The CD Kids on Court 
Basic Training and motor skills for the coordination of Tiny Tots. Over 200 videos, animations, photos with training tips and description of exercises. Produced in one of the biggest junior academies in Europe.
- Motor Skills
- general coordination skills
- tennis-specific coordination
- intro to tennis technique
- understanding the game of tennis
- introduction of the mental aspects
- guidance towards different spins of the ball
Parent-child training - how can parents enhance their children´s happiness?
- to what extent should they get involved?
- what is too much, what is too little?
- tips on parent-child training can be found on the CD Kids on Court
System requirements
- IBM compatible PC with Pentium processor 800 MHz or faster
for best results 1.0 Ghz and higher) - Memory: 64 MB RAM
- Soundcard
- Graphic Card: Resolution 800 by 600 (SVGA) and 64,000 colors
For best results: 1024 by 768 SVGA - CD-Rom-Drive: CD-Rom-Drive with minimum 12 times read speed
The above requirements are standard for any computer built after 2000.
Software
Operating System: Windows 98 or higher
Tiny Tots (3-6 year-olds)
Timing
- Judging the ball
- The ABCs for every tennis player
Judging incoming balls correctly is a crucial part to becoming a successful tennis player. The incoming ball must be evaluated regarding its direction, speed and type of spin.
Exact description (requirement, training focus) with graphics, animations, videos on the CD KIDS on COURT
Hit it !
- The ABCs for every tennis player
A tour players huge forehand is rooted in the laws of physics and these laws allow him to accelerate the ball accordingly. When a 5-year old throws a stick, the same principles hold true.
Exact description (requirement, training focus) with graphics, animations, videos on the CD KIDS on COURT
Catch and throw
- Catch it if you can
“THE” basics of catching and throwing are what all ball sports are based upon.
Exact description (requirement, training focus) with graphics, animations, videos on the CD KIDS on COURT
Aiming
- Hitting the mark!
- The magic of targets
Target zones are there to stimulate directional throwing or hitting. “Hitting something” gets children excited from an early age, regardless if you do it with a snowball or a pebble.
Exact description (requirement, training focus) with graphics, animations, videos on the CD KIDS on COURT
Balance !
- Balancing Act
Tennis is a sport of jumps, rotations and constant directional changes as well as hitting a ball while performing these gyrations. A lack of balance can have a detrimental effect on the precision of a player’s stroke but it is just as important in everyday life.
Exact description (requirement, training focus) with graphics, animations, videos on the CD KIDS on COURT
Conditioning
- Strong puppies
- The ABCs for every tennis player
Conditioning for children is an essential part of their motor skill training. This might sound a little scary at first. However, done properly with exercises that train the entire body, conditioning can prevent posture damage later in life.
Exact description (requirement, training focus) with graphics, animations, videos on the CD KIDS on COURT
Kids Methodology
- Teaching Aids
The hungry eyes of their students are what keeps the coaches going and what makes them want to succeed. These are eyes that are trying to suck knowledge out of you and force you to teach with passion. This passion can be nourished and supplemented by utilizing teaching aids. These tools can make the difference where words and explanations have failed. We keep using the phrase “teaching aids”, because only if you use these tools in the correct manner do they help you in your daily training. In this section we show you numerous products that are beneficial to have in your “bag o’ tricks”. These can be purchased through numerous suppliers and proshops, consult your local professional. - First steps: first play ... and then talk!
- The most important principle for a teaching pro when giving the first lesson to a beginner is: “let him play first and then explain” It does not make any sense trying to teach a forehand to somebody when an instructor is not familiar with the pupil’s basic skills. This is true for beginners and more advanced players as well. No two beginners are alike. Each person differs in his/her motor skill developmental and athletic background.
- Only by letting the student play, can a pro observe and analyze what level he is dealing with and subsequently what kind of training is appropriate for each individual. Based on his assessment, the pro can start to explain and demonstrate depending on the student’s level of play and motor abilities. We will show on the CD how such an introduction for basic forehand and backhand techniques can take place, we call this our “Progression Ladder”…
- It´s about the ball
As a coach you should always pay attention to waht type of ball you use when raining with children. Methodically speaking, your approach should always be from "easy to more difficult".
Exact description (requirement, training focus) with graphics, animations, videos on the CD KIDS on COURT
Bambinis (6-9 year-olds)
Observation
- Triple Vision
- Watch-decide-act!
This describes the cognitive process of many sports, tennis is no exception. At the beginning of this chain we always have OBSERVATION.
Hitting
- Hit it
If you watch the strokes of ten world-class players, you will see ten unique styles. A distinct personal style develops over many years. Children at this age still need a lot of guidance in terms of technique, in other words they will develop their own personal style later.
Exact description (requirement, training focus) with graphics, animations, videos on the CD KIDS on COURT
Balance
- The little man in the ear
We already mentioned how important "balance training" is for the tiny tots. This part of the training is even more important for this older age group as a good sense of balance is at the center of any coordinative training.
Exact description (requirement, training focus) with graphics, animations, videos on the CD KIDS on COURT
Footwork
- Quick feet
Footwork in tennis is as complex and demanding as it can get. In tennis you have to jump, rotate, sprint, take small and large steps and all of these movements will be performed in every direction.
Exact description (requirement, training focus) with graphics, animations, videos on the CD KIDS on COURT
Team games !
- Team Spirit rules
Vacation time is also the time for tennis camps. As we all know, it is not easy keeping more than a handful of children busy on the tennis court. Goal No 1: Action!
Exact description (requirement, training focus) with graphics, animations, videos on the CD KIDS on COURT
Coordination
- Coordination is the magic key
To control one’s body and the ball in difficult situations requires coordination. Once again coordination training holds the magic key to the kingdom.
Exact description (requirement, training focus) with graphics, animations, videos on the CD KIDS on COURT
Catch and throw
- Coordination is the magic key
All kinds of throwing techniques (one-handed, two-handed, rotational, overhead) are in some form or another part of the different strokes in tennis.
Exact description (requirement, training focus) with graphics, animations, videos on the CD KIDS on COURT
Target training
- Hitting the zone
Hitting a target never loses attraction for students regardless of age. But the targets have to "grow" with the students, they need to be made more difficult to hit as the students advance.
Exact description (requirement, training focus) with graphics, animations, videos on the CD KIDS on COURT
The control stroke
- The control stroke is one of the most important tools when teaching children how to play tennis. THE most important objective with beginners should always be to get them to the “playing together” stage. If you get them to this stage, chances are they will enjoy the game and stick with it. Tennis is a very complex sport that is very demanding when it comes to coordinative skills. It can take months or years until children are able to play together. Therefore it is imperative to give them at least some of the more “instant gratification” that they are longing for at a young age and that sometimes pulls them towards other sports.
It is important to explain this challenge to the parents as well. You cannot just send two 7-year-olds onto the court and tell them to start hitting balls. You have to have the right setting: appropriate racquet size, right kind of balls, proper size of court and first and foremost the aforementioned progression introduction to reach this first goal of “playing together”. How does this control stroke work then? Basically, what you try to do is put the ball in front of yourself: the ball is coming towards you, you stop it with your racquet in such a way that it bounces as accurately as possible in front of your body and then you play it back. Depending on the child’s abilities, different degrees of difficulty are available by selecting from a variety of balls. The bigger and softer the ball, the easier the exercise. Remember that every child is unique.
Exact description (requirement, training focus) with graphics, animations, videos on the CD KIDS on COURT