There are also parents who shed the same emotion. The good side of the emotional coin, however, is that you can do something about it. Here are seven tips to help you out.
1. Don’t rely on his or her tennis class. Do your part by arranging practice matches with the other kids. Buy him an ice cream or bring her to a movie after playing well. Weekly match play will not only teach your kid how to keep the score. He or she will quickly internalize the pointers your kid has learned from the tennis class.
2. Bring your kid to the tennis wall. I don’t see any ready tool to learn tennis quickly or put to test the lesson he or she gets from tennis class other than the tennis backboard. Your kid can hit as many balls as he wants to improve his forehand, backhand, serve, overhead and volley. Because the ball bounces back quickly, your kid will develop proper footwork and body coordination. Former world no. 5th, tennis author and TV host, Brad Gilbert, used to hit the ball against a brick wall to improve his skill.
3. Handle your kid’s footwork and stamina training. Unless your kid is in the upper level, tennis lesson pays little attention to footwork and stamina build up. Take care of this responsibility. First, do a half-kilometer run twice a week. Secondly, do on-court tennis drills to simulate actual court coverage in playing a match. Because kid is more of a visual learner, show him an old tape showing how pros move back and forth on the court.
4. Do justice to your kid’s gear. Make sure he or she uses new balls in practice matches. Make sure also that your kid’s worn-out tennis grip, ready- to-break string, and old tennis shoes are changed before they affect your kid’s performance. It will be very tough for your kid to perform well on the court if his or her equipment is unfit to perform.
5. Train your kid mentally. Introduce him or her to chess. According to a study, kids’ memory, rational thinking, and concentration improve dramatically when they play chess. Additionally, they learn to keep their composure intact even under time pressure.
6. Keep tract of your kid’s court record. Instead of just waiting for your kid’s tennis class to finish, develop a habit of jotting down those easy forehand and backhand that sailed out or hit the net. Observe his or her court coverage, such as the way your kid tracks down the ball. At home, discuss your notes with your kid and encourage him or her to correct the errors.
7. Build your kid a tennis library. Include a book that shows a lot of illustrations so they are easy to understand and attractive to your kid to read. Also buy a book that deals mainly with an easy-to-understand court strategy to win. As he or she progresses, buy a mental book.
Try the above tips. Your kid will surely turn the tide next time.
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