Objective

·       Two teams, one court. The coach feeds the ball in, aiming to score by keeping it in play.

·       The only rule is that the ball cannot roll on your side of the court.

Basic Rules

1.       Ball Handling:

o   Players cannot pick up the ball, but can pass it between teammates.

o   Players are allowed to take as many touches as needed (forehands, backhands, and serves) as long as the ball stays in play and does not roll on your side.

⚠ Safety! It is up to the coaches to make sure the teams are adequately spaced, and to intervene if there is danger of swinging too close to one another

🪶 Feathers (for younger / less confident children):

o   The coach should make sure to include all players, particularly by feeding the ball to weaker players first to help them build confidence and skill.

o   The coach should put assistant coaches/ parents on the stronger players on each team to control the ball and tee up the younger players so they can be part of it.

o   Make certain players “Setters”, stronger players can act as setters only, like in volleyball, so they can gather the ball and tee it up for other players in their team, but can’t hit over themselves. This is designed to stop one or two players dominating the play.

Variations to Challenge the Game

1.       Serve Start:

o   Begin each round with a serve to give players a challenge right from the start.

2.       Number of Bounces:

o   Change the rule to allow only a specific number of bounces (e.g., two or three bounces before the ball must be returned).

3.       Backhand Only:

o   Challenge players to hit only backhands during certain rounds.

4.       Targeting Weaknesses:

o   Rotate the ball feeds so that each player gets a chance to practice their weaker strokes.

5.       Timed Rounds:

o   Set a timer for each round, encouraging quick decision-making and rapid ball movement.

6.       Court Size:

o   Use half the court to make the game more challenging, or introduce zones where players can only pass to certain teammates.

7.       Add more balls: especially with larger groups, add more balls to keep the contact time for each participant higher.

Hitting Stations 🎯

Purpose: Maximise hitting repetition and technique development through multiple live-feed stations while minimising queues and keeping children engaged.

🧠 Coaching Focus:

• Promote low-to-high swing path for topspin

• Contact at waist height out in front

• Footwork to adjust position and balance

• Eyes on the ball and recovery after each shot

🏗️ Set-Up Instructions:

1. Divide the space into multiple stations, all designed for hitting — ideally arranged to hit towards the middle of the space or safely away from each other.

2. Each station should have:

   • A feeder/ feeders (assistant coach, parent, or older child)

   • Nets or barriers for target and containment

   • Soft balls for most stations (mini red or foam)

3. Suggested Stations:

   • 🎾 Forehand feed – with assistant or parent feeding

   • 🔁 Backhand feed

   • 🦞 Lenny the Lobster (ball machine)

   • 🎯 Target hitting (e.g., aim at cones or hoops)

   • 🌀 Spin machine or self-fed tees

   • ✋ Throw & hit (throw then strike)

   • ☄️ Serve station  with soft balls

4. Position spin machines and hitting tees around the edge for children waiting or rotating.

🔁 Rotation Flow:

• Children hit 5 shots per turn (e.g. 5 forehands)

• Then rotate clockwise or as directed by the coach

• On the second circuit, switch shot type (e.g. 5 backhands)

✅ Try to give each child two turns per station
✅ Keep queues short — 2 children max per station

🛟 Safety First:

• Always hit away from others (position feeders and targets carefully)

• Use soft foam balls or mini red balls for most stations

• Use smaller hard balls for Lenny the Lobster only

  • Do not use mini red balls in Lenny – it causes belt wear

• Ensure children know to only retrieve balls when play is paused, and not walk in front of Lenny, or put their hands in Lenny. Please note that if using the remote on Lenny and pausing it, the wheels keep spinning, which is dangerous. Please turn it off at the power when not using it for any length of time.

🧩 Staffing Tips:

• Assign at least one coach to walk between stations, offering technical feedback

• Let parents feed underarm or from bounce — ideal for lower-pressure learning

• Encourage all helpers to praise effort and reinforce coaching points

🌟 Optional Add-Ons:

• ⏱️ Timed stations with whistle rotations (1–2 mins each)

• 🏆 Add fun challenges like “hit the cone” or “how many in the hoop?”

• 📸 Take videos of a few great shots for fun feedback at the end

Dead or Alive – Spooky Tennis Challenge 👻🎃 🎾
⏱ 8–10 mins | 👦👧 Ages 7+ (Titans/Troopers) | Great for Halloween Theme

🧠 Objective:
To hit consistently under pressure and stay “alive” while dodging elimination. Fun, silly, and skill-based — perfect for small groups (3–6 per round).

🎭 Story Setup:

“Welcome to the Haunted Tennis Trials! The land is full of tennis ghosts and creepy curses! Only those who hit well will survive! Miss too many shots… and you’ll start to fall apart piece by piece. Will you survive… or become a ghost?!”

