Orange | FIT Tenis

Orange level

The orange level is a great way for players to continue their progress from Red level. Players, aged 8 and 9, play with shorter rackets and softer orange balls, which allows them to develop a rounded game while learning a range of techniques and tactics. The court is bigger and wider than the red level but still smaller than a full-size tennis court. This level has two sub-levels called Green 1 and Green 2.

Program in numbers

8-10

That's the recommended age for this stage.

4

4 main parts:

Warm-up, FUNdamental skills, Racket skills and drills, games.

6

A coach should be able to handle up to 6 kids on 1 full size tennis court.

60

The class duration should be 60 minutes.

ORANGE 1

Learning to play

Into this level are placed those children, who are tennis non-players, or those, who did not meet the required goals of Orange level 2. Considering this, the objective for this level is to follow up on fundamental movement skills and convert them into sports skills. The combination of these two types of skills forms the basis of physical literacy and opens the door to new sports and physical activities and helps build a better, more confident athlete and person. The focus is put on the development of the correct tennis-playing technique, while still improving motor and coordination skills. The players also learn the complete rules of the game and basic strategies. They are led to become more independent and comfortable on the court.

Criteria

good behavior - respect for the coach and the other players, appreciation for own material stuff and material provided by the tennis club

tennis equipment - tennis shoes, tennis clothing, racket, beverage

Material

Same as in programs Active start and Red level, we still recommend using as varied equipment as possible. The material should include equipment used for the development of technique and tennis skills but also of coordination, agility, speed, strength, and flexibility. The pressure should not be put too much on competition, rather on fun and games. Since at this level the children might have different tennis skills, it is important to adapt the size of the material to the player’s abilities. We recommend using low pressured orange balls, agility ladder, cones, lines, circles, mini net, targets, and more.

Structure of the lesson

Each lesson consists of 4 main parts:

WARM-UP - active and passive movements with the involvement of all body parts, in order to prevent injury
FUNDAMENTAL MOVEMENT SKILLS
- Locomotor skills - running, jumping, hopping, galloping, rolling, leaping and dodging, horizontal jump, slide.
- Manipulative skills - throwing, catching, kicking, striking and trapping, dribble, overhand throw, and underhand roll
- Stability skills - balance, twisting, turning, and bending
RACKET SKILLS AND DRILLS
- Ball eye coordination exercises, racket and ball exercises
- Volley, forehand, and backhand drills
- Fundamentals of serve
TENNIS AND GAMES
- Focus on consistency, rules, and points
- Variations of games while having FUN

Example of time split of the lesson:

What will kids learn?

Positioning of the body to receive-tracking
Increase range, consistency, control, and accuracy of sports skills
To use a range of skills with increasing control
Improvement of speed and direction changing
Range of techniques when passing a ball
Continental grip and how to use it
Overhead serve crosscourt
2 different grips
Simple tactics and strategies
Complete rules of tennis
Ability to participate in tournaments of their age category
To start understanding these values:

Our recommendation!

QUANTITY OVER QUALITY

Practice on your own outside of the organized training. Great improvement can also be achieved through private lessons, where the player receives individual attention so there is more time for a more detailed explanation of proper technique and correction of possible mistakes. In order to advance the mental strength and gain the needed experience, we suggest participating in under 8 local tournaments. In short, play as much as possible and do not put too much pressure on perfect technique.

ORANGE 2

Learning to compete

The objective of this level is to keep developing fundamental skills and learn to be dynamic, attentive and alert. The focus is also put on proper technique, like a good acquisition of forehand and backhand grip suiting the swing path, turning/rotation of the trunk right after split step, follow through higher than the contact point, compact backswing before hitting the ball, racket head acceleration with the arm and lower arm/ wrist action, hitting the ball in front of the body and following through. The players are introduced to the backhand slice and correctly serve technique. During the training, we also deal with various forms of footwork such as open, semi open or square stances depending on situation/ tactic, good control of balance by using different stances and various forms of recovery according to a situation.

Criteria

showing interest in tennis

sufficient level of fundamental movement and sport skills

good understanding of topspin forehand, backhand, understanding of serve and volley

be able to rally with the coach up to 50 times over the net

understanding of footwork patterns, stances

participate in club and local tournaments

good behavior - respect for the coach and the other players, appreciation for own material stuff and material provided by the tennis club

tennis equipment - tennis shoes, tennis clothing, racket, beverage

Material

The material should include equipment used for the development of technique and tennis skills but also for the development of coordination, agility, speed, strength, and flexibility. We recommend using less equipment for the introduction of proper technique, but a larger variety of material when focusing on placement of the ball.

We suggest using pressured orange balls, agility ladder, cones and lines, circles, targets, and more.

Structure of the lesson

Each lesson should consist of:

We recommend splitting the lesson into 4 different parts so players can work on all important aspects of the game in every lesson. Players at this level should play more than 2 hours a week. During the first two hours, they should follow the 4 parts structure of the lesson. The additional hours, the structure should lean more towards playing the points or working on consistency.

WARM-UP - active and passive movements with the involvement of all body parts, in order to prevent injury
FUNDAMENTAL MOVEMENT SKILLS
- Locomotor skills - running, jumping, hopping, galloping, rolling, leaping and dodging, horizontal jump, slide.
- Manipulative skills - throwing, catching, kicking, striking and trapping, dribble, overhand throw, and underhand roll
- Stability skills - balance, twisting, turning, and bending
RACKET SKILLS AND DRILLS
- Ball eye coordination exercises, racket and ball exercises
- Volley, smash, forehand, and backhand drills including footwork and different types of stance
- Serve and return practice focusing on correct technique and the difference between the 1st and 2nd serve
TENNIS AND GAMES
- Tennis - consistency, points, other competitions
- Variations of games using all kinds of skills, strokes, footwork, and some strategies while having FUN

Example of time split of the lesson:

What will kids learn?

Increase range, consistency, control, and accuracy of sports skills
To use a range of skills with increasing control
Improvement of speed and direction changing
Overhead serve crosscourt
2 different grips
Simple tactics and strategies
Complete rules of tennis
Ability to participate in tournaments of their age category
To use a range of skills with increasing control
Start understanding the values needed to succeed

Our recommendation!

Children, who take tennis seriously and want to be on their best, should take part in matches and tournaments. Great improvement can also be achieved through private lessons, where the player receives individual attention so there is more time for more detailed explanation of proper technique and correction of possible mistakes. The players at this level should play at least 3 hours a week.