5 Reasons Mini Tennis Can Cause Bad Habits in Young Tennis Players

My view on the use of quick start tennis balls is that they are a great tool for tennis coaches to use in developing young players.

Mini Tennis must be used in creating the correct habits for tennis on a full size court. However there are certain aspects that fill me with fear with the Quick Start System that is currently being promoted.

As we all know once a habit becomes inherent a pattern of behaviour is unconsciously established and becomes very difficult to amend.

We all know how hard it is to alter an embedded bad habit like smoking. So why are the tennis governing bodies insisting that tennis be taught this way?

Here are 5 bad habits I have witnessed adolescent players developing with this method.

#1. The Serve, The Most Important Shot In Tennis
The adolescent player has to hit their serve down in order to get it into the smaller court, which in reality is the contrary of what you have to do in the real game on a full size court. Even Top Pro player like John Isner, a mountain of man at 6 foot 10 inches has to hit his serves up to get the ball into court. Tennis is a vertical game and its

#2. Incorrect Grips
To get an early sense of achievement the serve and forehand volley are taught with the forehand grip. This is fundamentally wrong as the junior player will not create spin or control on the ball and will find it hard when they evolve to the bigger court with heavier balls.

The continental grip must be used on these shots to create the habit of striking the ball with spin and control from the outset of their development!

These grips are easy to execute with our simple Tennis in Minutes methodology which allow players to master and discover these shots with the correct grips in next to no time. 

#3. Restrictive Progressions for the Forehand
Junior players are ordered to stand in 3/4 open stance for the forehand. This confines natural movement whilst starting in a natural 'square on' posture , encourages natural movement to help them discover the ball. With beginners, the key thing is to develop instinctive reception skills.

A partially open stance encourages balance when driving the ball because it allows the dominant hip to 'torque' and produce power, but young players can only do this when the ball is in a certain position in relation to the player. So in conclusion , this is but one position out of many! Tennis has to be a game of fluidity and natural movement not prescriptive restrictive progressions .

#4. Low Nets Equate to Poor Technique
Junior players can get away with whacking across the ball using poor technique, instead of hitting up like you have to on a full size court. There is no sense of pushing up in their ball striking, whereas tennis is now very much a vertical game with racquets hitting up the back of the ball with topspin and players moving up as they hit. 

#5. The Forgotten Shot in Quick Start Tennis
When did you last see a one handed backhand being taught in a quick start tennis lesson? This is not taught because its thought of as a difficult shot for junior players to master and that the player will not have the strength to hit it yet.

If a player is developing with lighter and slower mini tennis balls there is very little danger of injury so there is no excuse for not teaching this shot. After all not all players are natural two handers! Its my view that both one-handed and two-handed backhands should be taught and the young player is then able to discover which works best for him or her.

Our Tennis in Minutes methodology has junior players as young as 4 years of age hitting incredible single handed backhands. The simple progressions make the grip change a very easy habit to master.

To wrap up we are fans of Mini Tennis and use the varying low compression balls, but we are also very sensitive of the risks of teaching bad habits at the start of the tennis players journey.

John Littleford, Co- Founder and MD of Modern Tennis International is a well respected Tennis Coach in the area of tennis innovation. Read more about his super quick but highly effective system of teaching tennis at his website http://www.playmoderntennis.com