Spider Drill (Footwork and conditioning)
| Here is a great, end-of-practice conditioning drill to help your players with their forward, lateral and backward footwork, as well as their conditioning.
The concept of the drill is to teach players how to approach and position themselves for short balls, whether they are baseliners or all-court players. The drill is divided into two parts: practicing moving in to play short balls which allow the player to get back to the baseline; practicing moving in to play short balls which require the player to continue to the net. |
Attack and Retreat Step #1 — Three balls or markers are placed on the court slightly behind the intersections of the service box and three sidelines (see diagram A). Players start (with or without their racquets) at the baseline on the center service line. Step #2 — Player moves quickly toward target #1, moving to the proper hitting position for a ball which lands in this area. Players should address the ball slightly to the side and from behind (they should not run straight to the ball) and play an imaginary forehand groundstroke with the same footwork, positioning and stroke as they would in a match. Players should resist the temptation to stop short and poke at the ball with their arm like many baseline players (who hit short balls and retreat back to the baseline) often do. The player’s weight should be going into the stroke, and she should use her full body (not just her arm) to the make the stroke, just as she would in a match. Step #3 — Player retreats to starting point, moving backward with eyes across the net and maintaining proper balance. Step #4 — Player repeats Steps #2 and #3, moving to play a forehand at target #2. Step #5 — Player repeats Steps #2 and #3, moving to play a backhand at target #3. Step #6 — Player repeats Steps #2 and #3, moving to play a backhand at target #2. Step #7 — Player repeats Steps #2 and #3, moving to play a forehand at target #2. The progression of the drill is: forehand, forehand, backhand, backhand, forehand. Option #1 — Depending on the number of players and courts you have available, after player finsishes playing five imaginary strokes, player moves to opposite side of the court to do the second part of the drill (Attack and Finish). Player can do high knee skips to other side of the court if there will be a wait. Option #2 — Depending on the number of players and courts you have available, after player finishes playing five imaginary strokes, player moves to end of line and repeats drill two more times, before moving on to second part of the drill (Attack and Finish). Remember, a 1:3 work/rest ratio is the most realistic training for tennis. This means a player will work at maximum speed, then rest while three other players do the drill before starting the drill over.
Attack and Finish The drill should be run with the same sequence as in Attack and Retreat, but targets #1-#3 should be placed in front of the service line (See Diagram B), which would require the player to make the imaginary stroke and continue to the net. Players should finish each sequence with an imaginary volley (on balance), then retreat to the baseline backpedaling, keeping their eyes straight ahead and with proper body balance. Coach can feed a volley if so desired. NOTE: Balls, cones or other elevated objects should not be used as targets in the Attack and Finish portion of a Spider Drill to prevent players from tripping over them as they run backwards from the net to the baseline. |
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