Newsletter - United States Professional Tennis Association

Using Goals Throughout a QuickStart Program
Nick Laskaris, USPTA; Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
Kids under the age of 10 are driven by tasks and challenges every day. Even TV shows
geared toward young kids start by building a detailed voyage with a clear objective.
Coaches should set goals for each QuickStart session, each lesson, and for each drill
within the lesson.
Coaches need to have standards that players meet before they can move up to the
next level. For example, player must be able to rally 20 total balls in a row with the
coach and hit seven of 10 serves in on the 36’ court before moving up to the 60’ court.
This gives students a goal to work toward and keeps them motivated if they want to
move up to the next group. This also serves as an objective way to bump players up to
the next group and should be made clear to parents when they have concerns about
which group their child should be in.
On a smaller level, each individual lesson should have its own goals and should be
expressed to the players at the very beginning to make them feel confident and
comfortable with everything they are about to do. The goals should be simple and
clear. Too many goals can water down the purpose of the lesson. At the end of the
lesson, players should be quizzed and asked to demonstrate what they learned that
day. For example, one of the goals is to hit the ball in their strike zone. At the end,
coaches can ask players what they have to do if the ball is hit higher and deeper to
them. Players have to raise their hands and answer saying the player has to back up.
Train the hand to use
the continental grip!
Eliminate instructor
frustration and increase
lesson effectiveness!
Going even deeper, goals and challenges have to be used to drive players during
each drill within the lesson. Players should be competing against other players to
refine their focus and engage in deep practice. If players on a 36’ court are working on
controlling their forehand, they shouldn’t just be hitting forehands with the goal to hit
the ball over the net and in bounds. They should be rewarded one point. for hitting the
ball over the net and two points. If they hit it crosscourt and their partner can catch
it on one bounce. Time can also be used to motivate players to move quicker around
the court. The coach can give players one minute to collect as many points as possible
before switching with their partner. Players will move with a lot more purpose due to
the sense of urgency.
Creating goals can even make picking up the balls more fun for players by facilitating
a mission for them to complete. Coaches can rely on the creativity of the kids and ask
them whether they are in an ocean, jungle, or outer space. If the player says the ocean,
then the coach can ask another player if the red balls are crabs, jelly fish, or sting rays.
The white lines on the court can be something dangerous like sharks. The mission is to
collect all of the jellyfish in two minutes without stepping on any sharks. The kids will
have that court clean in no time!
$19.95
Per Dozen
In review, goals need to be clearly stated and used in a variety of ways within a
QuickStart program. They give young players a sense of purpose and security and help
young players stay engaged throughout an entire lesson!
More info at
StartRiteTennis.com
8 | Midwest Connection • March/April 2013