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Tóm tắt nội dung (trích từ tài liệu gốc): COACHING & SPORT SCIENCE REVIEW www.itfcoachingreview.com. December 2021. 29th Year. Issue 85. ISSN 2225-4757 Issue 85 Editorial 2 Luca Santilli & Miguel Crespo Skill transfer through multi-sport play: A tennis and hockey example 5 E. Paul Roetert, Ola Malmqvist, Karl Davies & Richard Way Self-talk optimizes the positive effects of mental imagery in service learning for beginners 9 Nicolas Robin, Robbin Carien, Boudier Christophe & Laurent Dominique Preliminary kinematic analysis of the serve in 10 and under players 12 Maxime Fadier, Pierre Touzard & Caroline Martin Coaching children 10 and un
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COACHING & SPORT
SCIENCE REVIEW
www.itfcoachingreview.com. December 2021. 29th Year. Issue 85. ISSN 2225-4757
Issue 85
Editorial 2
Luca Santilli & Miguel Crespo
Skill transfer through multi-sport play: A tennis and hockey example 5
E. Paul Roetert, Ola Malmqvist, Karl Davies & Richard Way
Self-talk optimizes the positive effects of mental imagery in service learning for beginners 9
Nicolas Robin, Robbin Carien, Boudier Christophe & Laurent Dominique
Preliminary kinematic analysis of the serve in 10 and under players 12
Maxime Fadier, Pierre Touzard & Caroline Martin
Coaching children 10 and under with a disability in a multi-sport program 15
Janet A. Young, Loretta Konjarski & Rachael Beatson
Emotions in young tennis players: A new tennis-specific scale 18
Antonio Daino, Vanessa Costa, Riccardo Martoni & Sergio Costa
Transversal competences in primary education through tennis 22
Juan Pedro Fuentes-Garc�a & �ngela Isabel Carmona Blanco
Interdisciplinarity and tennis in primary education 25
Juan Pedro Fuentes-Garc�a & �ngela Isabel Carmona Blanco
Cognitive and emotional characteristics of tennis players in the discovery stage (4 to 6 years old) 28
Luc�a Jim�nez
Motor coordination and its implications on teaching tennis to three to six-a�o-old children 31
Layla Maria Campos Aburachid, Caio Corr�a Cortela & Pablo Juan Greco
The contribution of tennis to motor literacy from 4 to 6 a�os of age 34
Josep Campos & Martin Rocca
Practical coaching applications for children in the four to six-a�o-old range: Perspectives from the USTA's 38
American Development Model
Karl Davies, Jason Allen & E. Paul Roetert
Cornerstones of teaching tennis for children aged four to six years 42
Magdalena Lelonek, Piotr Unierzyski & Grzegorz Lelonek
Building foundations for the future: A case study with LTA Youth 46
Sam Richardson, Matt Smith & Merlin van de Braam
Recommended books & web links 50
Editors
COACHING & SPORT
SCIENCE REVIEW
www.itfcoachingreview.com. December 2021. 29th Year. Issue 85. ISSN 2225-4757
Editorial
Luca Santilli & Miguel Crespo
Tennis Development Department, International Tennis Federation, London, UK.
Welcome to issue 85 of the ITF Coaching and Sport Science The ITF Coaching and Sport Science Review is the official
Review. Tennis activities all over the world are still being coaching and sport science publication of the ITF. Since the
affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. In these challenging first edition in 1993, around 800 articles have been published
times, our thoughts are with everyone who has been directly covering a range of topics such as biomechanics, tactics,
affected by the pandemic. This is a special issue on 10 & psychology, physiology, strength and conditioning, business,
Under tennis with an emphasis on early stages (4�6-year-old and more. Articles contain the most up-to-date scientific
players), which includes contributions from all over the world. knowledge, written by experts in the field. The journal, which
is published quarterly, is also available in the ITF Academy.
The ITF Education pillar part of the 2021- 2024 ITF
Development strategy is currently delivered through three The goal of the ITF's Recognition of Coach Education Systems
main educational resources: the ITF Academy, the ITF eBooks, is to assist member nations in becoming self-sufficient in
and the ITF Coaching and Sport Science Review. Through its delivering their coach education, by achieving several criteria
education pillar the ITF is setting and raising professional for quality standards set by the ITF Coaches Commission.
standards for tennis education as a truly global sport. Today, there are a total of 57 nations which have their coach
education system recognised by the ITF. 16 at gold level, 9 at
The ITF Academy is the online educational platform from silver, 22 at bronze and 11 at white.
the ITF, and it was officially launched in March 2019. It is an
essential tool for continued professional development that
the ITF puts at the service of its member nations to elevate
the quality of tennis education worldwide. The ITF Academy is
directed towards coaches, players, parents, and all interested
in increasing their tennis knowledge. The ITF Academy is
an integral element of the "blended learning" methodology
already implemented in all ITF certification courses, with the
combination of online courses and face-to-face delivery of
courses providing an improved experience.
Today the ITF Academy has over 210,000 users from 221
nations. During COVID-19 registration numbers increased
significantly because users had more time to engage with
the ITF Academy. Specifically new to the ITF Academy this
year are the players and parents' sections, the on-line tutor
training courses, the blended delivery of all the courses, as
well as the organisation of the ITF World Coaches Conference
by BNP Paribas. Next year we will be launching a new section
of the ITF Academy dedicated to tennis managers, as well as
nd a self-evaluation tool for users. The ITF Regional Coaches
Conferences will also be delivered through the ITF Academy.
Currently there are more than 1300 content items and 165
online courses available in 8 languages. We have already
delivered more than 160 blended education programmes in
more than 30 countries. 46% of users are female and English
is the most used language. Europe is the region which has
more users, and the mobile is the device preferred by close to
55% of the users.
In addition to the courses and resources available on
ITF Academy, the ITF eBooks app offers more than 150
publications in 13 languages. Many of these publications, such
as the ITF Advanced Coaches Manual, are available for free in
your mobile and tablet for both Android and IOS devices.
December 2021, 29th Year, Issue 85 2
Coaching & Sport Science Review International Tennis Federation
The ITF assists all member nations, those who are recognised The ITF Development Officers continue to monitor the level
receive assistance to keep their status and maintain their of activity across the JTI, both at the grassroots level and
self-sufficiency. In the case of nations that do not have their within junior performance tennis. National recreational tennis
coach education recognised yet, the ITF assists them in the activity is being tracked regularly to monitor the various
implementation of the programme by sending tutors, training restrictions imposed by governments due to the pandemic.
local tutors, providing resources, and delivering the courses The delivery of tennis activity (including competition) within
at all levels with the goal of being gradually self-sufficient. Primary Schools continues to be affected in many countries.
This positive trend shows clear evidence on how ITF is helping
nations to develop and be self-sufficient in coach education. The JTI reporting is critical to monitoring and measuring the
impact and the return on investment. A purpose-built online
The ITF Education resources are research and evidence- web-application is being tested, with further developments
based and are at the service of the tennis community. It's our being integrated to ensure that all active JTI nations are
mission to assist all those interested in tennis in producing able to use the platform for the 2022 JTI reporting process.
more and better players, therefore we encourage you to share The platform will become a hub for all JTI nations to supply
and communicate our resources with those you interact with. their programme insight direct from their coaches and
schoolteachers and will become an important development
The ITF World Coaches Conference by BNP Paribas enjoyed assessment tool for the ITF Development Officers when
its most successful staging yet on 5-7 November, with over meeting with the nations.
1750 participants from 151 nations taking part in the first
virtual edition of the event, which saw a 32% attendance of As for the ITF World Tennis Number (WTN), in 2021 the
female coaches. The biennial conference, which has been focus has been on sharing good quality data with 60 priority
held on 22 occasions since its inaugural staging in Florida in nations, while allowing any other nation to fast track their data
1982, regularly attracts over 600 participants from across the integration. The aim is to enable us to reach a critical mass of
globe. As a virtual event, the showpiece of the ITF's Education player data ready for our first ITF WTT Juniors pilots. The
Programme was able to reach a far broader audience. player data & match results data for 43 nations is currently
being validated, loaded, and initialised.
A high-profile and expert cast of speakers added the stardust
to the 2021 edition, with the likes of Martina Hingis, Feliciano At the same time work continues to support ITF nations in
Lopez and Judy Murray all delivering presentations alongside successfully activating the ITF World Tennis Number using
other industry leaders in tennis coaching, coach education, an extensive promotional and branding toolkit of launch
player development, sport science and participation. Hingis, resources. As each nation launches, the project team are
Lopez and Murray were just three of the 64 speakers across developing a customised plan that can be applied to different
the three-day conference, providing a host of insightful profiles of nations to encourage successful adoption by
contributions across a broad range of topics tennis players and providers. Additionally, Regional Launch
plans have been implemented in the Pacific, Central America
The ITF continues to support 142 active National Associations and South America with nations working closely with
that are involved in the ITF Junior Tennis Initiative (JTI). ITF and Regional Associations for a smooth and effective
Brunei Darussalam, Ethiopia and Somalia have become implementation. The development of an automatic translation
active JTI nations during 2021, with Somalia joining for the mechanism for different languages and alphabets has been
first time. The ITF Development Officers continue to meet implemented in our first nations with good results. ITF are
regularly with their National JTI Coordinators, organising also using advanced processes to ensure a player provided by
virtual conference calls each quarter throughout the year. All many nations has one unique account with combining all of
National Coordinators were invited to virtually attend the their match records.
ITF Participation Webinar, the 3rd ITF World Participation
Conference and the 22nd ITF World Coaches Conference in
order to ensure that they are up to date on ITF activities in
participation and education, as well as importantly use these
opportunities for their continuous professional development.
In November, the 2nd National JTI Coordinator Global
Workshop was held virtually, across two sessions with 163
attendees from 106 nations in attendance. All National
Coordinators must now complete the `Understanding the JTI'
and `Safeguarding in Tennis' courses on the ITF Academy prior
to any subsidy being processed by the ITF to their National
Associations.
The ITF has created an online digital Toolkit for National
Associations to generate pre-defined print and digital
promotional assets. These assets can be used to promote JTI
activities and Tennis Festivals, with some nations using the
Toolkit to creating assets for promoting education courses.
All active JTI nations have access to the ITF Toolkit and
their specific national JTI logo, with all users required to be
nominated by their National Association through an online
nomination form.
December 2021, 29th Year, Issue 85 3
Coaching & Sport Science Review International Tennis Federation
Project milestones include the following: 135 Nations have The ITF Digitalisation Grant Programme is designed to help
signed to participate in the project, representing 86% of our member Nations introduce digital resources. These
global players. 10 Nations are Live or Testing ITF World resources will enable Nations to find more cost effective and
Tennis Numbers. 43 Nations have shared their national efficient ways to manage their operations and provide more
player and match data, a total of 1.8 million Player Records people with the opportunity to play tennis. Eligible nations
and 15 million match records have been validated and loaded. may apply for funding to support predefined IT projects that
ITF Academy offers three educational courses on ITF WTN are outlined in the programme's guidelines. The programme
including on how the Numbers are calculated by the ITF opens for applications on a yearly basis and priority is given to
algorithm. ITF World Tennis Numbers are public In Great projects that assist National Association integration with the
Britain, Ireland and Singapore. 4300 ITF Junior Player Profiles ITF World Tennis Number. Since the programme launched in
have ITF World Tennis Numbers on itftennis.com. ITF World 2018 the ITF has awarded $395,000 to 47 nations including
Tennis Number is used as a supportive entry criterion to 2021 $108,000 for the 16 successful nations in 2021.
ITF World Junior Tennis Finals (14U) and JDC & BJKC Junior
(16U) Finals as well as a supportive entry criterion to 2021 We would like to encourage new submissions to the ITF CSSR.
ITF Seniors World Championships Full guidelines for acceptance and publication of articles can
be found in the most recent issue page on the ITF Academy.
In 2022 National Associations will be able to offer exclusive Finally, we would like to thank all the authors for their
ITF World Tennis Number website sign ups directly to their contributions, as well as all of those who sent in proposals.
player customers. Registrations will be open and WTN We hope that you enjoy reading the 85th edition of the ITF
applications can be made straight to the website for all Coaching and Sport Science Review.
National Associations that wish to benefit from this service.
ITF WTNS will be used at ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors We would like to encourage new submissions to the ITF CSSR.
Events in Q2 2022. Subject to approval by ATP and WTA, Full guidelines for acceptance and publication of articles can
it is planned that the WTN will then be used as a method of be found in the most recent issue page on the ITF Academy.
acceptance in World Tennis Tour professional tournaments. Finally, we would like to thank all the authors for their
contributions, as well as all of those who sent in proposals.
