Top Tennis Training Drills For Speed And Agility
Top tennis training drills for athletes should be selected and implemented by a tennis coach. As a tennis coach it is important the tennis coach is implementing a variety of top tennis training drills to increase a wide variety of tennis skills. Lateral speed and quickness, along with great balance, mobility, and body awareness, are some of the key components to becoming a successful tennis player. A tennis coach needs to monitor their athletes and observe what skills need to be enhanced. Athletes who need to work on their ability to get to the tennis ball should practice top tennis training drills which challenge the ability of the athlete to quickly move from one place to another. These top tennis training drills will take advantage of speed training equipment like the Kbands Leg Resistance Bands, the Reactive Stretch Cord, or the Victory Ropes.
All of these tennis training aids will add resistance and assistance to the tennis training. This resistance will force the muscles used to perform this motion to work harder than normal, placing more stimuli on the muscles forcing greater increases in speed and strength. Using unresisted sets, along with resisted sets, will help athletes increase the speed at which these muscles can fire thereby improving lateral and linear speed and quickness.
A tennis coach should begin to see significant improvements in tennis skills like lateral quickness and change of direction after 4 weeks of using the resisted top tennis training drills. Go to the Training Section to view a wide variety of speed and quickness drills that can be performed with the Kbands Leg Resistance Bands, Reactive Stretch Cord, or Victory Ropes.
Best Sports Specific Drills For A Tennis Coach
A tennis coach should use the best top tennis training drills that will involve improving on athletic skills, like speed and agility, while incorporating sports specific skills, like tennis shots. The Cardio Tennis Alternating Shot Drill is a great tennis drill for a tennis coach to improve on both lateral speed and quickness, while practicing a variety of shots at match speed.
To set up the Cardio Tennis Alternating Shot Drill athletes will need one Reactive Stretch Cord, one Speed and Agility Cone, a tennis racket, and a tennis coach and partner to assist with the top tennis training drill. The tennis coach will serve the tennis balls to the athlete while the top tennis training partner anchors the Reactive Stretch Cord. Tennis partners anchoring the Cardio Tennis Alternating Shot Drill will stand 12-20 feet behind the athlete performing the tennis drill. Anchoring partners will ensure the safety of the athletes performing the Cardio Tennis Alternating Shot Drill by securing the Safety Strap around their hand and wrist. Athletes performing the Cardio Tennis Alternating Shot Drill will attach the Adjustable Belt around their waist so the 360 D-Ring is placed at the rear of the athlete. Athletes will place the Speed and Agility Cone just behind the midline of the baseline so athletes can move freely down the baseline and across the midline.
Top Tennis Training Execution And Technique
Tennis players will start the Cardio Tennis Alternating Shot Drill directly in front of the Speed and Agility Cone. Athletes will begin the resisted top tennis training drill when a tennis ball is hit to them by the tennis coach. Athletes will begin by moving to the tennis ball, returning the ball over the net with a forehand or backhand shot, and then quickly return to the center Speed and Agility Cone. The tennis coach serving the balls during the Cardio Tennis Alternating Shot Drill should aim the tennis balls so the athlete must alternate between performing a forehand, returning to the Speed and Agility Cone, and then moving in the opposite direction to perform a backhand shot. Tennis players should quickly move back to the Speed and Agility Cone after each tennis shot is taken. This will help athletes simulate, and improve on, their court mobility and speed.
Both the length of the Reactive Stretch Cord and the placement and speed of the serves to the athlete should be modified based on their age and tennis skill level. Younger, less experienced athletes should be served balls that will allow the athlete to get into good body position to hit the shot back over the net. Older, more advanced athletes can perform the top tennis training drill at a higher level of speed to challenge and improve the range of the athlete to hit tennis shots. Things to key on while performing the top tennis training drill at a high level is running form and body positioning. Ensure these two aspects of the game do not begin to break down. If athletes are raising their chest to high, crossing their feet, or not staying on the balls of their feet then their form is deteriorating and the intensity of the Cardio Tennis Alternating Shot Drill should be lowered. If athletes fail to rotate their hips and use good hitting technique when taking a tennis shot, the intensity of the top tennis training drill should also be modified.
Athletes and tennis coaches will perform the Cardio Tennis Alternating Shot Drill for 30-45 seconds before stopping and resting for 30-40 seconds. Athletes will perform 3-5 resisted sets of the Cardio Tennis Alternating Shot Drill before moving on in the tennis training session.
Top Tennis Training Tips
The Cardio Tennis Alternating Shot Drill can be performed toward the beginning of a tennis training session. A tennis coach can perform this top tennis training drill after performing previous tennis training drills which worked on the forehand, and backhand shots individually. Since the Cardio Tennis Alternating Shot combines both the forehand and backhand shots, athletes will already have practiced the motion of both tennis shots. Performing the Cardio Tennis Alternating Shot Drill will further allow athletes to practice both shots, together, while moving at competition speed. This allows athletes to become more comfortable with moving around on the tennis court while using a multitude of tennis shots at game speed.