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HKITA Progressive Development System

Stage 1: FOUNDATION / FUNDAMENTAL

Age of Players: 6 - 12
Years in Phase: 2 - 4
Learning Theme: Fun and Fundamentals

What We Teach:

Physical Skills

Building on the basic coordination skills learnt during Mini Tennis, young players begin to develop their strength, stamina, speed and stability from the age of 9 or 10. Players should focus on these areas at varying intensities depending on their stage of maturity. During a growth spurt, teenagers seem clumsy and appear a little uncoordinated. At this stage, Academy coaches will concentrate on improving stamina and then, when the player is becoming more mature, training speed and strength become possible and important.

Physical Work

We will mix complex co-ordination drills with speed, endurance and strength work as the player matures. Core stability is very important to focus on at this age since strong and flexible muscles around the stomach and spine help with a player's career. Tennis development is helped by playing other sports such as hockey, basketball, netball and soccer.

Technical

All the basic strokes should be consistent and will naturally be hit with increased racket head speed. Footwork is fundamental, helping balance and position for the stroke. The player can return the ball with a variety of speed, spin and with consistency and accuracy.

Tactical

Good tactical awareness will help a player win. Hitting the ball to depth and using angles is fundamental, but the player is becoming aware of their own strengths and the opponents weaknesses. They also have the ability to use a variety of different tactics to win points.

Mental Skills

Enjoyment of sport, Sportsmanship and Respect. This is often overlooked in training, but is a very important part of being a successful sportsman. Like training your body, training your mind should be part of a training program at a young age. Learning to concentrate and focus, and understanding the cause and effect of certain drills or types of training is important. Life as a professional tennis player often involves a very close working relationship with a coach or other players so players need to learn how to interact with others.

Knowing how to win, and coping with losing is a very important process. When top players do their post match interviews, they will often say they have learnt a lot from a loss and will build on the experience.

Recommended Training Hours - 8 to 10 hours / week.

Competition

At this age players should be playing in competitions ranging from club to national tournaments with matches being full sets. To ensure enough time is allowed for training blocks, it is advised to play a maximum of 40 individual matches over the year.

Type of Instruction & Coaching - Development Coach, Group Instruction.

Type of Competition - Junior Series, Novice Competition.


Other Stages:
Oversea Tennis Tours
Yale Showcase 2009
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