We hope that you enjoy reading the 85th edition of the ITF
Coaching and Sport Science Review.
Copyright � 2021 Luca Santilli & Miguel Crespo
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RECOMMENDED ITF TENNIS ACADEMY CONTENT (CLICK BELOW)
December 2021, 29th Year, Issue 85 4
COACHING & SPORT International Tennis Federation
SCIENCE REVIEW www.itfcoachingreview.com
December 2021. 29th Year. Issue 85. 5-8
ISSN 2225-4757
https://doi.org/10.52383/itfcoaching.v29i85.180
Skill transfer through multi-sport play:
A tennis and hockey example
E. Paul Roeterta, Ola Malmqvista, Karl Daviesa & Richard Wayb
aUnited States Tennis Association, USA. bSport for Life Society, Canada.
ABSTRACT Key words: skill transfer, multi-
sport play, commonalities.
The concept of "skill transfer" is introduced with the sports of ice hockey and tennis as
examples. Skill transfer is addressed with a backdrop and understanding that it is based Received: 9 August 2021
on existing concepts that have been researched significantly over the past few decades.
They include Physical Literacy, Early Sport Specialization and Long-Term Athlete Accepted: 20 September 2021
Development. Specific commonalities and skill benefits are highlighted. This purpose
of this inclusive approach is to provide coaches with a catalyst to better understanding Corresponding author: E. Paul
of the benefits of skill transfer in light of learning physical activities through two sport Roetert . Email: paul.roetert@usta.
examples on multiple surfaces. com
INTRODUCTION Figure 1. Learning Balance and Coordination Skills.
Over the past few decades much has been written about healthy elite level success. This does not necessarily mean
the construct of Physical Literacy (Aspen Institute, 2015; that the volume of training should be increased. Specific
Durden-Myers and Whitehead, 2018; IPLA, 2014; Roetert et weekly amounts of training, annual amounts of competition,
al 2017). Understanding this construct is important because and match volumes within tournaments, as well as physical
people who are physically literate have the competence, and biomechanical evaluations should be included in making
confidence and motivation to enjoy a variety of sports and decisions regarding junior competitive tennis players'
physical activities. As a result, they are more likely to stay development. This responsibility belongs to coaches, as they
active throughout their lifetime (Roetert, et al. 2017). are often the most influential group that determines the
The definition of Physical Literacy, as determined by the amount of necessary training and competition (Jayanthi et
International Physical Literacy Association is as follows: al, 2013).
"Physical literacy is the motivation, confidence, physical
competence, knowledge, and understanding to value and A third topic that has also come to the forefront in the last
take responsibility for engagement in physical activities for few decades is Long Term Athlete Development � LTAD
life" (IPLA, 2014). In other words, physical literacy should (Balyi et al, 2018) and its U.S. focused derivative, the
be considered a journey, not a destination, which means you American Development Model (ADM, 2021). LTAD is based
can spend your whole life developing it. This is an important on the premise that kids and adults will become active, stay
principle to keep in mind for both coaches and sport active, and some even reach the greatest heights of sport
scientists. Fortunately, several different countries, sectors achievement if they do the right things at the right times.
of society and sports organizations have started endorsing
this concept (Aspen Institute, 2015).
In addition, the topic of Early Sport Specialization has also
received deserved attention (Jayanthi et al, 2013; LaPrade
et al 2016). Although youth sport participation offers many
benefits, an overemphasis on competitive success, often
driven by an additional misguided over-emphasis on goals
of elite-level travel team selection, collegiate scholarships,
Olympic and National team membership and even
professional contracts, has seemingly become widespread.
This has resulted in an increased pressure to begin high-
intensity training at young ages. Such an excessive focus
on early intensive training as well as competition results at
young ages, rather than skill development, can lead to overuse
injury and burnout (DiFiori et al 2014). As it relates to junior
tennis tournament scheduling as well as maximizing future
performance and minimizing injuries, late specialization and
intensive training may be the most optimum path towards
December 2021, 29th Year, Issue 85 5
Coaching & Sport Science Review International Tennis Federation
In other words, what can be accomplished at each stage of Drobn� and Ion Tiriac. Drobny was a star center in the
human development to give every child the best chance of Czechoslovakian ice hockey league, leading the Czech
engaging in lifelong, health-enhancing physical activity? National Ice Hockey Team to a Gold Medal at the 1947 World
For those athletes with drive and talent, there is a seven- Championships and a Silver Medal in the 1948 Olympic
stage framework which guides the participation, training, Games played at St. Moritz, Switzerland. Drobny showcased
competition and recovery pathways in sport and physical his talents by scoring nine goals in eight games during the
activity (Balyi et al, 2018; Higgs et al, 2019). Recent research Olympics (ITHOF, 2021). In addition to his hockey skills, as
shared by Till et al (2021) provides coaches with a framework a singles tennis player, he won the French Championships
on what can be planned and delivered within a coaching (now called the French Open Championships) in 1951 and
session, across multiple ages and stages of development and 1952 as well as Wimbledon in 1954. Overall, he reached 13
in multiple contexts. In the early LTAD work, sports were major finals in Grand Slam events including singles, doubles,
categorized into two groups: early and late specialization. and mixed doubles. Tiriac, was an excellent ice hockey
This created a lively debate in tennis regarding the timing of defenseman representing his native Romania at the 1964
specialization. As work was done across more than 60 sports, Winter Olympics which were held in Innsbruck, Austria.
Higgs et al (2019) identified further categorization occurred Shortly after that, he switched to tennis, reaching the Davis
to guide the creation of athlete development frameworks. Cup finals several times in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He
Specifically, a group of sports including tennis and ice hockey also captured a Grand Slam tournament title by winning the
were categorized as `early initiation-late specialization' doubles event at the French Open in 1970 with his partner
highlighting their high level of technical and tactical skill Ilie Nastase.
combined with long-term development of physical capability.
COMMONALITIES
These three above-named concepts are inter-related and
a thorough understanding of each can play a vital role in Physical: Both hockey and tennis involve the concepts of
an athlete's success at all levels of development. With that balance and control while tracking the puck or ball and
in mind, we hereby introduce an area that thus far has moving towards an anticipated target in space where the
received less attention in the literature which is the idea puck/ball is predicted to be. This type of movement involves
of sport related "skill transfer". Skill transfer, similar to the additional physical skills such as agility, strength, timing and
more often referenced and related topic of talent transfer, coordination. Being aware of all these factors is all the more
currently lacks an evidence-based direction and approach complicated because one or more opponents and teammates
in the scientific literature. We believe that further research (i.e. doubles in tennis) are also moving. Therefore, spatial
into the understanding of skill transfer is needed in order to awareness becomes a key component of moving in space
develop an evidence base for this concept. It is important (Roetert et al, 2017). Stopping, starting and receiving skills
to understand that the three topics of LTAD, Early Sport are shared elements that cannot be overlooked by players
Specialization and Physical Literacy form an important in both sports. Finally, although tennis is often played on
backdrop to the concept of Skill Transfer from one sport to hardcourt surfaces, clay court- and grass court surfaces can
another (Collin et al, 2014; MacNamara & Collins, 2015). also be found and allow for sliding movements not dissimilar
In that context, this article provides a brief example of skill to skating on ice especially when the skate is sliding sideways
transfer between two seemingly unrelated sports, tennis and to stop or to allow for a change of direction. In fact, many
ice hockey. The article is written from the perspective that similar muscle groups are employed in all of the above-
the sport of hockey may provide an excellent preparation named skills. These are reasons that make hockey as a team
for tennis success for a variety of reasons hereby outlined. sport, and tennis as an individual sport good partner sports.
Although the athletes highlighted achieved their great
accomplishment status a number of decades ago, the Affective: Based on learning how to develop the necessary
concepts outlined in this article still hold and many young skills to explore speed, balance, decision-making and body
athletes continue to benefit from the cross-over experience. control with opponents and partners, players will build
the belief in their ability to perform a particular activity or
AN ELITE SPORT EXAMPLE OF SKILL TRANSFER FROM skill. This is called self-efficacy. When players develop self
HOCKEY TO TENNIS confidence in one sport and approach an activity that has
similar skill requirements, it heightens their self-efficacy
Although tennis and ice hockey appear as very disparate which increases the motivation to excel. The very nature of
sports, quite a few players' names can be brought up as being off-balance, hitting the ball from different areas of the
it relates to playing both ice hockey and tennis in their court and often changing directions puts players in a position
formative years. As an example, many of the male Swedish where they learn about managing control over their balance
tennis players are known for growing up playing both sports. and thereby self-confidence. Skating and shot-selection skills
Joakim Nystrom, who grew up in Skelleftea, a town in the can help provide this sense of balance as well as decision-
Northeastern part of Sweden was an accomplished junior making process. Having developed a competent degree of
hockey player, yet gave up playing the sport at a higher level physical literacy, properly mastering movement patterns
once tennis became a better way to pay the bills and see the and confidence on ice, tennis becomes a sport that can be
world. Bjorn Borg, who grew up just outside of Stockholm equally meaningful and motivating. As importantly, the early
and a winner of 11 Grand Slam singles titles, also was an exposure of a team sport, such as hockey, can provide a great
outstanding junior ice hockey player. Although growing up in platform from a social perspective, prior to, or throughout
different parts of the country, both played ice hockey from a the learning stages of tennis development (Balyi et al, 2018).
very young age, similar to a number of other Swedish tennis
players who became successful professionals. Cognitive: Social emotional skills that influence one's
behavior in tennis, an individual sport and hockey, a team
Even more amazing is the skill transfer at the highest levels sport, can vary greatly. Thus, athletes are better able to
of competition in hockey and tennis, featuring Jaroslav gain broader perspectives and hone their skills at managing
December 2021, 29th Year, Issue 85 6
Coaching & Sport Science Review International Tennis Federation
emotion, showing empathy, and setting and achieving goals.
As Stanec (2021) advised "encouraging youth to participate
in two sports with different cultures and traditions, can help
them broaden their worldview which leads to many social
and emotional benefits, including relationship skills and
social awareness". For example, dealing with adversity and
problem-solving can lead to a stronger ability to cope with
the inherent stresses of both sports. This in turn can foster
greater self-reliance which can allow players to become
better leaders and mentors in a variety of sports settings.
Table 1 Figure 2. Building Relationship Skills.
Key Commonalities and Transferable Skills between Tennis and Ice
Hockey. � Although this article focused specifically on the
relationship between ice hockey and tennis, other forms
Analytical The ability to take in information to recognize of hockey could (and should) also be considered. These
Reasoning: patterns of play, in both sports. This is done in include, field hockey, street hockey and roller hockey.
dynamic environments often switching rapidly
between offensive and defensive situations. � Children participating in both sports benefit from a
These cognitive developments serve athletes wider range of fun and diversity in their development
well in both sports. as athletes. Instead of extra training in one sport which
risks burn-out and chronic injury, tennis and hockey
Anticipation: Learning where the puck/ball is going to be based can be developed through the other sport thus finding
on the position, skills and typical patterns of play the sweet spot of fun and sport development (Aspen
of the opponent. Institute, 2015; Jayanthi et al 2015; Jayanthi et al, 2018).
Balance: Emphasizing balance and control of movements CONCLUSIONS
while sliding (clay and grass court tennis) or
running at different speeds when athletes are Although played on different surfaces, the sports of ice hockey
first introduced to these environments is key. and tennis have a lot more in common than many people would
expect. Certainly, the case can be made that other individual
Decision Hockey is a game of high speed decision making and team sports share commonalities and transferable skills
Making: based on anticipating patterns and speed of that might set players up for success, however tennis and
movement to propel a puck to a specific place hockey are both tremendously dynamic sports combining
where the teammate can get to it. Tennis repeated multi-hour physical exertion and the skill of hitting
requires high speed decision making to propel a ball/puck with controlled force using an implement. In
the ball where the opponent cannot get to it. addition, opponents are battling fatigue to outwit each other
Same skill-different purpose! in a game of strategy. These elements should be considered
as benefits. Foundationally, there is a need for tennis players
Footwork: Controlling footwork, edging of the skate, cross- to develop and continuously improve their physical literacy
over of feet and rapidly changing direction, in developing the competence, confidence, desire and
are critically important in hockey and directly motivation to enjoy sport.
transferable to developing tennis players.
