My view on the use of low compression tennis balls is that they are a great tool for tennis coaches to use in developing young players.
Mini Tennis must be used in creating the correct habits for tennis on a full size court. However there are certain aspects that fill me with panic with the Quick Start System that is currently being promoted.
As we all know once a habit becomes inherent, a blueprint of behaviour is automatically established and becomes very hard to amend.
We all know how difficult it is to alter an entrenched habit like removing chocolate from your diet. So why are the tennis governing bodies insisting that tennis be taught this way?
Here are 5 bad habits I have witnessed young players developing with this method.
#1. The Most Important Shot In Tennis
The adolescent player has to hit their serve down in order to get it into a quick start tennis court, which in actuality is the contrary of what you have to do in the real game on a full size court. Even Top Pro player like John Isner, a giant of man at 6 foot 10 inches has to hit his serves up to get the ball into court. Tennis is a vertical game and its really important that serves are hit up from the very beginning!
#2. Incorrect Grips
To get early sense of achievement the serve and forehand volley are taught with the forehand grip. This is fundamentally wrong as the young player will not create spin or control on the ball and will struggle when they evolve to the bigger court with heavier balls. The chopper grip must be used on these shots to create the habit of hitting the ball with spin and control from the outset of their development!
These grips are easy to implement with our simple Tennis in Minutes methodology which allow players to master and discover these shots with the right grips in next to no time.
#3. Unnatural Movement for the Forehand
Adolescent players are ordered to stand in 3/4 open stance for the forehand. This restricts natural movement whilst starting in a natural ‘square on’ position, encourages natural movement to help them discover the ball. With tennis starters, the key thing is to develop automatic reception skills.
A partially open stance encourages balance when driving the ball because it allows the dominant hip to ‘torque’ and produce power, but young players can only do this when the ball is in a certain position in relation to the player. So in to wrap up, this is but one posture out of many! Tennis has to be a game of flexibility and natural movement not dictatorial restrictive progressions .
#4. The nets in Mini Tennis are too low!
Junior players can get away with slapping across the ball using poor technique, instead of hitting up like you have to on a full size court. There is no sense of upness in their ball striking, whereas tennis is now very much a vertical game with racquets hitting up the back of the ball with topspin and players moving up as they hit.
#5. The Shot No-One Teaches in Quick Start Tennis
When did you last see a one handed backhand being taught in a quick start tennis lesson? This is not taught because its perceived as a hard shot for young players to master and that the player will not have the power to hit it yet. If a player is developing with lighter and slower quick start tennis balls there is very little danger of injury so there is no justification for not teaching this shot. Not every player is a natural two hander after all ! Its my view that both one-handed and two-handed backhands should be taught and the young player is then able to discover which works best for him or her.
Our Tennis in Minutes method has young players as young as 4 years of age hitting incredible one handed backhands. The simple progressions make the grip change a very effortless habit to master.
In conclusion we are fans of Quick Start Tennis and use the different low compression balls, but we are also very aware of the risks of teaching bad habits at the beginning of the tennis players journey .