🛠 Setup:

• Choose one shot focus: Groundstrokes or Volleys

• Coach feeds 3 balls per turn (or parents if helping)

• Line kids up behind baseline or mini net

• Mark a “Ghost Zone” off to the side

• Mark a “Revive Zone” (where revived players re-enter)

🎮 How to Play:

1. One child at a time steps up and is fed 3 balls

2. If they hit 2 or 3 balls well ➤ they are Alive ✅ → go to back of queue

3. If they hit 0 or 1 ball ➤ they are Dead-ish ☠️ → they lose a body part and try again!

💀 Stages of Elimination:

1. Lose an arm: Hit with racket hand only, non-dominant arm behind back

2. Lose a leg: Hop on one leg while hitting

3. No limbs: Sit on the floor and hit from seated

4. Fully dead: Lie down and try to hit a shot while lying flat 😵

5. Ghost!: If still unsuccessful, you become a ghost 👻 – sit in the Ghost Zone

🧚‍♂️ Revivers:

• If a player hits all 3 shots perfectly, they earn 1 Revive Power

• They can choose one ghost to bring back to life (tap them on shoulder)

• That ghost returns to the back of the queue as Alive ✅

While the kids are waiting in line, spots are designated for them to stand. Kids must keep moving (bouncing on toes); otherwise, they turn into ghosts.

🪶 Feathers (Easier Version):

• Allow younger players to skip stages (go from one-arm to ghost)

• Let them use larger rackets or foam balls

• Use tees or drop feeds instead of live feeds

• Reduce number of shots (e.g. 2 shots total, only need 1 to survive)

⚡ Progressions (Harder Version):

• Increase required hits to 3/3 to stay alive

• Add movement before shots (e.g., crab steps to cone and back)

• Add “final ghost duel”: two ghosts must rally from seated position to re-enter

🎃 Halloween Twist:

• Play with spooky music in the background

• Use Halloween-themed markers (pumpkins, cauldrons, skeleton cones)

• Encourage kids to make spooky sounds during ghost stage 👻💀

🏆 Finishing Options:

• Last child alive becomes “The Final Survivor” 🧛‍♂️👑

🎯 Objective

Keep the balloon in the air using any part of the body or racket. Don’t let it touch the ground – or it gets very upset! 😢

Note: some young children may not like balloons, please use your judgement; if a child is not happy with balloons please give them something else to do, scarf, ball, etc…

👟 Setup

• NB doesn’t work with any wind at all so it's better inside

• Children sat in a circle or group

• Balloons hidden inside a bag (e.g. drawstring sack)

• 1–2 balloons blown up in advance

🗣️ Coach Introduction Script

"I've brought something very special in this bag... can anyone guess what it is?"
(Play the guessing game for a minute)
"It's a balloon! But not just any balloon... these are full of air, and they absolutely love floating in the sky 🌤️. But if they touch the ground or stop moving... they get very upset!"
(Make funny sad/crying sounds)
"We have to keep them happy by keeping them in the air! You can use your hands, feet, head, shoulders… even rackets – just don’t let them drop!"

🎈 How to Play

1. Coach releases a balloon into the air.

2. Players must keep it in the air using any body part or a racket.

3. If the balloon touches the ground or is held too long – coach makes a silly “crying” noise and resets the game.

4. Optional: Add more balloons for chaos & teamwork!

IMPORTANT: IF THE SPACE IS TOO SMALL PLEASE DO NOT USE RACKETS TO AVOID INJURY!

🪶 Feather Levels (Differentiation)

🪶 One Feather – Starter

• Only one balloon in play

• Use hands only

• Coach helps redirect the balloon

🪶🪶 Two Feathers – Developing

• Add more balloons

• Encourage racket use

• Players must stay in their own space

🪶🪶🪶 Three Feathers – Confident

• Keep balloon aloft for 10+ hits

• Count aloud each hit

• Use only rackets or only non-dominant hand

• Introduce small challenges (e.g. spin before hitting, or tap it to a partner)

🔁 Progressions & Variations

• 🧢 Team Rally: Count how many touches as a team before balloon drops

• 🏃‍♂️ Movement Balloon: Must travel from one cone to another while keeping balloon up

• 🎯 Target Zones: Tap the balloon over a line or into a hoop

• ⛔ No Hands Round: Only use feet, knees, or rackets

• 🧦 Balloon Chase: Everyone has a balloon to chase and keep up

Great for summer camps

Objective

Build, defend, and attack a makeshift fort using teamwork and serving accuracy.

Setup

·       One team constructs a “fort” in the centre of the court using tennis nets (coaches help for speed), cones, and a large parachute for shelter. They have a set time limit (e.g. 3–5 minutes) to complete their build.

·       During this time, the opposing team spreads out around the court collecting “ammunition” (soft balls, foam balls, etc.).

How to play

1.       Once time is up, the attacking team lines up around a marked firing radius (created using cones).

2.       Players take turns serving balls into the fort, aiming to get them past the fort’s defences and through the structure to the players inside.

3.       Defenders must stay seated inside the fort and cannot block shots.

4.       Count and score how many balls make it through.

5.       Teams then swap roles – attackers become builders and vice versa.

Skills Developed

·       Teamwork and problem-solving (building phase)

·       Serving accuracy and power control (attacking phase)

·       Spatial awareness and tactical creativity

Coaching Tips

·       Encourage creativity in building – test different ways to prop up the parachute.

·       Challenge kids to improve accuracy with progressive serving distances.

·       Optionally reward best fort design and most accurate attacker!