Patience

Today was the first day that the times changed for the academy. 2-6 instead of 3:30-7:30. These have changed is correlation to the schools finishing for summer. Today, I had the younger group ages from 9--11. These players are also beginners, 4 hours of keeping younger children engaged is something which can be challenging. Giving them little but often breaks is important. One thing which I focus on greatly with the beginners is technical side of their strokes. This then helps them when they move up. Working on their forehand and backhand, proving them with a main focus point was something which I tried to do. In addition, I also tried to ensure they are always trying to improve and learning new skills. I introduced them to now playing points with serve, this is a slow process but patience is key! To also try and keep them engaged and competitive I often do competitions between boys and girls, setting targets to keep them focused and always encouraging them when they have done a good shot. The main ting I have learnt through teaching the younger less advance players is patience. If you move too quickly to a new skill its information overload it s better to work on 1/2 aspects of the game and improve that as much as possible before moving on. For example. today was mainly serve. I tried to emphasize how important the serve is when you are playing points.