The four highlighted players in this article all started early
Foundational Applying foundational movement skills in new with hockey as their early team sport and ended up focusing
Movement situations will help in addressing decision- on tennis as their individual sport (ITHOF, 2021). We
Skills: making in game/match situations. recommend future research to investigate if this is a best
practice model. Very important is the time of specialization
Psycho- These learned skills and behaviors to ensure early intensity does rob athletes of long-term
behavioral: include: Commitment and determination, success. Therefore, in the development framework `early
Self-confidence, Coping skills, Focus and initiation-late specialization' encourages athletes to develop
discipline, Goal setting, Motivation, Realistic skill through multiple sport activities prior to specializing in
performance evaluation. one sport. Thus it is important to understand the connection
between ice hockey and tennis where the list of commonly
Speed and Stopping, starting and changing direction all shared concepts and skills transfer very well from one sport
Agility: happen on a regular basis in both sports. These to another.
multi-directional skills form the basis for learning
how to control your center of gravity in balanced CONFLICT OF INTEREST AND FUNDING
as well as unbalanced positions.
The authors declare that they do not have any conflict of
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR TENNIS COACHES interest and that they did not receive any funding to conduct
the research.
� Tennis facilities may want to look towards hockey
programs to find athletes that have developed the
physical and cognitive skills which can form the
foundation for tennis technical skills to be built upon.
� Tennis programs can make a connection with ice hockey
programs to work together for off-ice training to advance
hockey skill development.
December 2021, 29th Year, Issue 85 7
Coaching & Sport Science Review International Tennis Federation
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a position statement from the American Medical Society for Roetert, E.P., Ellenbecker, T., & Kriellaars, D. (2018). Physical literacy: Why
Sports Medicine. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 48, 287-288. should we embrace this construct? British Journal of Sports Medicine. 52,
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Farrey, T. & Isard, R. (2015). Physical literacy in the United States: A model, Till, K., Eisenmann, J., Emmonds, S., Jones, B., Mitchell, T., Cowburn, I., Tee, J.,
strategic plan, and call to action. Washington, DC: The Aspen Institute. Holmes, N., & Lloyd R. (2021). Coaching Session Framework to Facilitate
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Higgs C, Way R, Harber V, Jurbala P, Balyi I (2019). Long-term development in
sport and physical activity 3.0. Sport for Life. 43(3), 43-55. https://doi.org/10.1519/SSC.0000000000000558
United States Tennis Association (2021). American Development Model,
International Physical Literacy Association (2014). Retrieved August 4, 2014
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development-model.html.
International Tennis Hall of Fame. - ITHOF (2021). Retrieved July 19, 2021 from
https://www.tennisfame.com
Copyright � 2021 E. Paul Roetert, Ola Malmqvist, Karl Davies & Richard Way
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COACHING & SPORT International Tennis Federation
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December 2021. 29th Year. Issue 85. 9-11
ISSN 2225-4757
https://doi.org/10.52383/itfcoaching.v29i85.143
Self-talk optimizes the positive effects of mental
imagery in service learning for beginners
Nicolas Robina,b, Robbin Carien1, Boudier Christophe & Laurent Dominiqueb,c
aUniversit� des Antilles, France. bUniversit� de la R�union, France. cLaboratoire ACTES (UPRES EA 3596), France.
ABSTRACT Key words: service, mental
imagery, self-talk, beginner.
The aim of this exploratory study was to test the effects of a combination of mental
imagery (imagining oneself serving) and cognitive self-talk (instructions for serving) Received: 2 August 2021
on the percentage of success and the technical quality of the serve of young beginner
tennis players during a one-week training course, with the aim of providing practical Accepted: 10 September 2021
recommendations to coaches. The results show an additional improvement in service
performance when mental imagery is combined with self-talk. Corresponding author: Nicolas
Robin. Email: robin.nicolas@
hotmail.fr
INTRODUCTION of a combination of MI and cognitive self-talk, focusing on
instructions to serve, on the performance and technical
Mental training techniques are frequently used by mental execution quality of the serve in novice players conducting a
trainers, coaches, and players as strategies to improve one-week club course.
learning and performance (Hall & Fishburne, 2010). Among
these techniques Motor Imagery (MI), which can be defined as METHOD
a conscious process of mentally simulating a technical gesture
(e.g., a forehand) or a sequence of actions such as doing a Twenty-four beginner tennis players (M = 9.8 years old, 10
serve-volley (Robin et al., 2007), is one of the most frequently girls and 14 boys), who participated in a one-week tennis
used strategies in racquet sports (Cece et al., 2020) because course at the Amicale Tennis Club, (Gosier, Guadeloupe,
it can improve the performance of both experienced (e.g., France) voluntarily participated in this experiment. They were
Dominique et al., in press; Guillot et al., 2013) and novice (e.g., randomly divided into 3 groups: Imaging, Imaging-self-talk and
Mamassis et al., 2005) players. In particular, MI can improve Control. Consent to take part in the study was obtained by the
the gestural technique, which has a fundamental role in tennis parents or tutors of the players. Ethics approval to conduct
(Hegazy et al., 2015). Indeed, the greatest "danger" for a tennis the research was obtained by the University of Antilles.
player is to learn a "bad" technical gesture that it will be very
complex to "unlearn" (Hegazy, 2012). This is why coaches pay
particular attention to the quality of the technical execution
and its optimal development, in particular by giving feedback
and generally verbal instructions to carry out sequences of
actions such as the serve for example (Sch�nborn, 2000).
Thus, having memorized these instructions, the players will
be able to "repeat them to themselves" before carrying out
these actions by using the "self-talk focused on technique"
or instructional discourse, which, just like MI, has shown
its effectiveness in tennis, particularly in serving (Malouff
et al., 2008). Self-talk thus represents what players say to
themselves, expressed in the form of a small inner voice or in
the form of verbalizations out loud (Theodorakis et al., 2000)
and whose content can serve at least two functions: cognitive
(i.e., verbalizations with an attentional focus directed towards
the technique and movements adequate to the task) or
motivational (i.e., discourse dealing with self-confidence, the
increase of effort, the optimization of energy deployed, or
favoring a positive mood)
As recent work has shown the beneficial effect of combining
MI with self-talk on players' self-efficacy (Dohme et al., 2019),
the aim of this exploratory study was to assess the effects
December 2021, 29th Year, Issue 85 9
Coaching & Sport Science Review International Tennis Federation
Control Imaging Imaging-Self-talk
groups
Figure 1. Percentage of successful service completion for the Control,
Imaging and Imaging-Self-talk groups in the pre- and post-test.
PROCEDURE Finally, the players in the Imaging-self-talk group improved
the technical quality of their service between the pre-test and
The players performed five 1.5-hour sessions during which, post-test and got better scores than the participants in the
after a standardized warm-up, they were asked to serve 10 Control and Imaging groups on the post-test (see Figure 2).
times, with intermediate balls, changing sides each time. The
Control group received no instructions other than verbal Control Imaging Imaging-Self-talk
instructions on the steps to serve. The Imagery group was groups
instructed, before each service ball, to imagine (in the third
person) serving successfully to the "correct" service box. Figure 2. Technical quality scores of services performed by the Control,
The Imagery-Self-talk group was instructed to repeat the Imaging and Imaging-Self-talk groups in the pre- and post-test.
instructions to themselves internally during the IM. The daily
practice time for the service was approximately 15 minutes. DISCUSSION
During the first session, the players performed a pre-test: 10 This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects
serves with intermediate balls. The percentage of success, of the combination of self-talk and/or MI on the serving
the speed of the balls (with a radar) and the technical quality performance of young beginner tennis players. The results
(scores of 6 items: starting position, ball toss, backswing arm- show, firstly, a significant improvement in the percentage
racket movement, forward swing arm-racket movement, of successful serves in the MI group while the performance
contact point and follow through movement noted with a of the control group remained stable. These results confirm
scale from "0" mediocre to "7" excellent) of each service were those of studies that have shown positive effects of MI used
recorded and evaluated by federal and state certified coaches in addition to real practice on serving performance (Desliens
(for a similar procedure see Atienza et al., 1994) On the 5th et al., 2011; Dominique et al., 2021; Guillot et al., 2013;
and final day of the course, the players completed a post-test Mamassis, 2005). Secondly, the results of this experiment
identical to the pre-test. show that participants who used self-talk during MI not only
had a significantly higher percentage of success than the
RESULTS Control group, but also obtained better scores on the quality
of the technical execution of the services than the participants
Statistical analysis performed on the speed of the serves of the Imaging group. These original results, confirm the value
showed no significant difference between the services of of using technique-focused self-talk (Malouff et al., 2008) and
the groups: Control (M = 42 km/h), Imaging (M = 45 km/h), combining this technique with MI (Dohme et al., 2019).
Imaging-self-talk (M = 46 km/h) at pre-test and post-test and
between them.
On the other hand, the players in the Imaging and Imaging-
self-talk groups improved the percentage of success of their
serves between the pre-test and post-test by (16.5% and
15%) respectively, whereas the players in the Control group
did not differ statistically (see Figure 1).
December 2021, 29th Year, Issue 85 10
Coaching & Sport Science Review International Tennis Federation
CONCLUSION Desliens, S., Guillot, A., & Rogowski, I. (2011). Motor imagery and serving
precision: A case study. ITF Coaching and Sport Science Review 55, 9�10.
The results of this exploratory study, carried out during a one-
week training programme, show that MI improves technical Dohme, L.-C., Bloom, G. A., Piggott, D., & Backhouse, S. (2019). Development,
execution and the percentage of successful serves, and that implementation, and evaluation of an athlete- informed mental skills
self-talk based on personalized instructions optimizes its training program for elite youth tennis players. Journal of Applied Sport
positive effects. We recommend coaches to combine real Psychology, 429�449.
practice with mental imagery and self-talk especially when
they have short intervention periods such as during a training Dominique, L., Coudevylle, G., & Robin, N. (in press). Effet d'une routine centr�e
course. sur l'imagerie mentale et sur l'efficacit� du service chez des joueurs de
tennis experts. Staps.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Guillot, A., Desliens, S., Rouyer, C., & Rogowski, I. (2013). Motor imagery and
We warmly thank the Amicale Tennis Club for allowing us to tennis serve performance: The external focus efficacy. Journal of Sports
carry out this experiment as well as all the participants of this Science and Medicine, 12(2), 332�338.
study.
Hall, N., & Fishburne, G. (2010). Mental Imagery Research in Physical Education.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST AND FUNDING Journal of Imagery Research in Sport and Physical Activity, 5, 1�17.
The authors declare that they do not have any conflict of Hegazy, K. (2012). The Effect of Mental Training on Precision Tasks in Tennis
interest and that they did not receive any funding to conduct and Soccer. A Study on Educational Technology. Ph.D. Thesis, Konstanz:
the research. University of Konstanz.
REFERENCES Hegazy, K., Sherif, A., & Houta, S. (2015). The effect of mental training on motor
performance of tennis and field hockey strokes in novice players. Advances
Atienza, F. L., Balaguer, I., & Garc�a-Merita, M. L. (1998). Video modeling and in Physical Education, 5, 77�83.
imaging training on performance of tennis service of 9- to 12-year-old
children. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 87(2), 519�529. Malouff, J. M., McGee, J. A., Halford, H. T., & Rooke, S. E. (2008). Effects of pre-
competition positive imagery and self-instruction on accuracy of serving in
Cece, V., Guillet-Descas, E., & Martinent, G. (2020). Mental training program in tennis. Journal of Sport Behaviour, 31, 264�275.
racket sports: A systematic review. International Journal of Racket Sports
Science, 2(1), 55�71. Mamassis, G. (2005). Improving serving speed in young tennis players. ITF
Coaching and Sport Science Review, 35, 3�4.
Robin, N., Dominique, L., Toussaint, L., Blandin, Y., Guillot, A., & Le Her, M.
(2007). Effects of motor imagery training on service return accuracy in
tennis: The role of imagery ability. International Journal of Sport and
Exercise Psychology, 2, 177�188.
Sch�nborn, R. (2000). Advanced Techniques for Competitive Tennis (2nd ed.).
Aachen: Meyer & Meyer Sport.
Theodorakis, Y., Weinberg, R., Natsis, P., Douma, I., & Kazakas, P. (2000).
The effects of motivational versus instructional self-talk on
improving motor performance. The Sport Psychologist, 14, 253-271.
https://doi.org/10.1123/tsp.14.3.253
Copyright � 2021 Nicolas Robin, Robbin Carien, Boudier Christophe & Laurent Dominique
This text is under a Creative Commons BY 4.0 license
You are free to Share - copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format � and Adapt the content - remix,
transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially under the following terms:
Attribution: You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You
may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
CC BY 4.0 license terms summary. CC BY 4.0 license terms
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December 2021, 29th Year, Issue 85 11
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December 2021. 29th Year. Issue 85. 12-14
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https://doi.org/10.52383/itfcoaching.v29i85.275
Preliminary kinematic analysis of the serve in 10
and under players
Maxime Fadier, Pierre Touzard & Caroline Martin
M2S Laboratory, University of Rennes 2, Bruz, France.
