How to plan for a practice. Know your Resources

"A bad workman quarrels with his tools"
Chinese Proverb

"A good archer is known by his aim not by his arrow"
Proverb

Tennis planning is key in maximizing the practice time for the player.  There is only so much time a player can be on the court making it crucial that every second counts.  It is imperative that coaches are able to use their resources in the best way possible to maximize the amount of balls hit in order to improve the player.

So what are the resources that a coach has at his/her disposal?  Let's take a look at the tools and determine the best way to use them.

Courts

By far the most abused and under utilized resource that a coach has at hand.  Consider courts as if they were money.  Would you rather have more of it or less of it?  If you saw a $50 bill on the ground at a park with no one around, would you pick it up or leave it there?  I would hope you pick it up.

The No-NO

A coach sets a drill where he has 6 players on 1 court with a vacant one adjacent.  He decides that the players need singles work so he has 2 players engage in singles with 4 waiting for their turn.

The Fix

As I stated earlier, courts are like money, the more you have, the more you could spend to make your players better.  If you have 6 players with 2 courts available, you could split the players into two groups of three.  Now you have 4 players hitting with 2 waiting.  Your ratio has now flipped in favor of the players hitting.

Let's say you are working on doubles.  Have 4 players engaged on one court doing a full court doubles game, while the other two are playing on half of the court simulating a doubles point.  Now you have all 6 players engaged, playing, and getting better.

The importance here is that players are spread around in order to hit the most amount of balls possible.  This will help them become better faster.


Balls
The goal is to maximize how many of these small, yellow objects your players are hitting.  When planning your drills make sure that a player can hit the most amount of balls.

The No-NO

Singles points drill where only one side of the court feeds.
Also....
Have coach feeding the same ball to one player all the time.

How to fix it

A tip for all coaches out there, don't use one basket when two will do.  What do I mean by that?  If you have a self feeding game, split your big basket into two hoppers.  Place those hoppers behind the baseline on both sides of the court by the fence/tarp.  Now you have the possibility of two players feeding than just one.  This will cut down time players use to fetch balls and allow them to be engaged at all times; if they are not hitting they are getting balls to hit.

If a player is working on one particular shot to start the point it is ok to feed to them the same shot every time, but, for the most part, it is better for the coach to walk around, feed a couple of balls, and let the players feed themselves.  This will allow the coach to help both players as he/she walks around, but also will produce many different situations as every feed from the players will not be the same.

Players


The most important resource of all are the players.  This is why coaches do their job.  They want to see maximum improvement in their pupils in the shortest amount of time.  Learn how to use your players wisely.  By making sure they are put in the best situation possible, players will thrive under these conditions and improve at a much faster rate.

The No-NO

Take a drill where you have four players on one court.  A coach decides to have three players on one side of the court and one on the other.  What have they produced?  Two players hitting while the other two are watching, with the third guy having to wait at least two points to get into the action.  

The Fix

Players love to play tennis so let them PLAY!  By using the two resources mentioned earlier, courts and balls, the players can play more tennis; not just stand around and watch others do what they love.  Take the same four players and now split them up into teams of two.  Even though you still have two players waiting, they will wait a maximum of one point.  A better option, if you do have two courts, is to split the four players into two courts and have them play each other.  This will nullify the waiting time and will allow the players to hit the most amount of balls.

Time
The most precious resource of all.  This is something we can never get back, whether it be on the court or off it.  There is only so much time in a practice session and it all must be used wisely.

The No-NO

Coaching letting his/her players show up when they want at whatever time they can make it.  

Not having a specific time set for breaks.  Sometimes the coach will let players take a break for a minute other times for five minutes.  

The Fix

A coach should never allow his players to be late!  This creates a disruptive behavior that affects what the coach can and cannot do with the time that he/she has.  Make sure you implement a positive behavior of punctuality with your players.  This also pertains to the coach as he/she must set the example for everyone else; monkey see, monkey do!  Coaches should set a punishment for players who are not punctual.  Make sure you make this clear before you start working with the player as they should understand what the consequences are before they set foot on the court with you.  This will make it clear that your time as a coach and theirs as a player is extremely important.  By having coach and player ready at the beginning of practice, the rest of the drills and time should all fall into place.

When coaches are planning and then managing the drills, make sure that the players are put into REALISTIC situations when it comes to the concept of time.  Develop drills where the players are getting no more than 20 seconds in between their next on-court exchange.  Whether you are playing points, doing repetition work, or even conditioning, players should learn how to recover in the allotted time that they will face in a match.  Also, make sure players are taking breaks of 1min 30seconds as this is the time of changeovers.  If the drill is extremely intense, then let players take 2 minutes, as this is the changeover time in between sets.  This time management will train players on how to utilize the time allowed to them in the best possible manner.

What does all of this mean?
The best coaches know how to use their resources in the best way possible to help their players' development.  They understand that if there is a tool out there for them to use to help their students, they WILL use it.  Remember that a good coach will not quarrel with his tools, but rather use them to their full extent. Even though coaches are not measured by their tools, but rather by their students' results, these same tools will help the coach get the most out of his/her players.  Maximize everything you have at your disposal!