Nick Jacques’ Tape That Warm-up Exercise (video)

Join me watching Nick Jacques from Tennis New Zealand, demonstrate his Tape That warm-up exercise live at the Evolutionics 2018 International Coaches Symposium.

Coordination exercises as “energizers” or warm-ups

This next exercise can be used as a warm-up exercise or an “energizer”.

I think Nick has coined – “energizers” are another great way we can use coordination exercises in our sessions. For instance, if you’ve had a long break, say 5-7 minutes for a drink break, then people are cooling down a bit and you may need to get everyone revved up and going again. Nick suggests using an “energizer”!

The game

• Make a tail.
• Line everybody up.
• Then say GO!!! The aim of the game is to be the person who rips out the most tails! Players get a point for every time they rip somebody’s tail out.
• When you rip somebody’s tail out, you throw it away. They have to go and get it.
• The game is played only inside the rectangle. The service boxes and tramlines are out.
• When the tail gets pulled out, players move out of bounds, put the tail back in and then jump back into the game and try to learn from their mistake. Maybe they moved too slowly, or maybe they weren’t making enough space. Maybe everyone was attacking them!
• If the kids move too slowly they have to pull their own tail out!

What makes this warm-up exercise or “energizer” so good?

First – it’s great fun!

Second – when you chart the way a kid moves on the court it’s not side to side, side to side, side to side, they’re moving all over the place. The end result is a big scribble – it’s more like tennis that had to deal with an emergency of some sort. Tennis is a game of emergency, it’s not a game where you have all the time in the world. You have to react fast. This game replicates that type of movement – players are all over the place.

Lastly, everyone is involved, the whole time. Nick says, “I don’t like elimination games. I try not to make things pink and fluffy, but when we do elimination games, I don’t like the time that somebody stays off court and I don’t like the feeling of, “You lost so you shouldn’t do anything.” Because surely, if you lost, you should do more.”

Other warm-up exercises on Tennis(24/7)

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