In this two-part blog you will get to watch and listen to a ‘fly on the wall’ video of Howard delivering a warm-up routine. The content covers the SuperMovers SMASH method which includes – Strength, Movement, Agility, Stability and Honing Coordination.
The first part of the warm-up is the pulse raiser. The goal is to increase the heart hate and body temperature. We prefer to use a mixture of locomotion patterns versus jogging around the court, as players get to rehearse the technique needed to move forwards, backwards and sideways.
Second comes the Strength element, this is made up of a squat pattern, a dynamic core movement, a lunge variation and finally a core bracing exercise. The goal here is to expose the player to the different integrated tennis shapes that are required for optimal movement on the court.
The final element in this first video is the Movement section, here we are completing an exercise we call Free Running Zig-Zag. Here we are working on the ability to start and stop, teaching the player to accelerate, decelerate and change direction. To make the drill harder we repeatedly increase the number of changes of direction and reduce the area in which they move to challenge spatial awareness.
Next week, in part two, we will add the next three components of SMASH, which will be Agility, Stability and Honing Coordination. You will also get a link to be able to download the session plan of the warm-up, so that you can try the warm-up yourself or with your own players.
Check out on-court tennis warm-up part 2!
Catch you next week.