Tennis drills for High School

High school tennis coaches sometimes struggle to find new tennis drills to do with their team. Players can get bored of doing the same drills over and over again. Boredom results in less intensity which leads to poor performance. For this reason, high school tennis coaches need to seek out new tennis drills to make practice more interesting and fun.

The following tennis drills are very popular among both high school coaches and players. They allow players to practice both their net game and their ground strokes. These tennis drills can be modified to suit the needs of individual teams. Tennis coaches can come up with their own set of rules to adjust the drills to the skill level of their players. Each tennis drill starts with the set up phase and then the detailed explanation of rules.

The first game is called "College Drill". Players divide into teams of 2. A random team starts on side A at the net (instructor can ask a trivia question to determine first team). The other teams line up behind each other at the baseline on side B. The instructor feeds the ball to the first baseline team, who tries to beat the net team 3 times in a row. If the baseline team loses the point, they go to the end of the line. Once a baseline team wins 3 points in a row, they become the new net team on side A. Teams can only earn points on side A. Teams keep their points even if they lose their position at the net. First team to 15 points is the winner. This is a very popular tennis drill.

The second game is called "One Point Tournament". Players divide into 2 even teams to side A and B. Each team forms a single line behind their baseline. The instructor feeds the ball in, and the first players in each line play out the point against each other. The losing player is out of the game (he can start picking up balls), and the next player in line from his team comes in. The winning player goes to the end of his line, and the next player from his team comes in to play the next point. The team that has players (or player) left is the winner. This tennis drill teaches players to deal with pressure situations.

The final game is called "Rush and Crush". Players divide into teams of 2. A random team starts on side A at the baseline (instructor can ask a trivia question to determine first team). The other teams line up behind each other at the baseline on side B. The instructor feeds a short ball to the first baseline team, who approaches the net. If they win the point, they are fed a volley. If they win this second point too, they are fed an overhead. Once they win all 3 points, they become the new defenders on side A. If the challenging baseline team loses the point, they go to the end of the line. Teams can only earn points on side A. Teams keep their points even if they lose their position at the net. First team to 15 points is the winner. This is a very effective doubles tennis drill.

High school tennis coaches should continually try to discover new tennis drills. They have to keep the interest and the attention of their students at all times. Rotating useful and effective tennis drills is the key to a successful high school team.