Rule changes to build consistency
At Scarborough Tennis Academy, we focus on repetition through the 10 week period in Term 3. To us, Term 3 is the second half of the pre season where new technical changes from term 2 start to find some rhythm and consistency. Term 4 is when the main summer season begins with pennant and tournament play so we believe its important to make sure the technical changes find some consistency and also unforced error count is significantly lowered. We build into a more aggressive game style as we go into term 4 and then in term 1 when we try and see the students peak in their game.
Most points are lost within the first 4 shots so double faults and return errors are our first focus to build consistency and cut unforced errors. The next stage is making sure the students are clearing the net and defending properly when they need to.
RULE CHANGE 1
1 serve only – Serve speed will be reduced to what will begin as a second serve pace before the students start to get a little braver to what may be 3/4 pace. The goal is to increase first serve percentage. Serve technique fundamentals should be re enforced.
RULE CHANGE 2
Miss the return, lose the game – If the return of serve is not in, the returner loses the game, irrespective of the score at the time of the error. The goal is really concentrate on return of serve and make sure you get it back. Return fundamentals should be re enforced.
RULE CHANGE 3
Don’t get the ball back over, lose the game – To really make sure that the students are chasing everything, defending properly and being as consistent as possible, players are penalised for not getting the ball back over or letting the ball bounce twice before reaching it. Maximum effort and movement should be re enforced.
Term 3 Schedule
The rule changes are for use in either FAST 4 or normal set play and you can do it for as little or as long as you want to as part of a squad session. As a guide, it works best with this schedule:
- Week 1 to 3 – CHANGE 1
- Week 4 to 6 – CHANGE 1 and 2
- Week 7 to 8 – CHANGE 2
- Week 9 to 10 – CHANGE 3
Cheers
Rick Willsmore
Club Coach
Scarborough Tennis Academy
