Teaching tennis to a child under 6

I just filled in as 'guest instructor' at one of our quickstart after school programs in Pelham for kindergartners, about 5 years old.

There were 12 children in the class. Each child had a racquet & sponge ball.

The first exercise was hitting the ball up with the racquet, letting the ball hit the ground, & then hitting it up with the racquet again. NOBODY COULD DO IT (actually one kid could, but 11 couldn't)!

I had the kids put their racquets away. We started a progression with sponge balls only.

The first exercise was to bounce the ball on the ground & catch it in their hands. Once they could do it 10x in a row, the next was throw it up & catch it. Then throw it up, clap once, & catch it. Then clap twice, three times, etc. Another exercise was walking across the gym & bouncing the ball. After that, throwing against the wall & catching.

It's very important to start at the 'beginning', not in the 'middle' of a progression. In this case the beginning was without racquets.

At the end of the class we played a game with racquets. Some of the kids were able to meet the ball & it was a successful game.

For young children, under 6, start with hand eye exercises, throwing a ball & catching it, even rolling it & trapping it. Once an exercise is mastered, move to the next progression. Don't skip any, it can be discouraging to the child & counter productive.

Take your time & your child will love it!