ABSTRACT Key words: service, performance,
biomechanics .
The serve is a fundamental stroke to win a match at a high level. From a long-term player
development perspective, it is necessary to know the biomechanical learning stages of Received: 27 September 2021
this stroke. However, the scientific data concerning the biomechanics of the serve have
focused on the 12&U, 14&U, 16&U, 18&U and +18 categories. The objective of this Accepted: 15 November 2021
study is to propose a preliminary kinematic analysis of the serve in children aged 10 and
under (10&U) to provide benchmarks for coaches regarding the teaching of the serve in Corresponding author: Caroline
younger players. Martin. Email: caroline.martin@
univ-rennes2.fr
INTRODUCTION 1). The ball speed was measured with a radar (Stalker Pro II+,
USA). 16 kinematic parameters were calculated to describe
At a high level, the serve is the most important shot of the the biomechanics of the serve (Table 1).
game, as it allows the player to dominate the opponent and
win the rally quickly (Whiteside et al., 2013). Its effectiveness Figure 1. Position of front and back markers.
can influence the player's performance, the outcome of the RESULTS
point and the result of the match. Players who win the match, The players hit the serves with a ball speed of 94 � 10 km/h
make fewer double faults and outperform their opponents and a maximum racquet head speed of 93 � 9 km/h. The
in 1er serve percentage (Hizan et al., 2011). The percentage 10&Us showed a maximum rear knee flexion angle of 134 �
of total points won and points won after the first serve are 10 � and a front knee flexion angle of 121 � 12 �. The internal
determining factors in the junior game (Kovalchik & Reid, angles of maximum flexion were 83 � 5� for the rear ankle and
2017). If a player expects to have success at a high level on the 82 � 9� for the front ankle. The speed of maximum extension
junior and then the professional tour, learning to serve from was 508 � 108 �/s for the rear ankle and 478 � 100 �/s for the
the first years of practice (7&U, 9&U, 10&U) is very important. front ankle. The speed of maximum extension of the rear knee
However, the serve is a complex shot whose execution can was 366 � 153 �/s and 489 � 160 �/s for the front knee. The
pose real problems to young players. For example, research maximum rear hip velocity was 1.3 � 0.2 m/s, and 0.9 � 0.3 m/s
has shown that in the 10&U category on green court the
success rate is the lowest for the serve (Fitzpatrick et al.,
2018). Therefore, when training these young players, the
knowledge related to the technical execution of this stroke
is paramount to provide guidance to coaches. However, data
in the scientific literature regarding the biomechanics of the
serve have focused on the 12&U, 14&U, 16&U, 18&U and +18
categories (Fett et al., 2021; Fleisig et al., 2003; Hern�ndez-
Dav� et al., 2019; Touzard et al., 2019; Whiteside et al., 2013).
Data for the 10&U category are very limited (Durovic et al.,
2008). Therefore, the aim of this study is to describe different
kinematic parameters of the 10&U serve.
METHOD
Six departmental level players, two girls and four boys,
participated in this study (age: 9.3 � 0.8 years; height: 136.0 �
5.8 cm; mass: 27.8 � 3.8 kg). The study took place on a "green"
court (24 m x 8.23 m) equipped by a motion capture system
comprising 23 optoelectronic cameras (Oqus 7+, Qualisys
System, Gothenburg, Sweden). The players were asked to
serve 3 first flat serves in the serve box. The players and their
rackets were equipped with reflective body markers (Figure
December 2021, 29th Year, Issue 85 12
Coaching & Sport Science Review International Tennis Federation
at the front hip. The maximum longitudinal hip rotation speed 153 �/s). For older age categories (12&U to adult), players do
was 493 � 154 �/s. The children flexed their trunk at a maximum the opposite by increasing the flexion and then the extension
speed of 286 � 45 �/s. At the level of the dominant upper limb, speed of the back knee (Fett et al., 2021; Whiteside et al.,
10&U year olds reached maximum elbow extension velocities 2013). Our results therefore demonstrated a still immature
of 1003 � 403 �/s, wrist flexion of 1472 � 155 �/s and shoulder rear knee thrust in 10&U departmental level players. It can
internal rotation of 1668 � 668 �/s. be hypothesized that this immature thrust is associated with
an overly long stretch-shortening cycle of the lower limb
DISCUSSION resulting in dissipation of stored elastic energy having the
effect of limiting the extension velocity produced by the lower
Ball speed is an indicator used in training to characterise the limbs (Whiteside et al., 2013). Conversely, our results showed
level of expertise of players and to evaluate the efficiency a more mature action at the ankles in 10&U as the maximum
of their serves (Fleisig et al., 2003). Our results showed that extension velocity of the rear ankle was approximately 30 �/s
the serve of 10&U players is about 60 km/h slower than higher than that of the front ankle.
that of 16&U players (Fett et al., 2021) and about 90 km/h
slower than that of +18 professional players (Fleisig et al., At the trunk level, the maximum longitudinal hip rotation
2003). Although these differences are largely related to the speed of 10&Us was similar to that of older players (Fett
maturation of physical abilities from childhood to adulthood et al., 2021; Fleisig et al., 2003). In contrast, the maximum
(Kovalchik & Reid, 2017), there are kinematic parameters that trunk flexion speed of 10&Us was lower than that of 16&Us
may account for the lower ball speed observed in 10&Us. (Fett et al., 2021). This result suggests that 10&Us favour
longitudinal rotation of the trunk to create speed instead of
The serve follows a proximo-distal sequence during which the lateral trunk or shoulder over shoulder rotation, which is
the movement starts with the proximal segments. At the still not very effective because the leg thrust is still immature
start of the kinematic chain, our results showed that 10&Us at that age. These two actions of the trunk (flexion and lateral
flex the front knee more than the back knee (121 � 12 � vs. tilt) thus constitute axes of progress to be considered during
134 + 10 �). The maximum extension speed of the front knee adolescence.
was greater than that of the back knee (489 � 160 �/s vs 366 �
Table 1
Comparative table of the different parameters measured according to the age categories 10&U, 12&U, 16&U and +18.
Our results Fett et al, (2021) Whiteside et al, (2013) Fleisig et al, (2003)
10&U 16&U
Parameters 94 � 10 151 � 20 12&U 16&U +18 +18
93 � 9 / Men: 183 � 14
Ball speed (km/h) 134 � 10 / / / Women: 149 � 14
121 � 12
Maximum racquet head speed (km/h) 108 � 11 148 � 11 155 � 11 /
Internal angle of maximum 366 � 153
rear knee flexion (�) 489 � 160 102 � 10 93 � 10 93 � 8 92 � 8 /
Maximum internal angle of flexion 83 � 5 108 � 16 105 � 10 115 � 7 111 � 8 /
of the front knee (�) 82 � 9
508 � 108 518 � 102 / / / /
Maximum rear knee extension speed (�/s) 478 � 100
1,3 � 0,2 447 � 99 / / / 800 � 400
Maximum front knee extension speed (�/s) 0,9 � 0,3
Maximum internal angle of flexion 493 � 154 / / / / /
of the rear ankle (�) 286 � 45
1003 � 403 / / / / /
Maximum internal ankle flexion angle (�) 1472 � 155
1668 � 668 / / / / /
Maximum rear ankle extension speed (�/s) 585 � 144
Maximum front ankle / / / / /
extension speed (�/s)
/ 1,8 � 0,2 1,9 � 0,1 2,3 � 0,1 /
Maximum rear hip speed (m/s)
/ 1,4 � 0,2 1,5 � 0,1 1,7 � 0,1 /
Maximum speed of the front hip (m/s)
Maximum longitudinal 424 � 96 / / / 440 � 90
hip rotation speed (�/s)
493 � 71 / / / /
Maximum trunk bending speed (�/s)
1564 � 327 1147 � 185 1592 � 191 1524 � 144 1510 � 310
Maximum elbow extension speed (�/s)
1071 � 299 1164 � 189 1581 � 184 1911 � 264 1950 � 510
Maximum wrist flexion speed (�/s) 2029 � 332 1288 � 365 2165 � 373 2000 � 297
Maximum shoulder internal Men: 2420 � 590
rotation speed (�/s) / / / / Women: 1370 � 730
Maximum longitudinal shoulder 870 � 120
rotation speed (�/s)
December 2021, 29th Year, Issue 85 13
Coaching & Sport Science Review International Tennis Federation
The dominant arm joints contribute strongly to speed rotation actions were found to be biomechanically already in
production (Tanabe & Ito, 2007). The maximum elbow place. Future work is needed to determine whether scaling
extension speed of 10&Us is comparable to that of 12&Us the environment (court size, net height) to the morphology
(Whiteside et al., 2013). In contrast, there is a significant of the 10&Us would facilitate serve learning, improve their
deficit between the 10&Us and 16&Us, indicating minimized performance, and result in biomechanical parameters closer
elbow involvement at younger ages. Thus, our results support to those measured for older age groups.
the hypothesis of (Whiteside et al., 2013) that younger
players employ a less ascending pre-impact racket trajectory CONFLICT OF INTERESTS AND FUNDING
than that used by older players, potentially explaining the
differences in ball speed between these age categories. The authors declare that they do not have any conflict of
interest and that they did not receive any funding to conduct
The internal shoulder rotation velocity of the 10&Us is the research.
higher than that of the 12&Us obtained by Whiteside et al.,
(2013) but is significantly lower than those obtained by the ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
16&Us, 18&Us and +18s (Table 1). The same is true for the
maximum wrist flexion speed. These results provide a better The authors want to thank Nicolas Cantin, territorial sports
understanding of the reduced ball speed in 10&Us insofar as advisor, Brittany Tennis League and all the players who
it has been shown that shoulder internal rotation and wrist participated in this study.
flexion speeds are the main contributors to linear racquet
head speed (Tanabe & Ito, 2007). REFERENCES
PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Durovic, N., Lozovina, V., Pavicic, L., & Mrduljas, D. (2008). KINEMATIC
ANALYSIS OF THE TENNIS SERVE IN YOUNG TENNIS PLAYERS. ACTA
The results of this study provide some practical KINESIOLOGICA, 2, 50-56.
recommendations for coaches of young players. After the
age of 10 (12&U and 14&U categories), biomechanical work Fett, J., Oberschelp, N., Vuong, J.-L., Wiewelhove, T., & Ferrauti, A. (2021).
to improve the serve technique can be oriented on the action Kinematic characteristics of the tennis serve from the ad and deuce
of the back knee. The aim is to progressively bring the young court service positions in elite junior players. PloS One, 16(7), e0252650.
players to bend the back knee more to store a certain amount https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0252650
of elastic energy in the quadriceps and then to produce an
explosive extension of the back knee that will allow them to Fitzpatrick, A., Davids, K., & Stone, J. (2018). Effects of scaling task constraints
efficiently engage the upward projection of the back hip and on emergent behaviours in children's racquet sports performance. Human
the rotation actions of the trunk (trunk flexion and shoulder Movement Science, 58, 80-87.
over shoulder rotation) and the upper limb (elbow projection
and internal rotation of the shoulder). Thereafter, targeted Fleisig, G., Nicholls, R., Elliott, B., & Escamilla, R. (2003). Tennis: Kinematics
and adapted muscle strengthening work during adolescence used by world class tennis players to produce high-velocity serves. Sports
(16&U, 18&U and +18) will allow to optimize segmental and Biomechanics, 2(1), 51-64. https://doi.org/10.1080/14763140308522807
joint rotation speeds such as rear knee extension, shoulder
internal rotation, elbow extension or trunk flexion. Hern�ndez-Dav�, J. L., Moreno, F. J., Sanz-Rivas, D., Hern�ndez-Dav�, H.,
Coves, �., & Caballero, C. (2019). Variations in kinematic variables
CONCLUSIONS AND WAY FORWARD: and performance in the tennis serve according to age and skill level.
International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport, 19(5), 749-762.
This study shows that the 10&Us perform immature actions of https://doi.org/10.1080/24748668.2019.1653036
the back knee, elbow and shoulder during the serve compared
to older age groups, which helps to explain their reduced ball Kovalchik, S. A., & Reid, M. (2017). Comparing Matchplay Characteristics and
speed performance. In contrast, the ankle and longitudinal hip Physical Demands of Junior and Professional Tennis Athletes in the Era of
Big Data. Journal of Sports Science & Medicine, 16(4), 489-497.
