Warm ups for adults it OK, I ran from the car!

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1 Warm ups for adults it OK, I ran from the car! Just like in a tennis match, making a good start to a lesson is important. It sets the tone, it starts to focus the mind on playing tennis rather than other things, and it s important physically too. This article looks in detail at some principles and ideas for warm ups for adults. It s OK..I ran from the car. I don t need to warm up! Did you ever hear that statement or something similar from your adults? Do you have adults who regularly turn up 5 minutes late so that they deliberately miss the warm up? If this is what you hear or what you get from some of your players, ask yourself why someone would pay for a lesson and deliberately miss the first 5 minutes. Would you do that at the cinema? Surely not! The reason someone would look to miss the first 5 minutes is either because they don t see the point, or because they were going to be asked to do things that they don t want to do! Let s be clear the warm up is important, and here s why. Most adults, especially men, don t have the same range of movements as children. They have tight hamstrings, tight shoulders and stiff backs. The synovial fluid lubricates the joints as the body warms up, which increases the natural range of movements. The warm up needs to prepare them physically for the rigours of what is to follow. Most adults don t have the same range of movements as children. Adults need to warm up to increase flexibility in the muscles. Injury is more likely with cold or tight muscles. Many adults will come from a rushed or pressurised environment after leaving work or the house. The warm up helps your players to tune out of work, and tune into tennis. So the question is not if, but how to warm up? The following rules may help. Make it dynamic - use balls all the way through Many of your adults will expect a static warm up involving a few lunges against a wall or a net. Have you noticed in many cases how the people who do these warm ups are also the ones with bandages on knees and elbows?! Tennis is a dynamic sport, so it needs a dynamic warm up, which takes the players through the range of movements and actions which they will go through when they play. It is best to encourage and educate your adults to perform a gentle pulse-raising warm up like a gentle jog, before going into more dynamic movement warm-ups. Alternatively, or if you can t convince your adults to do it, you can achieve a gentle dynamic warm up by using soft foam balls from the start. It provides a gentle, low-impact and dynamic activity which doesn t feel like a warm-up. Non-racket drills for warm-ups All these drills are to be done close to the net until the players are fully warmed up. They need to be done in pairs using a ball. This sharpens up the sending and receiving skills as well as giving a dynamic warm up. Remember that they are warm ups, so a gradual increase in the range of

2 movement (lunging, pre-stretch, rotation) is needed as the warm up is performed. Emphasise excellent posture and balance, and use of the whole coordination chain when throwing. With each pair using a large ball like a football or basketball, throw the ball to each other over the net, using two hands on every throw and catch: Rugby rally Rugby pass, where the ball is thrown with both hands from the hips Check for: A throw from an open stance rather than a closed stance, which will accentuate good rotation of the upper body on each throw Good rotation of the upper body to absorb every catch Gentle bending of the knees when catching and throwing Gentle movement to each on-coming ball to achieve a good balanced catching position Alternate throwing from left and right hip Netball rally Chest pass, where the ball is pushed out from the chest using both hands. Check for: Good bending of the arms to hold the ball into the chest, and fast extension of the arms to propel the ball to the partner Good bending of the arms to absorb the on-coming ball when catching Football throw-in A two-handed throw from behind the head, with the ball crossing the net with a high looped trajectory. Check for: Good bending of the arms to propel the ball upwards and outwards Extension of the chest when throwing Slight knee bend when throwing Throw and run Split the group into two even teams. Each team should stand in a line one in front of the other with the first in each line standing on the doubles tramline facing into the court. Using one large ball, the first player in Team A throws to the first in Team B. After they have thrown the ball the players run across the court to join the back of the opposite line. The players continue this pattern, using different types of throw. After 30 seconds the coach can introduce a new throw so that all muscles are warmed up in a dynamic activity: 30 seconds football throw in 30 seconds rugby passes 30 seconds netball pass 30 seconds shot put 30 seconds slam throw

3 To ensure good quality, ensure that: players run at steady pace between the lines players throw from behind the singles tramline throws are cooperative so that the opposing player can catch the ball Movement stations Be more creative than simply to get your players to run around the court for a warm up. We can do so much more. These movement stations add extra dynamism and interest and different muscles and body parts are used, giving a better whole-body warm up. They should be done after a simple jog around the court. Slalom between cones Pitterpatter over lines Lunges between lines Knee raises over small hurdles Quick sidestep between lines Jog between lines

