Tennis Training Aids
Tennis coaches are constantly seeking new ways to improve the play of their athletes. It requires people skills, patience and intelligence to guide athletes at any level of play. There are many types of tennis coaches, school or club coaches, private tennis coaches, even coaching at the professional level, and all need the tools to help their students learn and grow.
Tennis Express offers comprehensive and effective tennis teaching aids. With the right equipment, the right attitude and a lot of hard work your athletes will succeed beyond your wildest expectations. We've divided our extensive inventory of tennis teaching aids into a few subcategories to help you find just what you need!
Tennis Training Equipment
If you are starting out as a new coach you can find everything you need to get started in one place. The First Set Kit is specially designed to allow first time players, especially kids, to learn in a fun, no-pressure atmosphere. The experts have compiled a six week lesson plan that builds skills through games and drills. Students can focus on racket skills and hand-eye coordination, basic building blocks for life-long tennis success. This kit contains everything that you need to begin teaching the game of tennis; a tennis net, two 21" tennis racquets, 12 tennis balls, and drill equipment.
When you are instructing students it is best to use non-pressurised tennis balls. Non-pressurised tennis balls are made from a thicker rubber core, and the pressure within the core is equal to the ambient pressure. These balls tend to hold their playing characteristics for a longer period of time, as it is only the cloth that deteriorates.
Most players feel no difference between pressurized and pressureless balls, but top-level players claim a notable difference and thus prefer the former. However, the benefits of using a non-pressurized ball for students far outweigh any concern regarding the performance of the tennis ball. Tennis Express carries the Pro Star Teaching Ball, a pressureless teaching ball endorsed by the USPTA. This is an excellent teaching ball for both children and adults. The design of the ball features two tone felt for ultimate visibility and also stays inside the court even when hit hard, which makes for longer rallies.
When you need to step up your training the Reaction Ball is a great way to challenge your players. The uneven design of the ball allows it to hop, bounce, and leap unpredictably in different directions. These unpredictable bounces increase your ability to react to the ball and connect. It's a fun and simple drill that really increased the difficulty and value of your training program for all levels.
The Reaction Ball improves hand/eye coordination, balance, quickness, and depth perception. This reaction ball is used by pros and collegiate athletes as well as recreational players to improve their game! We also have the Super Reaction Ball, a slightly larger than regular reaction ball. You can start with this Super Reaction Ball and then graduate to the regular Reaction Ball once you feel confident in your abilities. This technique is used by pros and coaches worldwide.
After practice clean up is a cinch with the right equipment. Tennis Express carries many ballhoppers, from the small 15-ball Gamma Ball Tube to the heavy-duty Gamma Brute which holds 325 tennis balls!. These ballhoppers help collect and store dozens of tennis balls. The innovative Wilson Easy Ball Pick Up is designed to roll, collecting tennis balls from the court saving any strain on your arms and back.
The Wilson Easy Ball Pick Up can then stand upright allowing easy access to up to 85 tennis balls to be used in practice. Travel to tournaments or to teach at different locations? The Gamma EZ Travel Cart is a very lightweight cart specifically designed for the teaching pro who travels or for the serious player looking for a mobile ball carrier. The EZ Travel Cart bag can travel with a full load of 150 tennis balls or fold up as an empty bag with the cart in under 5 seconds. The frame comes with a carrying base making it the ultimate in portable teaching devices.
Tennis Training Videos and DVDs
Many tennis coaches have a collection of instructional tennis videos to reference specific moves and techniques. You can watch them with your students or you can use them to perfect your teaching techniques. Tennis instruction videos are also a practical approach to instructing large groups. Instructional tennis videos provide structured lessons to help you inspire and instruct more players at the same time. Get the most out of each practice time and court space regardless of the class size.
Not an instructor? You can become a student of the game yourself, while building a library of quality tennis instructional videos will definitely add to your tennis knowledge, and increase your tennis I.Q. We have DVDs and Videos to tackle any subject. Several videos take a broad approach covering the basics and beyond while others target specific aspects of the game to develop.
Tennis Magazine has produced a line of videos, The Tactical Tennis Series, that tackles individual parts of the game, and techniques to help better your game and defeat other players on the court. Hosted by Paul Annacone, coach of Tim Henman and former coach of Pete Sampras, these videos better your game and enable you to defeat your opponent by building skill after skill. Other DVDs in the series include Know Your Own Game, Beat the Baseliner, and Neutralize the Net-Rusher.