Tanabe, S., & Ito, A. (2007). A three-dimensional analysis of the contributions
of upper limb joint movements to horizontal racket head velocity at
ball impact during tennis serving. Sports Biomechanics, 6(3), 418-433.
https://doi.org/10.1080/14763140701491500
Touzard, P., Kulpa, R., Bideau, B., Montalvan, B., & Martin, C. (2019).
Biomechanical analysis of the "waiter's serve" on upper limb loads in young
elite tennis players. European Journal of Sport Science, 19(6), 765-773.
https://doi.org/10.1080/17461391.2018.1539527
Whiteside, D., Elliott, B., Lay, B., & Reid, M. (2013). The effect of age on
discrete kinematics of the elite female tennis serve. Journal of Applied
Biomechanics, 29(5), 573-582. https://doi.org/10.1123/jab.29.5.573
Copyright � 2021 Maxime Fadier, Pierre Touzard & Caroline Martin
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You are free to Share - copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format � and Adapt the content - remix,
transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially under the following terms:
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may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
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December 2021. 29th Year. Issue 85. 15-17
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https://doi.org/10.52383/itfcoaching.v29i85.294
Coaching children 10 and under with a disability in
a multi-sport program
Janet A. Young, Loretta Konjarski & Rachael Beatson
Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia.
ABSTRACT Key words: children, disability,
inclusion, adapt .
This paper reports on a review of an Australian-based physical activity program (including
tennis) for children 10 and under with a disability. Key features of, and strategies in, this Received: 16 October 2021
program are highlighted. Implications for coaches to provide inclusive and modified
programs for children 10 and under are discussed. Accepted: 25 November 2021
Corresponding author: Janet A.
Young. Email: janet_young7@
yahoo.com.au
INTRODUCTION
The Program
Victoria University in Melbourne, Australia, conducts a
physical activity program for children with a disability
(including physical disability, intellectual disability, vision
impairment and hearing impairment). The program started
in 2005 and, to date, over 1500 children have attended.
Currently, the majority of children in the program are aged 10
years and under and they participate in a range of modified
activities including tennis (introduced in 2011), soccer,
volleyball, netball, bowling and other minor games that focus
on fundamental movement and gross motor skills including
catching and throwing.
The program is organised and managed by the three authors
of this paper with the invaluable coaching assistance of first-
year university students who are enrolled in the Inclusion
and Diversity in Physical Education unit. Since 2018, the
program consists of four blocks of bi-weekly sessions of
60-minute duration conducted on four basketball courts in
an indoor facility close to the university campus. In the first
session, groups of 4-8 children (generally from the same
school class) with 4-6 coaches are formed. The groups usually
continue throughout the block of sessions (but can change
due to absences, group and individual needs and Covid-19
lockdowns for example). The children who participate in
the program attend Special Developmental schools in the
Western suburbs of Melbourne.
Sessions Purpose
The sessions follow `game-sense' principles (i.e., games The purpose of this paper is to report on a review of this
versus drills) and start with a group warm-up game (e.g., award-winning program. Specifically, what are its key features
Follow the Leader or Captain's Treasure), followed by a set and strategies adopted that facilitate a safe, fun, engaging and
of 3-6 activities. These activities are developed, modified inclusive program?
and adapted to address the interests and abilities of the
children. Examples include relays of passing beanbags on a
small racquet and rolling coloured balls with small racquets/
bats around cones. To conclude a session, a group warm-down
game (e.g., throwing plastic balls on a large multi-coloured
parachute) is conducted.
December 2021, 29th Year, Issue 85 15
Coaching & Sport Science Review International Tennis Federation
PARTICIPANTS
The three authors of this paper, all academic staff members
and coaches at Victoria University, participated in a review of
the program. The first two cited authors (above) developed
the program in 2005 and have since managed its delivery. The
third cited author joined the program in 2018.
PROCEDURE The reviewers' lists of features and strategies were then
shared and discussed. Common items were identified and
Prior to reviewing the program, ethics application was sought discrepancies between reviewers consensually validated
but was not required as no data was collected from a third (Patton, 2002).
party.
RESULTS
The reviewers/authors were requested to review the program
over the last four years when it moved to a neighbouring The results of the above procedure are shown in the following
indoor sporting facility. The reviewers were requested to table.
identify the program's key features, and associated strategies,
focusing on the children aged 10 and under who participate in
tennis activities.
The reviewers independently made a list of the program's
key features and strategies adopted based on their own
observations and feedback received from the coaches/first-
year university students and the carers/school teachers who
accompanied the children to the program.
Table 1
Key Features and Strategies.
Key Features Key Strategies
Engaged and well- � Coaches expect, and accept, there might be initial apprehensions and nervousness when first coaching a new group
prepared coaches focus on � Coaches consult with each other, and source relevant material (e.g., Special Olympics Games for Children), to prepare detailed
participation and fun in a
range of non-competitive session plans that include at least 6 different activities and 2 `back-up' activities and safety considerations
activities and games � Coaches draw on the children's individual abilities and interests to develop session plans
� Coaches are prepared to adapt planned activities; possible modifications are planned in advance
� Coaches conduct `mock'/trial sessions with fellow coaches and address feedback
� Coaches encourage and reward participation (score-lines etc have little meaning)
Conditions are safe, inviting, � Coaches conduct a thorough examination of all (including playing) accessible areas prior to sessions
accessible and inclusive � Coaches are mindful of distancing between individuals/groups and adopt modified, light and easy-to-use equipment
� Coaches assume responsibility to ensure equipment is stored in bins if not being used
� Drink- and rest-breaks are included
� Carers are consulted about medical conditions that may impact on a child's participation where appropriate
� Children are accompanied by a carer for bathroom visits
Sessions are activity- and � Coaches lead a variety of activities (not just tennis-related) of `short' duration and are ready to modify/adapt activities to retain
participant-focused, interest and ensure participation
engaging and fun
� Children (and/or their carers) are asked what activities they like
� Familiar and enjoyed activities are often repeated (with or without minor modifications)
� Coaches adopt novelty, tactile and colourful equipment where possible
� Fun group warm-up and warm-down activities `book-end' each session
Communications are � Demonstrations replace instructions and coaches may adopt flash cards, visual aids and pictures to illustrate activities and
predominantly visual and all behaviours when necessary (e.g., jumping)
are clear, encouraging and
easily understood � Coaches lead the way and actively participate in the activities (vs acting solely as an observer)
� Lots of smiles, encouragement, positive body language and laughter replace the coaches' spoken words!
Individual differences in � Time is devoted to getting to know each child and their interests and abilities
abilities and interests are
addressed to ensure all � Information from carers/school teachers about a child's interests and abilities is sought if children are not joining or enjoying
children can participate and activities
`have a go'
� Activities match children's interests and abilities with a one-on-one interaction (if sufficient numbers of coaches available) or
coaches adopt `zones of activity', grouping children with similar abilities and interests to do the same activity
Coaches expect, and are � Coaches accept changes to planned activities during sessions are likely to be required and prepare accordingly with ways all
prepared, to adapt activities activities can be modified or new ones added
to retain interest and
attention and to ensure the � Debriefing sessions for coaches are conducted after sessions when `success stories' and `challenging situations' are exchanged
activities suit the skill level � Coaches are encouraged to keep reflective journals detailing insights gained from sessions
of each child
December 2021, 29th Year, Issue 85 16
Coaching & Sport Science Review International Tennis Federation
DISCUSSION � Review the composition of their programs for children
10 and under to include a variety of games and activities
This paper reports on a review of an Australian-based physical (that can be readily modified) across a range of sports in
activity program, where tennis is one of the activities, for addition to those that relate just to tennis
children 10 and under with a disability. The key features of,
and strategies adopted in, the program that were identified in CONCLUSION
the review (Table 1) are inter-related and linked. Collectively,
they support the importance for coaches to be inclusive in the This paper highlights a number of practical considerations
delivery of activities and to encourage children to `have a go' for coaches when working with children 10 and under with
and `have fun'. a disability (refer to Table 1). Importantly, coaches need
to respect and address each child's unique abilities and
We suggest the features of, and strategies adopted in, the interests; be well-prepared but willing to adapt and modify;
program are not `revolutionary' or surprising. Nor are they keep activities `short and sharp'; be mindful of safety; give lots
exclusive to programs for children with a disability. Rather, of smiles, encouragement and feedback; and prioritise fun,
they endorse well-recognised sound coaching principles enjoyment and participation. The program is testament to
including inclusion, preparation, fun, safety and engagement what can be achieved with a special group of children who are
(Martens, 2012). Further, the factors and strategies identified often overlooked by coaches.
complement the existing literature on coaching children
with a disability that advocates everyone should be able to CONFLICT OF INTERESTS AND FUNDING
participate in sport and physical activity in a welcoming and
inclusive way regardless of ability, prior knowledge and skill The authors declare that they do not have any conflict of
level (e.g., SportAus, n.d). interest and that they did not receive any funding to conduct
the research.
Our program's format to include a variety of games and
activities across a number of sports is also consistent with REFERENCES
research (e.g., Cote et al., 2009; Sleiman, 2019) supporting
a multi-sport and multi-activity approach (versus early Cote, J., Horton, S., MacDonald, D., & Wilkes, S. (2009). The benefits of sampling
specialisation) for long-term developmental and other sports during childhood. Physical and Health Education Journal, 74(4),
psychosocial benefits for children. 6-11.
Implications for coaches Martens, R. (2012). Successful coaching (4th ed.) Human Kinetics
Patton, M. Q. (2002) Qualitative evaluation and research methods. Sage.
The authors of this paper suggest coaches may wish to: Sleiman, M.E. (2019). Does being too specific too young produce good youth
� Review their own programs to ensure these provide athletes but poor adult athletes? Journal of Australian Strength &
welcoming opportunities for children with a disability to Conditioning, 27(2), 86-90.
participate Special Olympics (Aust.) Resources. https://schools.specialolympics.com.au/
resources
� Adopt the list of key features and strategies in Table 1 as SportAus. (n.d). Inclusive sport. https://www.sportaus.gov.au/integrity_in_
a checklist when reviewing their programs. We believe sport/inclusive_sport
our list could be `a good starting point' when reviewing
other programs for children 10 and under and provide
clues for practical and effective implementation
Copyright � 2021 Janet A. Young, Loretta Konjarski & Rachael Beatson
This text is under a Creative Commons BY 4.0 license
You are free to Share - copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format � and Adapt the content - remix,
transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially under the following terms:
Attribution: You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You
may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
CC BY 4.0 license terms summary. CC BY 4.0 license terms
RECOMMENDED ITF TENNIS ACADEMY CONTENT (CLICK BELOW)
December 2021, 29th Year, Issue 85 17
COACHING & SPORT International Tennis Federation
SCIENCE REVIEW www.itfcoachingreview.com
December 2021. 29th Year. Issue 85. 18-21
ISSN 2225-4757
https://doi.org/10.52383/itfcoaching.v29i85.290
Emotions in young tennis players:
A new tennis-specific scale
Antonio Daino, Vanessa Costa, Riccardo Martoni & Sergio Costa
Italian Tennis Federation, Italy.
ABSTRACT Key words: scale, emotions, tennis
questionnaire, test SPET.
This article describes the development of the "Scale Perception Emotion Tennis" (SPET).
This scale tries to contribute to the understanding and assessment of responses related Received: 3 October 2021
to the inadequate management of emotions in tennis competition. It delineates how the
SPET tool could represent a first step in the direction of increasing the awareness of the Accepted: 24 November 2021
players and could be used by the coaches to compare their perception of the player's
emotions with the one of their athletes. Corresponding author: Antonio
Daino. Email: adaino@libero.it
INTRODUCTION For these reasons, a tool was developed to detect and measure
these feelings with the goal of using this knowledge to teach
Emotions are multifaceted subjective feelings reflecting how to manage the emotions. It is called the "Scale Perception
expected, current, or past interactions with the environment Emotion Tennis" (SPET) and could be established thanks to a
and play a fundamental role in human adaptation and self report questionnaire. The goal of this questionaire was
performance by improving sensory intake, detection of to determine the more dominant emotional aspects while
relevant stimuli, readiness to behavioral responses, decision- performing competitive tennis.
making and interpersonal social interactions (Robazza &
Ruiz, 2018). These beneficial effects enhance human health The purpose of the following research was to monitor ideas,
and performance in any endeavor. For many years, sport thoughts, beliefs, and emotional experiences in relation to
psychologists have been concerned with the study of the tennis performance in the different age groups, levels and
deleterious effects of stress and anxiety purported to the main genders using the new proposed scale. This information
factors in the failure of performers to fully and effectively use would therefore be useful not only in improving the players'
their skills (Robazza, 2006). emotional awareness, but also in promoting the self-
regulation of the emotions perceived during the matches.
