Requirements
For players starting to learn tennis this program is our lowest level, and is typically for ages 5-7 years old . The red ball is bigger, and made with less pressure so the pace of the ball is much slower, it does not bounce as high, students in this age group are not required to hit the ball in one bounce. Players will be using 19-23 inch rackets as there is not as much power needed as in other ball types, and typically kids in the Red Ball clinic don’t have the strength to hold bigger rackets. The students play on a 36’ long and 48’ wide court which is the size of the half court determined by the service line, this is to give kids a better chance of having a rally and learn control through doing so.
General objectives
Hitting skill
- Basic forehand backhand.
- Teach students how to correctly grip the racket.
- Start working on volleys.
- Begin working on using basic flat serve.
- Begin working on overheads.
- Learn how to build basic rallies.
Receiving skill
- Acquire basic positioning.
- Further develop fundamental motor skills.
- Learn to tracking the ball, reading the ball.
- Reacting to the ball using basic movement.
The Test to move on to the Orange level
In order to move on from the red ball up to the orange ball, you will have to complete a test which will demonstrate the general objectives you should have completed in the course. For the test, you will get five attempts at having a rally of 10 or more shots using the red ball at half-court. The five attempts will be five different feeds from the instructor which will start the point, if the instructor hits the ball out it does not count against the student’s rally.