The 5 Keys To Tennis is a unique concept for tennis learning and teaching, combining books and videos to effectively get the message across. Designed for players and teachers of all ages and ability levels, it was developed in a collaborative effort by Nick Bollettieri, the United States Professional Tennis Association, and Tenotec Systems Inc. This instructional video helps you become a more effective teacher. Are you dealing with younger players? Now you can discover a revolutionary and superior way to coach these active youngsters!
This video, Games Approach to Coaching, demonstrates 14 games you can use to teach the essential tennis skills and tactics to your youth tennis players and even beginning adult groups. The games approach emphasizes learning through fun! Looking for alternative ways to improve your game? Try a video about the partner who never fails to show up- the backboard. This video, USTA's Backboard Tennis, contains 40 drills for players of all ages so that they can improve all aspects of their game in no time.
A number of tennis dvds and videos address the biomechanics of tennis. Biomechanics, when applied to sports science and medicine, is an innovative way to understand how the mechanics and physics of human performance affect play. By studying biomechanics players can improve stroke production from all areas of the court, improve serve, returns and groundstrokes. These videos deepen the understanding of both instructors and players regarding the way their bodies function.
James Jensen is one of tennis' most respected and sought-after coaches. As a certified USPTA Pro with over 20 years experience as a player and coach, Jensen's innovative approach to the game will instantly improve your strokes and game strategy! The game of tennis has evolved into a powerful, aggressive sport with exceptional shot making as seen in the styles of such Superstars as Hewitt, Roddick and Agassi.
Pro Jensen teaches you the techniques of this winning style of tennis in his dynamic new DVD instructional series. Don't Wait! Whether you are a beginner, intermediate or advanced player immediately bring your skills to a higher level by ordering James Jensen's complete Bestselling 10 DVD "Pro Tennis Lessons" instructional series today!
Tennis Express also offers a large variety of tennis fitness videos. The fitness experts offer coaches and athletes better ways to train so that you can compete in top form. There are videos that address cross training, weight training, yoga for tennis elbow and bad knees, conditioning and rehabilitating injuries. These videos are tools meant to enhance your ability to play in top form and avoid injury.
Tennis Books
Tennis Express offers an excellent selection of tennis instruction books. These books give you technical information, practice tips, step-by-step instructions for training and drills, helpful advice and teaching aids to help expand your coaching or playing knowledge. Whether you're a beginner, intermediate, advanced, or world class player, we've got the books that you need to improve your game.
For beginners and those that coach beginners, there are instruction manuals that show the basics of the game of tennis step by step to build the skills needed to be a lifelong tennis player. Other books, such as such as the Baker & Taylor series and The Composite Guide to Tennis tackle the issue of how to coach beginners. We also carry tennis coaching guides for junior players.
Coaching doubles? We al know that Doubles is an entirely different game from Singles and requires new strategies and training methods. Stan Smith's Winning Doubles and Steve Tourd's Unlimited Doubles are just some of the books we offer on the subject of playing and coaching Doubles.
What separates the average player from the best tennis player? Mental toughness. The ability of an athlete to focus under challenging conditions is a skill that must be learned like any other. There are many books that deal with the issue of mental toughness and the game of tennis. Pressure Tennis by Paul Wardlaw and Michael Clarkson's Competitive Fire are just two of the titles featured by Tennis Express.
A well-rounded athlete must be able to pursue excellence in many directions, including off the court. The way that an athlete cares for and fuels their body makes an enormous difference in how their game is played. We offer many tennis books that deal with nutrition and fitness. Finding the right training method is important to improve and sustain an athlete through a long season of matches. Levy and Fuer's Tennis Injury Handbook and Donald A Chu's Competitive Tennis are excellent examples of training and health books targeted for tennis athletes. Nancy Clark's Sport Nutrition Guide is one of several books targeting the nutritional and health needs of tennis players.
Learning about the masters of the game and the history of the sport can greatly increase a players base of knowledge. Coaches and students alike can find inspiration in the biographies of tennis champions past. We offer tennis history books, tennis biographies as well as ATP and WTA player profiles. Biographies of tennis legends such as; John McEnroe, Venus Williams, Bobby Riggs and Jennifer Capriati will inspire readers. If you are looking for tennis books to fill out your coaching library, you'll find the book you want at Tennis Express.