The “flow” step is commonly used as a means of defending wide balls that have caused you to be on the run and over stretched.  The “flow” step allows you to hit the ball on the move and implement a braking method allowing quick and efficient recovery back into the court.  I am going to provide 3 variations of the drill and alongside each provide some coaching tips and analysis.

Flow Step Drill 1:

In this drill there are simply two spots.

1. positioned as a recovery point.

2. positioned where the outside foot is placed in order to execute the flow step.

The drill is a repetitive exercise that puts the execution of the flow step and the recovery under pressure.  There are two ways to do this.  Firstly repeat for a period of time, say 20 seconds or secondly to perform a set number of repetitions, (using the hotspot will provide both methods and give times and scores as feedback).   Obviously the repetitive nature is not tennis specific but the point of this is to isolate a “skill” and train it to be efficient and robust so it can be relied on in game play.   Also during a drill of this nature players will stress their concentration and their technique whilst putting it under time and fatigue pressure.

"Flow" step drill - basic

For the drill the player is asked to move from the centre of the court, perform the flow step and recover back to the recovery spot and repeat.  The timing of this will be affected by a number of variables.  Clearly the ability to execute an efficient flow step will aid in allowing the player to go quickly, apply the brakes and recover.

Flow Step Drill 2:

This drill uses the same configuration as above.  This time however, the system is put into it’s “zero” start mode which means that the first hit of a spot starts the timing.  We are also going to use a count of 1 which means that the player will perform a single flow step (which will start the timer) and then recover as quickly as possible to the recovery spot (which will stop the timer).

This drill is aimed at measuring the effectiveness of the flow step and the recovery speed.  Clearly improved times will reflect flow step braking and recover speed.

Flow Step Drill 3:

Flow steps can be executed in a variety of court positions.  We can position spots in alternative areas as to apply more movement pressure and execution stress to the player.

I have set up the drill as in the picture below.

Flow Step Adaptive Drill

There are numerous options in which order things are done, for example top, middle, bottom repeat or bottom, middle, top, middle, bottom etc.  Once again repetitions can be set or the drill can be done for time.  The key point to this drill is that players must adapt to different movement patterns needed to move and recover to each of the 3 areas. This adds additional pressures to the drill and improves complexity.  If players can perform the necessary skills in this environment there is a good chance they will be executed in game play.

These drills are not only useful for the “flow” step but by moving up the court and replacing with the appropriate footwork pattern you create a tactically, technically, physically, and mentally competent practice.

Finally, the hotspot system  provides for precision and repeatability of the drills and most importantly provides accurate feedback on the players performance that coupled with subjective, observations from the coach can be extremely powerful.  Players will gain a more complete understanding of where they are at and the level at which they perform.  In addition there is no better motivation once players start to own their development.

Hope you enjoy this post and can make use of it!

MAKE IT COUNT!

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Well firstly, the UK is not the rest of the world and let’s face we have to do stuff differently due to the culture of the country.  With that said perhaps mini tennis is the way forward.

Mini Tennis Videos

WARM UP

PAIR DRILLING

POINT PLAY AGAINST THE COACH

MATCHPLAY

In the past people (including me) have been critical of mini tennis as it hasn’t been adopted across the rest of the world (until recently) and that other countries have managed to produce world class tennis players the “good old fashioned way”.

Well firstly, the UK is not the rest of the world and let’s face we have to do stuff differently due to the culture of the country.  With that said perhaps mini tennis is the way forward.

The issues were that actually the message wasn’t delivered down to the coach force effectively enough and potentially a lot of the progressive nature of mini tennis from a coaching perspective was missed and lost.

In all fairness it has taken me a while to come the full circle to really embracing mini tennis particularly “red”.  Just to recap there is a type of ball (the really squishy ones are LTA recommended), size of racket and court.  These adaptations are to suit players from 3 years old to 8 years old and within the development there is beginner to advanced.  One way I look at it is put yourself on a red court and if your 7/8 year old’s can compete hard against you then they are reaching the top of mini red.  (I will be adding some videos of my players over the weekend).

For me the one variable that remains the same within mini tennis is the court.  The ball and racket can change (within reason) and players can fully develop their skill set.  For example, using a variety of “mini red” balls from sponge balls, of which there are a variety of grades to mini red hard balls can develop a host of skills that a mini red player needs. Similarly racket size can also be altered from the starter rackets that a just a bit bigger than a table spoon to a 25 inch weapon.  The key is to have a clear idea of what it is you are trying to achieve.

Teaching opportunities are endless in mini tennis red from simple “over and in” tactics to “bailey method” footwork patterns.  Everything in the game is available within mini tennis the difference is that it is all accessible by the mini red player also. Something to consider…do they have efficient, professional technique?  can they hit a variety of shots from different court positions?  do they understand attack, build/rally and defend and demonstrate this within points play?  Can they serve to different positions, exploiting weaknesses and developing a favourite serve?  If the answer is no to this then the player can still learn in mini red.  If yes then they have developed a great skill set physically, mentally, technically and tactically have great foundations to reach their potential as a tennis player all at the age of 8!.

With the development of 2 players in particular at my club (videos to follow) has really shown me the powers of mini tennis red.  My philosophy is simply to take the professional game in terms of the 4 factors and introduce them to my players at red.  This means, right grips, stances, footwork.  Developing a game style, being tactically aware and understanding there own strengths and weaknesses.  Becoming physically competent through appropriate Strength and conditioning (including plyometrics, specific movement training) and developing a solid work ethic for the future.  All of this can be done with a sponge ball, small racket on a red court.

I have recently come across comments such as “they hit it out a lot on the small red court they will do better at orange”

This is complete rubbish since it may be true in the short term but if the technique isn’t in place the player will just hit it out at orange too.  The bigger courts etc will highlight even more the flaws in a player and although they will have the opportunity to “learn the hard way” i.e deal to cope they will not realise as much successful outcomes as if they were developed fully at red and moved to orange with better foundations.

Once again, I invite comments, thoughts and feedback as they purpose is to enhance our coaching and create better players!  hope you enjoyed this and for more information on my personal approach email me at mike@gameseducation.co.uk.  cheers.