Time to take the advantage – how to get players back to training

Blog post - August 2021

With summer nearing its end and school and regular tennis training beckoning, we thought it was timely to look at how young players can take advantage of this next couple of weeks to get ahead and return to training in the best condition possible both in body and mind!

For coaches, September can be a crazy and challenging time getting everyone back into a full routine and perfecting everyone’s schedules, and some players may not have kept on top of their S&C programming, so to make it easier on everyone, here are some top tips to get players ready for getting back to training.

1. Get Active – Players should be completing some type of exercise daily, whether that be a 20-minute jog, other sports, or even more specific activities such as our SuperMovers warm-up session part 1 and part 2.
2. Managing Mindsets – It is time to get players’ minds back in the game and ready for their return to training. Setting alarms to get up every morning, scheduling training or daily walks, or just completing a few chores every day and simply drinking enough water and eating well, will help get them ready for the commitment.
3. Motivate – Find a friend and train together. Although tennis is an individual sport, we all work harder with someone to push us. Add some friendly competition in and challenge players to complete a simple workout for reps or time – for example, skipping, seeing how many reps you can do in 60sec is a great pulse raiser.
4. Keep it fun – The biggest driver for young tennis players is keeping things fun. If you follow my Instagram - @howardgreensupermovers – you will see that I often post games-based training drills. These are easily replicated at home or outside, so get players to choose some fun drills to complete a few times a week. This should help get them back up to speed with change of direction, speed and coordination, but without them feeling like it’s hard work!
5. Consistency is key - Consistency of physical training helps players maintain both body condition and performance. The SuperMovers programme allows coaches to set workouts by selecting from a range of exercises to include in their programming, while players can access the programme from home to ensure they stay on top of their conditioning away from the tennis centre. Take a look here at our latest membership offers and, to celebrate the new term about to start, we are offering 10% off an annual subscription. Just use the Back to Tennis code BTT10 here. 

Have a great week, get in touch with any questions!