Top Ten Different and Creative Ideas for Your Tennis Coaching

Keep a tally of your overall win/loss record

This is a really basic thing to do but you’d be surprised how many people don’t do it. Not only does it give you the ability to see whether you’re improving or not by looking at your overall record, it also encourages young players to try in every game to increase that record.

Encourage great warm-ups through fun games

I’m not going to shock you by saying the majority of kids don’t effectively warm up before playing. They’re not necessarily going to injure themselves by not warming up, (how I wish I was the same) but they need to wake their body up, ready to exert energy. Why not try a game you play before matches? Spike ball is a great, simple game you can play with two or even four players. You could even keep a season-long tally to keep things interesting!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdRKqguEbas

Use a towel

Again, a really simple thing to do. I’m not saying using a towel is going to change the course of your tennis career, but it might help you take longer between points and help stop players rushing. There’s a reason top player use different tactics to break up play; it gives them time to concentrate and it can also break the rhythm of their opponent.

Play with your strings

If you don’t like using a towel or you rush as much as I used to, then playing with your strings can also be a good habit to get in to. I always found that I would need to use a towel or play with my strings on my serve and not necessarily on an opponent’s serve. You don’t want to be that player that abuses the time rules and annoys every opponent but it can help a lot in thinking about your next serve and calming yourself down if you lost the point.

Integrate a Tennis Ball Collector Machine in your training

Okay, this is a little self-promotional, I know! But I’m also serious! I hated picking up tennis balls in the cold when I was younger. Some coaches say it is part of the discipline process of playing tennis, but discipline doesn’t come from collecting tennis balls, it comes from pushing yourself mentally and physically to improve. Picking tennis balls, in my opinion, is just wasted energy.  The K-MAX can provide some welcome mental relief during a practice and actually makes collect tennis balls simple and fun! You can also begin to integrate fitness drills between tennis drills, talks on technical improvements or just have a chat and build rapport in the time you would normally be spending picking tennis balls!

https://www.kollectaball.com/collections/tennis/products/kollectaball-max

Mobility work

One of the most underrated and underused fitness areas in tennis is mobility. By the time I was 15, I had scoliosis (curved spine), a hairline fracture in my back, severe tennis elbow and tendonitis in my shoulder, all of which developed as a result of me building up the front right side of my body through playing tennis. Everything was out of whack! I have since learned a tremendous amount about fitness through gaining my level 3 personal training certificate and understand the importance of mobility work. Check out the following video for a simple way to increase shoulder mobility.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DABiTyi2xQ

Make Training Fun!

Think of different ways to make match play or general training fun. There are tons of videos out there, get exploring! Here’s one from our own tennis expert, Dave’s Drills.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmzaMwHe0cI

Look at coaching in other sports

Thinking outside the box can be hard. One of the easiest ways to get tips or ideas to improve your tennis coaching is to look at what coaches in other sports do. Youtube is your best resource! I would take a look at some running videos, there are a plethora of different mobility drills that are great for tennis!

Traveling to a tournament? Mix things up!

I used to get travel sick when I was a child. I’d often play tennis right after a quick to the bathroom! It wasn’t ideal as you can imagine. But you don’t have to be travel sick to feel a little groggy after a long drive. Instead of getting there on time, get there long before and make a day out of it. Grab breakfast near the tournament, and get out the SpikeBall for a fun warm up!

Travel with friends!

Team up with other coaches, it gives the players other people their age group to talk to and you can have an unbiased eye viewing your player as well as someone to bounce ideas off.

Tennis Ball Collector Machine 

If you're looking for a tennis ball collector machine, the best option is a Kollectaball. Kollectaball began as a result of three tennis nuts entrepreneurs looking to try and help coach's lives easier. 

As a result, we created a blog for tennis tips, tennis drills and ways to improve your game as well as developing a simple, affordable solution to collecting tennis balls. 

If you haven't already, check out our tennis ball collector video!