4 Racket drills for warm-ups All these drills are to be done close to the net until the players are fully warmed up. Remember that no teaching should be taking place here; the aim is simply to hit lots of balls in a controlled manner. I would recommend using a red or orange ball to emphasise rally length and control in the early part of the lesson. Cooperative rally warm up drills The following exercises need to be done in pairs and should be done cooperatively. Each pair will need a racket and one red or orange ball. Forehand rally, then repeated for backhand rally Players rally using the forehand using consistent contact points and good positioning behind the ball. Every ball should bounce. Check for: Lively movement and recovery before and after every shot Early preparation and good contact points A cooperative attitude to encourage consistency and more balls being hit Groundstroke to volley One player at the net volleys to his partner player playing groundstrokes on the other side of the net. Groundstroke to volley alternate Both players start 1m inside the service line on opposite sides of the net. Both players alternate groundstroke and volley, so that each is moving forwards and backwards to and from the net. Volley to volley Both players start 1m inside the service line on opposite sides of the net. One player feeds the first ball. Then, as the players start to warm up, change to a faster ball and extend the court area as you go. Competitive games for rally warm-ups Extra fun can be added to warm ups by making them competitive. Competitive warm-ups should only be done after a more gentle rally warm-up, to ensure that the muscles are not completely cold when starting the more vigorous competitive activity.

5 Racing rallies This warm up requires players in pairs. Each pair is a team, Player 1 and Player 2. Teams rally in half of a court in the service boxes. Behind each Player 1 is a hoop placed just behind the baseline, with 3 balls inside Players start on the service line On go Player 1 gets a ball from their hoop and returns to the service line to rally When the team gets a continuous rally of 10, Player 1 takes the ball and puts it in another team s hoop Player 1 then gets another ball from their hoop and starts again The winning team is the first one to have no balls in their hoop Quick pairs This warm up is for large groups (minimum of 8 players). Players find a partner. On go the pairs must race to complete a 10-shot volley rally with their partner over the following lines: both baselines, doubles tramline on each side of the net, service line on each side of the net (thus totaling 6 volley rallies in all). When a pair has completed their 6 rallies, they shout finished and the first pair to call is the winner. Mini Tennis matches The best way to prepare muscles for the game is to play the game, but it is important to ease into things by reducing the court size and impact and speed of the ball. Mini Tennis matches in service boxes using a sponge ball are a great way of doing this. Try having 1 minute timed matches so that everyone finishes at the same time, with quick rotations, so that everyone plays several matches. If the match is a tie, no one wins. The winner is the one who has won the most matches in the allocated time. What you see is what you get - don t bother with coordination! Good coaches who coach adults work with what they have in front of them, recognising and accepting the characteristics of the individual. Children are children, and adults are adults (although some adults are good at behaving like children too!) With children, a key priority is to develop agility, balance, coordination and speed, because they are at a window of opportunity for physical development, where these skills need to be prioritised. They form a foundation for fine motor skill development, technical development and movement, and will largely determine the abilities of the player when they are older. There is no window of opportunity for adults.it was when they were children. What you see is what you get. Agile, sporty and coordinated adults will play tennis differently to less sporty and coordinated adults. In other words, spending time working on coordination development with adults: is a waste of time there will be no benefits because the motor skills of adults are already formed. However, this must not be confused with an adult s ability to learn new skills. We know from research that neural pathways continue to be developed in adults

6 until the age of about 50, although the rate of learning is considerably slower than that of a child may embarrass your players, making them do things that they perceive to be childish and which they don t really want to do will probably take us back to the start of this article, having to solve the problem of convincing adults of the need to do a warm up! Conclusion For a valuable and safe start to each adult lesson: dynamic is best the warm up must prepare for what is about to happen in the lesson use balls in every warm up start gently, using smaller courts and slower balls start without rackets introduce rackets, first with cooperative rallies, then progressing to competitive rallies if you want to don t bother with coordination work, but do continue to teach new skills

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