Part Two - SuperMovers 'SMASH' Warm-up with Howard Green
Welcome to the second part of this blog where you will get to watch a video of Howard delivering a specific Tennis SuperMovers warm-up routine. The content covers the SuperMovers SMASH method which includes – Strength, Movement, Agility, Stability and Honing Coordination. Before doing this warm-up, check our on-court warm-up Part 1. This second part will focus on the Agility, Stability and Honing Coordination components.
Within the Agility section we are looking for players to move with speed and intensity. The SuperMovers programme has six foundational levels and within each level there are three session plans, with each one having a different movement focuses categorised as Forward & Backward, Side-to-Side and Multi-Directional. This ensures that players following the programme become skilled at moving in all directions on the court.
In this warm-up routine the drill we use is the 3 Step Forward into Push Back, which would fall in the category of a Forward & Backward session, testing the ability of the player to move into the court, find stability, then push back quickly and then try to arrive in a wide base. Although a general change of direction drill, it would transfer to the movement after the serve, landing in the court and then quickly pushing back to be ready for ball 3.
Secondly, we move to the Stability exercises, of which there are two, these are working on control of the knee in small single leg squat movement, along with a movement designed to work on the ability to hinge and the hips and reach overhead. The goal of these movements is to work static and dynamic balance, which is vital for the player to be able to find a balanced position when hitting on the court.
Finally, we end the warm-up routine with the Honing Coordination drill, this is a modified version working with multiple players at once, but can also be done with a single player. The player at the front must read and react to the ball roll from the coach. What we try to teach is that the players toward the rear should also try to pick the movement from the players in front to arrive early to allow the ball to roll between their legs.
Download the full session plan here with video links
We hope you’ve enjoyed watching how we would deliver a short SuperMovers warm-up. Please try it yourselves, or integrate it into your coaching and let us know how it goes by tagging us @howardgreensupermovers on Instagram or email Howard at [email protected]!
See you next week!