about 15 – 20seconds then switch sides.
Figure 1:
Right hand on right leg and lean towards the right side.
This is the same principle for doing it on the left side
Must keep right leg 90 degree angle
Figure 2:
Left hand on left leg and lean towards the left side
Must keep left leg 90 degree angle
If you find the soccer stretch difficult to do and unable to keep balance you can do the same stretch by putting your leg on top of a wall or chair and lean forward to stretch the groin. It does the same thing as figure 1 and 2 shown, only difference is that you have the extra stability.
Figure 3: keep body vertical and lean towards the wall
Wall Opposite on wall
Standing leg on ground
Put either right/left leg on wall and slowly push that leg down.
If right leg on wall put right hand on top of ankle and the left hand just above the “Shin” and just below the “Knee”.
Last stretch for this particular muscle and that is to lie flat on your back on the floor and point your leg to the sky and put both hand behind that leg and pull towards you to feel the stretch. Hold for 15 – 20sec then change
Figure 4: Leg vertical pull towards your chest.
Gluteus Maximus: (buttocks)
Your “Gluteus Maximus” is one of the largest muscles in the human body followed by the “femur” at the top of the leg. There are many different ways for a sports person or a non sport player which they can do to prevent their “Gluteus” from getting too tight and could lead serious pain for example it could course you to have a back problem because this muscle runs all the way from the middle (“Latissimus Dorsi”) of the back all the way to the calf muscles. There are many different ways for you to stretch out your “Gluteus”. One sit on a chair or on the floor and make a “right angle” shape by putting either right/left leg on the opposite leg and push down slowly by using your hands to provide force.
Figure 1: None leg should look like this. Then put opposite leg across the “knee”
90 degree angle
Opposite on top of “knee”
right leg on top of left leg in “4” shape or 90 degree angle
Push down hold for 10 – 15 seconds then switch to other leg and
Do the same.
If you wish to do the same for the opposite leg just look at figure 1 and reverse it so that left leg is now on right leg in “4” shape or 90 degree and push down slowly.
Without this muscle we humans wouldn’t be able to stand, sit or even be able to hold our body up. There are other exercises you can do to strengthen your “Gluteus” they are “deadlifts” you have one long metal bar roughly 10Kg across your shoulder and you slowly bend your legs whilst keeping your back straight in a vertical position. Do 4 sets of 12 reps with 30 seconds rest in-between each rep to allow muscle to rest and contract. Other form of stretch exercise for this muscle is to sit on floor one leg straight and the other folded over the leg that is straight make sure the leg that is over the other leg is in “4” position making sure that the heel is flat on the floor and pull that leg towards you as far as you can until you can no longer pull any more, again hold this for at least 20 – 30 seconds then swap leg and do the same for the other leg. If you have left leg in “4” you are stretching the left side of the “gluteus” and when you stretch the right side you will stretch the right “gluteus”.
Lunges: Another “gluteus” exercise is to perform “Lunges” when you do lunges make sure legs are shoulder width apart making sure you have both feet pointing forward. Hands on hip and slowly lean forward whilst keeping your back leg straight and the front leg bent at 90 degree angle and at the same time keep your head in line with your knee.
Chapter 12 (Conclusion)
Let’s bring everything together now in a summery on what you the readers have learnt about “TDGF”. Remember after any form of exercise you must try to remember to stretch out that particular muscle group to prevent any form of muscle stiffness and lactic acid from building up within the muscles. Believe me when lactic acid builds up in the muscles it can be very painful also it will lead to “cramping” of the muscles.
Like any form of technique that is shown to you in a book form or physically shown to you it is worth you going out and practice it to see if you really understand the technique and this way you are able to put it into a match play only then you will really understand how effective each drill really is. Also you will see how these techniques are broken down and shown, this way you will be able to see the full effects if they work in a match scenario.
By reading and performing these drills you as a player or coach will have a much better understanding of why it is important to stretch after every exercise and use these drills and games in your own coaching and you will find new ways to develop your own skills and different ways for others who don’t play sport to be active, also they will understand what you are trying to achieve as a player/coach. With each different technical side to it for example “Champions” there is a purpose of this game it is to show the players how to stay focus for a period of time waiting for the right opportunity to attack the ball into open space. It is a great way to put everything into practice and match play to see if you really understand the tactic of why you need to stay focus also it’s a fun cool down game. Making it competitive for the players to win. This will help them when it comes to playing tournaments.
These drills are not related just to one sport or exercise they work for all different sports, most of these exercises can be used for other sports because it involves the same action, for example football you would use all the stretches that I have giving to you in this book starting from neck and working your way down to the ankles. Remember if you the reader are able to follow these simple rules for keeping fit and healthy you are half way there in my opinion and all you would have to do is keep on top of these and you will have no problems keeping healthy also you will feel much more better within yourself and over the months you will find yourself having much more energy and lasting longer with that involve cardio activities: Running, Jogging, Football, Tennis and other sports. Hope this has been useful for all sport enthusiastic and to all those who don’t play sports but just want new ideas to keep fit and most of all help to prevent injuries, from getting worse over time.
