I will be discussing the sport of tennis, the learning sequences, the skill techniques, learning cues, and teaching styles in that order. First that will be discussed is the learning sequences for the sport of tennis. According to Physical Education Activity Handbook, when you are first getting started with tennis, you need to introduce the scoring and tiebreaker procedures. Next, you need to explain the equipment used in tennis such as tennis balls and the racket.
After that, the teacher should explain the rules and etiquette. It is best to introduce when directly related to skill or strategy being taught.Then, the skills and techniques should be taught. The skills and techniques that need to be taught are grips, strokes, the serve, one-handed backhand, two-handed backhand, forehand, lob, overhead smash, backhand, volley, and the forehand volley. The last thing that should be taught is the playing strategy for singles and doubles games (Schmottlach, McManama, 394). Another source describes the learning sequences as understanding the game, learning the basic rules and get a feel for the basic strokes needed to play (Silverman, 2011).
In the second portion of this the skill techniques are going to be described.The first skill technique is the grip. There are three types of grips used in tennis, the eastern grip, the eastern backhand grip, and the two-handed backhand grip. The eastern grip is the grip that is most recommended for the forehand. To successfully perform the eastern grip, one must hold the racket with your right/left palm vertical and your fingers pointing partially downward at around a 45-degree angle.
The thumb should overlap and lie next to the middle finger, with the index finger spread. Learning cues for this grip are 45-degree angle, fingers downward and thumb overlap. Next is the eastern backhand grip.It is performed by putting the palm on the top of the racket, with the knuckle of the index finger riding the top right ridge.
The thumb can be either behind the racket or underneath. The learning cues for this grip are right ridge and thumb behind or thumb underneath. The two-handed backhand grip is the last grip option. It uses the regular backhand grip with the dominant hand, which at the base of the racket.
The non-dominant hand should be placed above the other hand. This grip is very similar to gripping a baseball or softball bat. The learning cues for this grip are regular backhand; overlap other hand, and baseball bat grip.The next skill that should be taught is the different strokes.
The different types of strokes are the serve, the one-handed backhand, the two-handed backhand, the forehand, the lob, the overhead smash, the backhand volley, the forehand volley, the backhand return of serve, and the forehand return of serve. The first stroke is the serve. The serve overall has to have a good serve motion which has to have two simultaneous movements-the ball toss and the action of the racket. Holding the ball with the fingertips, the palm up, and then releasing the ball upward with all fingers letting go at the same time make the toss.
The serve motion should be very relaxed, with feet shoulder length apart, and the front shoulder is pointing in the direction the ball will be served. The player’s arms go down and start up together. The player also begins to lean slightly forward. The ball is released and shoulder rotation should begin. The height of the ball toss should be about 18 inches out of the out-stretched tossing arm. At impact, the arm should be extended but not all the way at the top of one’s reach.
The learning cues for the serve are ball toss, front shoulder, and arm not extended (The fundamentals of tennis, 2012).The next stroke is the one-handed backhand. For this stroke, the player should be in a good ready position. Next, the player should determine that it is coming to the backhand side and to turn the shoulder and to change the grip. When the player is making impact with the ball, the racket face is vertical and the arm is extended. “The knees have lifted upward so as to help lift the ball up and the hips have rotated toward the net” (Schmottlach, McManama, 397).
The last portion of this stroke is the follow through. The learning cues for this stroke are ready position, racket face vertical, and follows through.The two-handed backhand uses basically the same aspects as the one-handed backhand. The only difference is the grip is obviously two handed and the backswing will look different because it is two-handed. The learning cues for this stroke are ready position, two handed, and follow through.
Stroke number four is the forehand. For the forehand to be correct the player should be in the ready position. During the backswing, the player should turn the shoulders and the left shoulder should be faced towards the ball that is coming towards the player.The next portion of the forehand is that the player step with the left foot and that the racket and knees drop down together. The player must then make impact with the ball with the racket face vertical.
Last, the player must follow through. The learning cues for the forehand are ready position, shoulder position, step, and follow through. Another stroke that must be taught is the lob. It is said that the lob should look very similar to the forehand and backhand strokes.
Making it look like those strokes the player wants to lift the ball high into the air and aiming towards the opponent’s baseline.The learning cues for the lob are ready position, forehand/backhand, lift, and aim. The overhead smash is another stroke that can be used which should look similar to a flat serve (How to play tennis, 2009). The next strokes used are the backhand and forehand volleys. For both the forehand and the backhand volleys the player must be in the ready position.
The backhand volley backswing the player has a continental grip and there really is not much of a backswing at all. The racket is held higher. The racket head should be above the wrist and the arm and the racket form a V. Last is the follow through.For the forehand volley the player must move their body to get their shoulders facing the net.
There should not be much backswing at all. The player should not break the wrist and the racket and the player’s arm should be in a V, like in the backhand volley. The learning cues for the forehand and backhand volley are ready position, racket above wrist, little backswing, V, and follow through. According to “The Command and Self-Check Styles for more Effective Teaching of Tennis at the Elementary School” the two most effective teaching styles for tennis are the command style and self-check styles.
Command teaching style is the teacher describing each set of techniques needed for a certain skill to the students. The self-check style is where the teacher gives the students a checklist for each technique for a skill and the students must self assess ones self (The Command and Self-Check Styles, 2008). It was explained in detail the learning sequences, the skill technique, learning cues, and teaching styles for the game of tennis. Hopefully this gives any new beginning players a better understanding for the game.