These aspects are present in tennis, too, where the self-
efficacy degree to cope with the match tasks influences the METHOD
emotions and their perception (Costa et al., 2015). For this
reason, the matches arouse both in the audience and in the Participants
players an enormous emotional involvement; the young
tennis players are often forced to deal with strong emotions The questionnaire was proposed to 136 participants, 93
that tend to affect their performance negatively. Anxiety, male and 43 female, with an average age of 20.27 years old,
sadness, fear and anger are emotions felt very often, and with SD 8.6, and grouped in 4 different groups based on each
young players in comparison with professional players are specific tennis role (coaches, Under-16 Italian national team
less able to understand and explain these oppressive feelings, players, Under-16 competitive tennis players and Under-16
and cope with them effectively during the tournament. amateurs).
The interest in the emotion field first appeared within the Table 1
Italian Tennis Federation many years ago, but took shape in Mean and SD of the 4 groups.
a research project which started in 2016 when the mental
staff of the R. Lombardi Institute, under the direction of Coaches Num. Mean SD
Michelangelo Dell'Edera and coordinated by Antonio Daino, Italian National Team Players 55 28.90 7.09
put forward the "ABC of Emotion Project". This project Competitive Tennis Players 29 15.89 1.84
was designed to investigate the emotions connected to the Amateurs 25 12.84 1.74
competitive context in regarding players of national level 27 14.25 2.24
Under-12 (Daino & Uberti, 2014). This work, conducted on
30 selected (best) Italian tennis players (balanced by gender,
age, and level of play), revealed that, asking the young tennis
players to list the emotions they usually experience on-
court, 70% of them started with negative emotions as a first
response (anxiety, anger and fear), while only 30% reported
positive emotions (joy, happiness and serenity). This may
be attributable to the fact that, in youth sports, excessive
emphasis is placed on result instead of fun, which conversely
should be a fundamental element in these phases of sport
(Merkerl, 2013).
December 2021, 29th Year, Issue 85 18
Coaching & Sport Science Review International Tennis Federation
Questionaire Statistical Analysis
Data analyses were performed using Statistica 8.0. The
The "Scale Perception Emotion Tennis" (SPET) was variables normality distribution was evaluated with the
administered in the post-game interviews of the players Shapiro-Wilk test and, since the variables results were not
between 2012-2014 with the Italian Tennis Federation normally distributed, nonparametric tests were run for
mental trainers, and produced a first version of 30 items in Groups Comparison and Cluster Analysis. Thresholds of
total. This version was revised to have a final version with 20 significance were set at p < 0.05.
items, using only those aimed at investigating the specificity
of tennis emotions. The questionnaire evaluated 3 different RESULTS
areas: Emotions, Thoughts and Behavior and it made up of of
the following items. Figure 1. Total score comparison in the four groups.
Kruskal-Wallis analysis shows that groups differed of the total
1. Competing makes me feel at ease and energised. score at the questionnaire (Fig.1) [H ( 3, N= 136) =47,67597 p
=,0000]. Moreover, Mann-Whitney U Test comparisons show
2. My performance gets better while playing in front of some differences between groups [Coaches vs Competitive
a crowd. Tennis Players (Z: 5.08; p: 0.000); Coaches vs Amateurs (Z:
5.37; p:0.000); Italians Selected vs Competitive Tennis Players
3. I tend to perform better during practice than during (Z: 3.96; p:0.000); Italians Selected vs Amateurs (Z: 4.27; p:
competitive matches. 0.000)], with the exception of Coaches vs. Italians Selected
comparison (Z: 1.16; p: 0.245) and Competitive Tennis Players
4. I am very afraid of losing the match. vs Amateurs comparison (Z: 0,43; p:0.781).
According to the k-means data, the scree plot (Fig. 2) shows
5. I hop on my toes to keep active and activated. the two-cluster solution with 76 subjects in cluster 1 (Coaches
and Italians Selected) and 60 subjects in cluster 2 (Competitive
6. I use a breathing technique to better adjust to the Tennis players and Amateurs).
pressure of a match.
7. I cannot stand the pressure of the third set and can't
wait for it to end.
8. I keep my fingers crossed not to play against certain
players.
9. I am able to focus and not get distracted even during
clutching moments.
10. I play my best tennis during tough matches.
11. I feel too much tension during a match.
12. My opponents play best when they are playing against
me.
13. I am able to release tension between points.
14. I am able to control my anger after an unforced error.
15. I get stuck on clutching points.
16. My timing gets worse when I am under pressure.
17. I am able to relax and calm down during breaks
between matches.
18. I play better during competitive matches than in
practice.
19. I am overwhelmed by my thoughts.
20. I miss opportunities due to indecision.
The players were then asked to answer, thinking about what
they felt during the tournament matches, indicating for each
item, on the basis of a four-point Likert scale, if that feeling
was perceived "always", "often", "sometimes" or "never". For
the assessment, an increasing or decreasing score was then
assigned, from four to one, depending on the orientation of
the specific question.
Procedure Figure 2. Plot of Means for each cluster.
The participants, in groups, were invited to answer to the
questionnaire, being as sincere as possible, since the test was
absolutely anonymous with no right/wrong answers.
December 2021, 29th Year, Issue 85 19
Coaching & Sport Science Review International Tennis Federation
Table 2
Means and SD of the two clusters for each questionnaire's item.
Cluster 1 Cluster 2 Mann-Whitney U Test
Std.Dev. Std.Dev.
Mean 0,75 Mean 0,60 Z p-level
2,75 0,88 2,82 0,88
1 Energised E 2,12 0,87 2,71 0,74 0,55 0,580
2,43 0,80 2,72 0,69
2 Crowd T 1,85 0,90 3,08 0,85 3,57 0,000
2,27 1,02 2,93 0,92
3 Practice T 2,20 0,88 2,84 0,64 2,18 0,028
1,63 0,98 3,49 0,75
4 Afraid E 1,88 0,72 3,39 0,77 7,17 0,000
2,50 0,87 2,54 0,76
5 Activated B 2,70 0,85 2,89 0,73 3,92 0,000
2,02 0,66 2,88 0,78
6 Breath B 1,90 0,79 2,89 0,70 3,49 0,000
2,57 0,93 2,49 0,90
7 Third T 2,68 0,76 2,64 0,59 8,48 0,000
2,17 0,81 3,00 0,76
8 Finger crossed T 2,05 0,79 2,86 0,87 7,28 0,000
2,30 0,94 2,82 0,84
9 Clutching T 2,38 0,94 2,66 0,89 0,39 0,696
1,85 0,89 2,55 0,78
10 Tough B 2,83 2,62 1,13 0,254
11 Tense E 5,33 0,000
12 Opponents T 6,32 0,000
13 Relax B -0,79 0,423
14 Anger B -0,14 0,886
15 Stuck E 5,88 0,000
16 Pressure E 5,14 0,000
17 Calm B 3,28 0,001
18 Competition B 1,77 0,075
19 Thought T 4,05 0,000
20 Indecision E -1,22 0,220
As shown in Table 2, the two clusters differ in 13 items, 6 of For these reasons, since these skills are trainable, starting
them related to the area of thoughts (items 2, 3, 7, 8, 12, 19), paths of literacy, recognition, awareness and then training
4 to the emotions (items 4, 11, 15, 16) and 3 to the behaviors will be necessary, will provide an increase in mental and
(items 5, 6, 17). emotional skills (not only tactics and technique), allowing the
young players an optimal growth not only in tennis, but also
DISCUSSION as human beings.
This study shows how the awareness of one's own emotional CONCLUSION
experiences, the ability to recognize them in the court, to
accept and manage them to obtain an effective performance In conclusion, the SPET tool represents a first step in the
seems to be more influenced by the expertise and the tennis direction of increasing players' awareness and could be used
skills rather than the players' age and gender. Moreover, these by the coaches to compare their perception of the athletes
differences are in the area of thought, most likely because with the one of their athletes, discussing about what happens
they make the difference in the emotional management on the court. Further studies should confirm the validity of
between expert and less expert players. For the latter group the scale, as well as exceeding the limits of those groups wich
small differences have been found in the behaviors to manage are not homogeneous by gender and level.
these difficulties, especially to release one's tension between
the points rather than controlling anger after an unforced However, SPET can also help sport psychologists to choose
error. the best emotional training for each specific player, helping
him/her to work on the emotional dimension that is most
The second cluster, that is the one composed of non- lacking during the match (awarness of emotions, thoughts
professional tennis players, reported more negative emotions or behaviors). The correct understanding of the assumptions
such as tension, fear, pressure, and getting stuck. And most that are in the minds of our children and athletes is an
likely, for this reason, they perform different by behaviors indispensable premise for an effective intervention and
to release tension and stay calm, such as breathing and could help us create court-exercises allowing the athlete to
activation. experiment and manage their emotions.
These observations, according with the Laborde and colleagues CONFLICT OF INTERESTS AND FUNDING
review (2015) on the Emotional Intelligence in sport, could
suggest that the ability to recognize and effectively manage The authors declare that they do not have any conflict of
emotions in the field may be associated with physiological interest and that they did not receive any funding to conduct
stress responses and successful psychological skill usage, like the research.
the functional thougth.
December 2021, 29th Year, Issue 85 20
Coaching & Sport Science Review International Tennis Federation
REFERENCES Laborde S., Dosseville F., & Allen M.S. (2015). Emotional Intelligence in sport
and exercise: a systematic review. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine &
Costa, S., Livi, S. & Polani, D. (2015). Una scala per la misura delle convinzioni Science in Sports.
di efficacia personale nel tennis. Il Giornale Italiano Psicologia dello Sport,
num. 24, 3-8, Calzetti Mariucci Editori. Merkel, D. L. (2013). Youth sport: positive and negative impact on young
athletes. Open Access J Sports Med. 31;4:151-60.
Daino, A., & Uberti, E. (2014). Le emozioni nel tennis: non sono interruttori ON/
OFF. Supertennis, 5, march. Robazza C. (2006). Emotion in Sport: An IZOF Perspective. Literature Reviews
in Sport Psychology, pp.127-158
Robazza, C. & Ruiz, M. C. (2018). Emotional Self-Regulation in Sport and
Performance. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Psychology.
Copyright � 2021 Antonio Daino, Vanessa Costa, Riccardo Martoni & Sergio Costa
This text is under a Creative Commons BY 4.0 license
You are free to Share - copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format � and Adapt the content - remix,
transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially under the following terms:
Attribution: You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You
may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
CC BY 4.0 license terms summary. CC BY 4.0 license terms
RECOMMENDED ITF TENNIS ACADEMY CONTENT (CLICK BELOW)
December 2021, 29th Year, Issue 85 21
COACHING & SPORT International Tennis Federation
SCIENCE REVIEW www.itfcoachingreview.com
December 2021. 29th Year. Issue 85. 22-24
ISSN 2225-4757
https://doi.org/10.52383/itfcoaching.v29i85.308
Transversal competences in primary education
through tennis
Juan Pedro Fuentes-Garc�aa & �ngela Isabel Carmona Blancob
aUniversity of Extremadura, Spain. bCEIP Virgen de Guadalupe, Spain.
ABSTRACT Key words: mini-tennis, school,
values, sustainability.
The main objective of this article is to raise awareness of the potential of tennis at school,
more specifically in Primary Education, for the treatment of important aspects such as Received: 9 November 2021
academic performance or physical-motor affective, emotional, and social development.
