STEP 1 - DINKING
Place one to four players on the court at the Kitchen.
Dink the ball back and forth over the net in the kitchen to each other.
Once the players are comfortable and warmed up hitting the ball back and forth in the Kitchen then move onto Serve & Catch drill.
STEP 2 - SERVE & CATCH
Put one to four players on the court at each of the court baselines.
Give a ball to two players on the same side.
Players will practice serving to the opposite court.
Let players decide which serve they would like to use, (Volley Serve or Drop Serve) or try them both.
Servers will serve the ball, the Receivers will catch the ball, then Receiver will serve it back to the same Server.
Repeat 5-10 times then have players change to the opposite service court and repeat.
There are two types of serves.
Volley Serve - server makes a slight toss and strikes the ball before it hits the ground.
The paddle arm must be moving in an upward motion when the ball is struck.
Paddle head must be below the waist when it strikes the ball.
Paddle head must be below the wrist when it strikes the ball.
The server’s feet must be behind the baseline when serving the ball.
Serves are always made to the service court diagonally across the net from where they are serving from.
Explain that the ball MUST cross the Kitchen line completely. While all other lines surrounding the service court are considered good, a served ball may NOT land on the Kitchen line.
Drop Serve - allows the server to drop the ball and then hit it after the bounce.
The ball can be dropped from any height but no momentum, up or down can be used. Simply put, the server will hold the ball with their palm facing down, and opens fingers to release the ball.
STEP 3 - RETURN OF SERVE
Players return the serves.
Ball must bounce before you can hit it.
Best returns are hit deep to your opponents baseline.
STEP 4 - SERVE, RETURN & CATCH
Place four players on the court, all at the baselines.
Give a ball to two players. One in on the right service court, and one in the left service court on the opposite end.
Players will serve to the correct service court.
Receiver will let the ball bounce once, then hit it back over the net.
Receivers return to any spot on the opposite court. Try to hit returns deep.
Players on the serving side will catch the ball.
Repeat with the same servers 5 times and then change servers.
Repeat until all four players have served and returned.
STEP 5 - TWO BOUNCE RULE
Next we want to continue the progression of a rally by allowing the players to hit a third shot.
Must let the ball bounce before they hit the third shot.
STEP 6 - SERVE (bounce one), RETURN (bounce two) - THIRD SHOT
On the third shot allow to continue until they fault.
Serve the ball, one bounce, return the ball (deep), two bounce, third shot.
Allow the players to continue hitting shots as if in a rally, as many times as they can before faulting.
As you are coaching, you might verbally call out “One Bounce” before they hit the return, then “Two Bounce” before they hit the third shot.
As they continue their rallies, if they go into the kitchen, stop play. Simply explain that it is not allowed.
STEP 7 - Scoring and essential equipment.
Fine tune existing skills, body positioning, shots and game strategies.
Work on aggressive serves including spins. Focus on returning smashing shots and hitting and returning lobs. Work on game strategies.
Continue training First Lesson Steps 1-7 and improve on body positioning and fine tuning shots.
