How would you introduce a 4 year old to tennis?

Question

I have a little sister who I want to teach to play tennis since I never got the chance to be introduced to tennis until 7th grade.

Answer 1

There are foam balls and star balls sold at most sports stores (yes, ask for 'star balls').  These are light, soft balls that little children can hit and do bounce, yet move slow enough that little ones can keep up with the pace.

Make sure the racket the child uses is light and small.  If you are unsure what to get, let them use a 5 dollar racket ball racket first to see if they like the sport.

Take the child to a local tennis court and let them watch tennis so they can see people having fun playing the game.  Watching it on TV or playing a video game takes away from the true fun part of the sport...being outside, running around, hitting balls.

Answer 2

For the past 5 months i have actually been teaching teaching 4

& 5 year olds how to play in a clinic.  The easiest way to do this is to get some foam balls and the smallest rackets you can find.

Next take her to a local tennis court.  At first, stand on one side  and show the kid how to hit a volley.  Then have her mimic you. Toss the ball at the racket so the kid can gain confidence.  Do this repeatedly until you think she has the coordination to do a forehand.  Show her how to swing.  Then lightly toss the balls to her and see if she can hit the balls off the bounce.

Do this repeatedly so she can gain confidence and make sure you give her some reward or else she won't like playing.

Answer 3

Start with a video game. Kids love animation and games. Once she is hooked graduate on to the courts to hit with soft or dead balls.

At the end or hitting have a race to see who can pick up the most balls to keep it fun and interesting for the little one. Go to pro, college, or high school tournaments together. It would be a great bonding experience.

Always pile on the praise which is great for the little one's confidence and self esteem. If she turns pro be sure to acknowledge me =)

Answer 4

grab some balls and get em out on the court!

Answer 5

One option is take her to a court and toss balls to her underhanded. Let the balls bounce as many times as she needs. Also you can get the foam rally balls that are easier to hit.

Another option is to take her to a pro who is familiar working with pee-wees.