In this sense, we present, as an example, games to develop cross-cutting themes at Accepted: 27 November 2021
school from the area of Physical Education, such as gender equality, education for
peace, education for responsible consumption and sustainable development, as well as Corresponding author: Juan
education for health. Pedro Fuentes. Email: jpfuent@
unex.es
INTRODUCTION risk by residing in a neighborhood with a high rate of violence,
showed significant benefits at the affective and learning level,
In relation to the practice of tennis at an early age and its Thus, the results of this study, in which the students received
introduction at school, Wang (2016) stressed the important tennis lessons of 45 minutes twice a week for three months,
role of mini-tennis in the educational system, not only reflected a greater mastery and taste for tennis, greater
increasing the interest of students in this sport, but also self-esteem and self-image, as well as an improvement in the
boosting the development of its teaching at a higher level. affective and behavioral relationships of the children who
However, although tennis presents some difficulties to be participated in the program.
adequately developed in Physical Education sessions at
school, due to its technical and organizational complexity, Linked to the above, several initiatives have been developed
facilities, and material..., there are different proposals that to promote cross-cutting themes, such as values, from the
have provided effective solutions to positively overcome area of Physical Education. Thus, Fuentes and Mart�nez-
them (Fuentes et al., 2020; Fuentes, 2013, Sanz et al., 2004). Pati�o (2021) suggested the importance of this area as an
ideal context for the development of the values of Olympism,
Currently, authors such as Tsuda, Ward and Goodway (2018) describing an educational action called "Racket Day". In this
presented a set of knowledge to be acquired consisting of 13 activity, more than five hundred Primary School pupils from
tasks framed in the four stages of game development of Rink different schools participated simultaneously in an activity
(2012), defining the main contents to be addressed in Physical in which the aim was to promote different racket sports
Education classes of Upper Primary Education, relying, through games in five rotations. These games combined
among other proposals and initiatives, on those carried out sports learning and development of values, the students must
by the United States Tennis Association (USTA), in the case of
the Net Generation Quickstart, which have suggested the use
of an important variety of modifications aimed at facilitating
the learning of tennis by children: use of short rackets, use of
smaller sized courts and nets, slow bouncing balls... Thus the
USTA (2021) noted that 48% of children participating in their
school tennis programs obtain an average "A" school grade,
73% have not misbehaved in school, or 82% volunteer in their
communities:
In relation to all the above, sport in the school context and,
therefore, tennis as well, are an excellent means to intervene
on various problems of our educational-social environment
towards an adequate physical-motor affective, emotional,
and social development of schoolchildren (Fraile & De Diego,
2006). In this context, a study conducted by Ara�jo, Soares
and Fuentes (2014), based on a tennis program at school
aimed at children aged 9-11 years old, students of a public
school, who presented a low academic level, being at social
December 2021, 29th Year, Issue 85 22
Coaching & Sport Science Review International Tennis Federation
achieve five tokens (the five Olympic rings), each representing prevail. Finally, after the corresponding matches with the
a sport and a value through their active participation in each approved rules, all the students, with the presence of the
game. teacher as moderator, must propose rules and vote them,
until reaching a common competition regulation for all
For example, in Spain, the Organic Law 3/2020 of 29 December the students.
(LOMLOE) establishes that students in Primary Education (6-
12 years old) will work on gender equality, peace education, � In a cooperative stroke exchange situation, before hitting
education for responsible consumption and sustainable the ball to the opponent's court, qualify the partner with
development, as well as health education, including affective- a positive adjective about his/her personality, trying
sexual education. Likewise, special attention will be paid to not to repeat any of them during each rally: brave, fair,
emotional education and education in values, as well as to kind, polite, friendly, patient, nice. A variation can be to
the promotion of meaningful learning for the development introduce individual or pair competition and the moment
of transversal competences that promote autonomy and someone misses a shot or repeats an adjective during the
reflection. same point, he/she loses the point. You can also set up
rallies or matches in which after a player says a positive
Therefore, the main objective of this article is to offer a vision adjective, for example, "hard-working", the partner must
of the great possibilities of tennis in the school context, in say the opposite, "lazy".
general, and in Primary Education, in particular, to contribute
effectively to a better academic performance or the physical- Education for responsible consumption and sustainable
motor, affective, emotional and social development of development
students.
� As a warm-up, run at a slow pace; each student with a
PRACTICAL PROPOSAL sheet of newspaper makes a "ball", players pass the ball
one to each other in pairs each time with a different hand
In this section, we offer several examples of original games or and in the most varied ways possible; individually or in
games adapted from Fuentes, M�ller and Furlaneto (2020), pairs, they play coordination games, such as passing it
to develop cross-cutting themes through tennis taking behind the back, between the legs, throwing it up in the
into account the great importance of attitudinal work and air, turning on oneself and catching it before it hits the
the acquisition of values from an early age, as well as the floor..... Next, they use the newspaper itself to place the
opportunities offered by tennis to develop work focused sheets folded in half on rubber bands placed, for example,
on them. These games are originally framed in the area of from one basketball basket to another, to be used as a net
Physical Education in schools, although they are considered for the development of the class. Afterwards, at the end
equally interesting to be carried out in other contexts. of the session, students should take the papers to the
recycling bin.
Gender equality
� Carry out games, using cones as lines and the mentioned
� In mixed teams, players try to hit 12 balls in a row net/rubber, which allow us to quickly vary the width
without missing, being mandatory that, of the four, each and length of the fields if we want to work on tactical
time a different boy or girl hits the ball, so each one must concepts such as depth, opening angles... through hitting.
hit 2 balls. Games can be introduced in the ball game, for Likewise, we can raise the net (more time for the ball to
example, each time the ball is hit, a phrase representing fly) in games in which we consider it appropriate for the
gender equality must be said out loud, for example "Girls children to have more reaction time to return the ball...
and boys are equal in their studies" or "Boys and girls Through these types of games, we want the children to
are equally brave", and the phrases cannot be repeated appreciate and value that it is not only possible to work
in each attempt. When 12 points have been scored, with little material, but also that sometimes the use of
any of the boys or girls can say aloud a sentence that certain pedagogical resources can offer organizational
includes sexist stereotypes, for example "Girls have to advantages and, in certain cases, it can even be more
wear earrings and bracelets" or "Boys have to defend useful to use them to work on certain aspects of the
girls". From one of the latter phrases, everyone can try game than other more conventional material.
to win the point, although they also have the option
of continuing to cooperate and saying gender-equal
phrases and therefore scoring points. The game can be
played in reverse, starting by trying to win the point by
saying phrases that contain sexist stereotypes and if a
boy or girl says a gender-equal phrase, points are added,
and the game is played collaboratively.
Peace education
� Doubles competition. The boys and girls try to create
their own rules of play for their matches; if the four of
them do not agree on what the rules should be, they
will vote on each proposal; in the event of a tie, a draw
is made, for example, rotating the racquet if there is a
tie between two, and depending on which side comes
out, the one that has been favoured by the draw will
December 2021, 29th Year, Issue 85 23
Coaching & Sport Science Review International Tennis Federation
CONCLUSIONS
Tennis practiced at an early age has proven to be an
effective tool to improve school performance and physical-
motor affective, emotional, and social development of
schoolchildren who practice it. Considering all the above, it
is advisable to implement the game at school since it is very
useful to be developed in Primary Education (6-12 years), by
using the sport as a cross-cutting theme to work on aspects
such as gender equality, education for peace, education for
responsible consumption and sustainable development, as
well as health education.
Health education CONFLICT OF INTEREST AND FUNDING
� Delimit with cones or draw, for example, with chalk, a The authors declare that they do not have any conflict of
pyramid in each part of the court, coinciding its base with interest and that they did not receive any funding to conduct
the net, representing the "nutritional pyramid" of the the research.
ideal healthy consumption frequency depending on the
type of food. The pyramid will be divided into four zones: REFERENCES
the first zone, the closest to the net and, therefore, the
widest, representing flours, cereals and water (4 balls: Ara�jo, M. L., Soares, A., Fuentes, J. P. (August 6-8, 2014). O t�nis no
4 points), the second zone related to vegetables and desenvolvimento humano de crian�as em risco social: um projeto piloto
fruits (3 balls: 3 points), the third zone related to dairy para as aulas de Educa��o F�sica. X Semin�rio Internacional de Educa��o
products, fish, meat, eggs and legumes (2 balls: 2 points) F�sica, Lazer e Sa�de. Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florian�polis,
and the fourth zone, corresponding to the vertex of the Brazil.
pyramid, related to fats and sugars (1 ball: 1 point). The
students will be distributed in each lane individually or in Fraile, A. and De Diego, R. (2006). Motivations of European schoolchildren for
pairs and will exchange shots in a collaborative way. Each the practice of school sport. A study conducted in Spain, Italy, France and
child must score 10 points. To be considered valid, each Portugal. International Journal of Sociology, 64(44), 85-109.
student must say out loud the name of a food within the
area of the pyramid to which he/she sent the ball, without Fuentes, J. P. (2013). Didactic variables in the teaching of tennis. In B. Sa�udo
repeating names; for example, if he/she sends the ball to (Ed.), Tennis and women (pp.171-196). INDE.
the second area, say "strawberries". Thus, to achieve the
goal each child must send four balls to zone 1, three to Fuentes, J. P., M�ller, J., Furlaneto, O. A., Sanz, D. (2020). T�nis nas escolas: mitos
zone 2, two to zone 3 and one to zone 4 (total: 10 points). e posibilidades. In C. Corr�a, C. A. Abaide, J. Zarpellon and J. P. Fuentes
Depending on the level of mastery of the students, for (Ed.), T�nis: Um olhar multidisciplinar (pp. 59-80). Editora CRV
example, they will have 10 attempts to achieve the goal
without having to follow a specific order of sending the Fuentes, J. P., Muller, J. and Furlaneto, O. A. (2020). Tennis, school and inclusion:
balls to the different zones, or even, to increase the Socializing and practical perspective. INDE.
difficulty, it may be mandatory to send first the four balls
to zone 1, then three to zone 2, and so on. Fuentes, J. P, Mart�nez-Pati�o, M. J. (2021). Development of Olympic values in
Primary School students: a proposal for teaching innovation through sport.
In G. G�mez, C. Rodr�guez, M. N. Campos and M. Ramos (Ed.), Nuevos
escenarios educativos: hacia el Horizonte 2030 (pp. 475-489). Dykinson.
Organic Law 3/2020, of 29 December, which amends Organic Law 2/2006,
of 3 May, on Education. Bolet�n Oficial del Estado, 340, of 30 December
2020, 122868-122953. https://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2020/12/30/pdfs/
BOE-A-2020-17264.pdf
Rink, J. (2012). Teaching physical education for learning (6th ed.). New York, NY:
McGraw-Hill
Sanz, D., Juli�n, J. A., Fuentes, J. P. and Del Villar, F. (2004). Tennis at school.
Tsuda, E., Ward, P., & Goodway, J. D. (2018). Defining Tennis Content in Upper
Elementary Physical Education. Journal of Physical Education Recreation
and Dance, 89(6), 33-41. https://doi.org/10.1080/07303084.2018.14769
39
United State Tennis Association. Play tennis in schools. Retrieved on November
4, 2021 from https://www.usta.com/en/home/play/youth-tennis/
programs/national/play-tennis-in-schools.html
Wang, D. Y. (2016, Jan 23-24). Exploration on the Penetration of Mini-tennis
in Tennis Teaching. Advances in Public, Environmental and Occupational
Health [2016 pph international conference on social science and
environment (pph-sse 2016), vol 2]. PPH International Conference on
Social Science and Environment (PPH-SSE 2016), Vancouver, CANADA.
Copyright � 2021 Juan Pedro Fuentes-Garc�a & �ngela Isabel Carmona Blanco
This text is under a Creative Commons BY 4.0 license
You are free to Share - copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format � and Adapt the content - remix,
transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially under the following terms:
Attribution: You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You
may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
CC BY 4.0 license terms summary. CC BY 4.0 license terms
RECOMMENDED ITF TENNIS ACADEMY CONTENT (CLICK BELOW)
December 2021, 29th Year, Issue 85 24
COACHING & SPORT International Tennis Federation
SCIENCE REVIEW www.itfcoachingreview.com
December 2021. 29th Year. Issue 85. 25-27
ISSN 2225-4757
https://doi.org/10.52383/itfcoaching.v29i85.307
Interdisciplinarity and tennis in primary
education
Juan Pedro Fuentes-Garc�aa & �ngela Isabel Carmona Blancob
aUniversity of Extremadura, Spain. bCEIP Virgen de Guadalupe, Spain.
