ACTA “Tennis Camp” – 5 Day Junior Coaching Course

The Annabel Croft Tennis Academy (ACTA) “Junior Camp” is a 5-day tennis coaching course that allows players of all levels to participate in a progressive tennis coaching experience from Monday to Friday. This is a great intro to tennis for young players who want to get started in the game as well as for intermediate and advanced players looking to fine tune they skills away from home. Players are advised to be in resort on Sunday afternoon in order to check in comfortably and get use to their luxurious new surroundings and then participate in the Tennis Welcome session at the academy from 5pm-6pm. Outlined below is the tennis programme for the 5 days of coaching (this is subject to change depending on the number of participants) with descriptions of what each session on court involves.

Junior Tennis Camp Itinerary

Sunday: 5pm-6pm – Tennis Welcome and Assessment / Goal Setting with Coaching Team

For any ACTA coaching course, players are invited to attend an initial tennis welcome session for 1 hour with one the teaching professionals. This session gives all players the chance to hit a few balls and have their game assessed, meet other players looking to participate in the programme for the week, seek equipment advice or simply ask the coaching team for their advice about how to take steps forward to improve their play. This session also gives players participating in the course a chance to enter into some goal setting for the days ahead.”

Monday: 9.30am-11.30am – Coaching Clinic 1: Getting the basics right

The first coaching clinic of the weekend focuses on getting the key footwork and ball positions correct to maximize success on the tennis court. Players will be encouraged to work on their movement patterns by playing balls in a range of different positions via a series of specific ACTA drills. Players are taught the importance of the split step and how to time their preparation correctly as well as learning to find a good contact point for each shot depending on the stroke they are playing. The session also covers some basic swing tips on the groundstrokes and volleys and introduces the 3 basic court zones – back court, mid court and front court zones – crucial areas to practice from in order to develop a well-balanced game. The session is completed with essential work on the serve which is a feature of every coaching clinic at ACTA”

Tuesday: 9.30am-11.30am – Coaching Clinic 2: Stroke Progressions

The second day of tuition introduces further development of key swing shapes to each player in the group. Players are encouraged to understand their use of spin in their groundstrokes where applicable. The court dimensions widen allowing players to start to get a feel of attacking and defensive situations and the appropriate shots to play. Specific movement steps such as sidesteps, cross over steps and adjustment steps are highlighted during the drills. Serving technique is developed further with ideas on the ball toss, stance and production of the throwing action needed in a good serve.”

Wednesday: 9.30am-11.30am – Coaching Clinic 3: Tactical Awareness

The third coaching session of the week features a chance to start to learn the basic strategies and tactics associated with the game of tennis. Depending on the standard of the players in the group, tactics can range from keeping the ball in play and gaining consistency in your strokes, to building rallies and learning how to finish points of correctly. Tuition is given for both singles and doubles where applicable and the sessions is always finished with point play and some favorite ACTA coaches challenges”

Thursday: 9.30am-11.30am – Coaching Clinic 4: Attacking Shots and Front Court Skills

Thursday’s clinic is all about trying to move forward and master the skills associated with playing tennis at the net. This session is a must if you are a keen doubles player or looking to develop your basic singles skills into more areas of the tennis court. Your coach will outline the basic approach and volley set up, grip positions and contact points needed to become a good net player with practice time given to volleys, smashes, blocks and drops. Point play in this clinic is all designed to encourage players to move forward and be rewarded by playing positive, forward thinking tennis.”