ABSTRACT Key words: mini-tennis, school,
comprehensive models, cognitive
The aim of this article is to show solid scientific and pedagogical bases that justify the functions.
importance of introducing tennis in Primary Education, so that, from the area of Physical
Education, the acquisition of skills linked to other areas is encouraged through this Received: 9 November 2021
sport. Thus, the great contribution of comprehensive models to the teaching of tennis,
or the benefits that tennis practiced in a played way brings in the executive functions Accepted: 28 November 2021
of children who practice it, is based. Finally, a practical proposal is proposed, based on
different interdisciplinary games, to be developed from the area of Physical Education Corresponding author: Juan
to other areas of the school (mathematics, foreign language...), although also applicable Pedro Fuentes. Email: jpfuent@
in other contexts, such as clubs or tennis academies. unex.es
INTRODUCTION potential of tennis in the early stages of development to
acquire skills in different areas of education (Fuentes, Muller
Faced with traditional teaching models, focused on acquiring & Furlaneto, 2020), as well as to provide important benefits
a mastery of technique to later apply it to the real context, in at the physical, psychological and social level in children who
the eighties a group of teachers emerged in England, especially practice it (Ara�jo, Soares & Fuentes, 2014).
at Loughborough University, who proposed a new way of
teaching-learning sports, the "comprehensive model", in which In relation to the above, the results of the cross-sectional
the learning of skills, decision making and understanding study conducted by Ishihara et al. (2017) showed significant
should be inseparable aspects of the execution itself (Fuentes, improvements in executive functions (inhibitory control and
2013). In relation to the above, different methodological working memory) and physical fitness in children aged 6-12
approaches and practical proposals arise focused on teaching years, regular tennis players, after participating in a program
tennis at early ages, characterized by a game-based teaching, based on cognitively engaging tennis activities (coordination
where the understanding of the fundamentals of the game and training and game-based exercises). The study concluded that
the development of basic tactics must precede the mastery of longer duration of game-based exercises correlated positively
technique (Fuentes and Gusi, 1996; French Tennis Federation, with inhibitory control and physical fitness, while coordination
2000; Brechb�hl and Anker, 2000; Turner, Crespo, Reid and training was associated with better working memory. The
Miley, 2002; Sanz, Juli�n, Fuentes and Del Villar 2004; Torres results of another study by these same authors, Ishihara et
and Carrasco, 2005; Fuentes et al, 2005; Unierzysk and
Crespo, 2007; Fuentes, 2009; Fuentes, 2013: Fuentes et al.
2020; Fuentes, Muller and Furlaneto, 2020).
Thus, compared to traditional methods of teaching tennis,
Unierzyski and Crespo (2007) state that the teaching of this
sport has undergone major changes in the last 15-20 years,
having suffered very little progress in previous decades,
which clearly dominated a traditional methodology focused
almost exclusively on technique or the production of the
different strokes without a real understanding of the nature
of the game.
Today, the International Tennis Federation proposes a
teaching model based on play and tactics through the "Play
& Stay" campaign, where the manipulation of the practice
elements (racket, ball and playing space) allows greater
interaction between players from the early stages (ITF, 2007).
In this sense, different works have shown the interdisciplinary
December 2021, 29th Year, Issue 85 25
Coaching & Sport Science Review International Tennis Federation
PRACTICAL PROPOSAL
In this section, considering, as reflected in the introduction,
the undeniable physical, psychological and social benefits of
playing tennis at an early age, as well as the great potential
of the comprehensive model for better learning and
interdisciplinarity with other areas of education, we propose,
as an example, different games, some of them original and
others adapted from Fuentes, M�ller and Furlaneto (2020).
These games are initially proposed to be developed in the
context of the school Physical Education Area, but also, why
not, in other areas of action, such as clubs or tennis academies.
al. (2017), similarly conducted with children aged 6-12 years, Knowledge of the natural, social and cultural environment
showed that playing tennis and practicing isolated tennis skills
improve children's executive functions more than watching � Three students on each side of the court, working
television, with game-based tennis lessons appearing to be together, must pass the ball to the third touch (each
more effective in improving such executive functions than a student only one touch), trying to keep the ball in play as
more traditional technique-based approach. In the same line long as possible, trying to achieve a record. The student
of research as the two aforementioned studies, Ishihara et who passes the ball to the other side of the court must say
al. (2018) conducted a study with the aim of evaluating the out loud the name of a city, for example "Madrid" and the
effects of 12 months of frequent tennis practice in children student on the other side of the court, when returning
and children aged 6 to 11 years on executive functions, as the ball, will say the country in which the city is located
well as the relationships between moderate to vigorous daily (Spain), not being able to say more than four times in a
physical activity (MVPA), physical competence and enjoyment row cities of the same country. If a name is left unsaid or a
of playing tennis with executive functions, showing the results name is repeated during the same exchange, the count is
that frequent tennis playing facilitates working memory, with stopped. Make variants using historical characters, types
increases in MVPA being associated with greater cognitive of food, groups of animals...
flexibility. In addition, changes in physical competence and
enjoyment of tennis were positively associated with better Art Education
inhibitory control, working memory and cognitive flexibility.
� In teams of six children each, using a variety of tennis
On the other hand, the results of the study carried out by equipment (rackets, balls, boats, covers...), each team will
Rym et al. (2019), conducted with 5-6 year old boys and girls, have 3 minutes to invent a situation without being heard
divided into two groups (group with two years of experience by the other teams.), each team will have 3 minutes to,
playing tennis and sedentary group with no previous without being heard by the other teams, invent a situation
experience in any type of sport) showed that at certain times that recreates, for example, a famous painting, or a film,
of the day the peak of postural performance, the peak of or a song... After the preparation time, each team will
attentional abilities and the greater visual input to maintain have to perform the representation (for example for a
balance were only found in the group with experience in maximum of 30 seconds) in front of the others, who will
tennis. In addition, tennis players were more stable and more try to guess what it is about, and the team that performs
attentive than sedentary players. must keep a ball in play for at least two touches per child
(12 touches) before finishing the performance.
As an example to contextualize the practical proposal that
will be presented later, in the context of Spain, the Organic Spanish Language and Literature
Law 3/2020, of 29 December (LOMLOE), which will come
into force in the academic year 2022-2023, structures � In doubles formation, cooperating in the exchange of
Primary Education in three cycles of two years each, starting strokes, each child, before passing the ball to the opposite
with the First Year of the First Cycle (6 years), organized in side, must say aloud a verse of a short children's poem
the following areas: (a) Knowledge of the natural, social and (El gallo despertador -by Gloria Fuertes-, Adi�s Sol -by
cultural Environment -Nature Sciences and Social Sciences-; Federico Garc�a Lorca-...) until they recite it completely.
(b) Artistic Education -Plastic and Visual Education, and Music The poem may have been previously passed on to the
and Dance; (c) Physical Education; (d) Spanish Language and children, learnt or perfected during the tennis class
Literature and, if any, proper Language and Literature; (e) itself..., it being essential that the children understand
Foreign Language; (f) Mathematics. To these areas, Education its meaning and progressively achieve better diction and
in Civic and Ethical Values will be added in some of the courses interpretation.
of the third cycle.
Foreign Language
Considering all of the above, the main objective of this
article is to present scientific and pedagogical foundations � Students should exchange shots in collaborative ways.
that support the suitability of introducing tennis in Primary When the teacher verbalizes a preposition of place in
Education for the development of competences from the area English - "on" (on), "over" (over), "in" (in), "under" (under),
of Physical Education to other areas of the curriculum. "betwen" (between), "in front of" (in front of)... - the
children should, individually or in pairs, invent a situation
playing with the place, area, height... The children should,
individually or in pairs, invent a situation by playing with
the place, area, height, etc. of the shot that expresses this
preposition, being able to use a preparatory touch with
December 2021, 29th Year, Issue 85 26
Coaching & Sport Science Review International Tennis Federation
the racquet to the ball before hitting it to the other side of CONFLICT OF INTEREST AND FUNDING
the court to allow more time to make the right decision.
The authors declare that they do not have any conflict of
� Divide each side of the court into four zones numbered interest and that they did not receive any funding to conduct
from 1 to 4. In a collaborative stroke exchange situation, the research.
each student, before his partner hits the ball from the
other side of the court, must imitate an animal with REFERENCES
sounds and gestures, and the partner must say the name
of the animal that is being imitated, preceded by the Ara�jo, M. L., Soares, A., Fuentes, J. P. (August 6-8, 2014). O t�nis no
number of the zone, for example, if a cat is imitated and desenvolvimento humano de crian�as em risco social: um projeto piloto
the player goes to zone 2, he must say in English "dos para as aulas de Educa��o F�sica. X Semin�rio Internacional de Educa��o
gatos" (two cats). F�sica, Lazer e Sa�de. Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florian�polis,
Brazil.
Mathematics
Brechb�hl, J. and Anker, P. (2000). The method of action in tennis. ITF Coaches
� Doubles matches, where each player, before hitting the Review, 22, 7-10.
ball to pass it to the opponent's court, must say out loud
a number (for example 5), a child of the other pair before French Tennis Federation. (2000). The child comes first, the student comes
hitting the ball will say another number (for example 4) later. ITF Coaches Review, 22, 17-20.
and the next child who has to pass the ball will have to say
the result of adding the first and second numbers, that is Fuentes, J. P. and Gusi, N. (1996). Played initiation to technique and tactics in
"9", and the point can be lost both for missing the shot tennis: reduced spaces and little material. Copegraf.
and for not doing the sum correctly. Subsequently, for
example, the subtraction can be introduced or even the Fuentes, J. P., Menayo, R., Carmona, A. I. & Palacios, A. B. (2005). Physical
addition can be made if the hit is above the waist or the Education and English in the LOCE: tennis as a practical proposal of
subtraction if it is below the waist. interdisciplinarity. El Patio de Educaci�n F�sica, 4, 1-16.
CONCLUSIONS Fuentes, J. P. (2009). M�todos de ensino e destrezas de Conunica��o no ensino
do tenis. In C. Balminotti (Ed.), O ensino do tenis: novas perspectivas de
The use of the "comprehensive model" for teaching tennis aprendizagen (pp. 250-266). Artmed.
at an early age has provided, compared to traditional
approaches, in addition to a better knowledge of the game Fuentes, J. P. (2013). Didactic variables in the teaching of tennis. In B. Sa�udo
from the beginning and, therefore, provide a more playful (Ed.), Tennis and women (pp.171-196). INDE.
and motivating environment, important benefits at the
physical, psychological, and social level in its practitioners. Fuentes, J. P., M�ller, J., Furlaneto, O. A., Sanz, D. (2020). T�nis nas escolas: mitos
It is considered appropriate to enhance the important e posibilidades. In C. Corr�a, C. A. Abaide, J. Zarpellon and J. P. Fuentes
benefits at the level of executive functions of children (Ed.), T�nis: Um olhar multidisciplinar (pp. 59-80). Editora CRV
who learn and practice tennis by playing, using for this
purpose methodologies that integrate interdisciplinary Fuentes, J. P., Muller, J. and Furlaneto, O. A. (2020). Tennis, school and inclusion:
work associated with different educational areas, such as Socializing and practical perspective. INDE.
mathematics, foreign language, or art education.
ITF (2007). Play & Stay Manual. ITF Ltd.
Organic Law 3/2020, of 29 December, which amends Organic Law 2/2006,
of 3 May, on Education. Bolet�n Oficial del Estado, 340, of 30 December
2020, 122868-122953. https://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2020/12/30/pdfs/
BOE-A-2020-17264.pdf
Sanz, D., Juli�n, J. A., Fuentes, J. P. and Del Villar, F. (2004). Tennis at school.
Development of didactic units. In D. Sanz (Ed.), Tennis at school (pp. 157-
230). Paidotribo.
Torres G. and Carrasco, L. (2005). Tennis at school. INDE.
Turner, A; Crespo, M.; Reid, M. and Miley, D. (2002). The game understanding
approach applied to teaching tennis. ITF Coaches Review, 26, 2-3.
Unierzyski, P. and Crespo, M. (2007). Review of modern teaching methods for
tennis. International Journal of Sport Science, 7, 1-10.
Copyright � 2021 Juan Pedro Fuentes-Garc�a & �ngela Isabel Carmona Blanco
This text is under a Creative Commons BY 4.0 license
You are free to Share - copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format � and Adapt the content - remix,
transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially under the following terms:
Attribution: You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You
may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
CC BY 4.0 license terms summary. CC BY 4.0 license terms
RECOMMENDED ITF TENNIS ACADEMY CONTENT (CLICK BELOW)
December 2021, 29th Year, Issue 85 27
COACHING & SPORT International Tennis Federation
SCIENCE REVIEW www.itfcoachingreview.com
December 2021. 29th Year. Issue 85. 28-30
ISSN 2225-4757
https://doi.org/10.52383/itfcoaching.v29i85.257
Cognitive and emotional characteristics of
tennis players in the discovery stage
(4 to 6 years old)
Luc�a Jim�nez
Global Tennis Team, Spain.
ABSTRACT Key words: emotions,
experimentation, enjoyment.
The imprint that the coach leaves on a child in their first interactions with the racquet
is crucial and determinant in how the child will experience the sport in later stages. Received: 13 October 2021
Through this article we will expose the cognitive and emotional characteristics that we
consider that the coach should know to contribute to a full tennis, social and emotional Accepted: 27 November 2021
development of their students. All of them accompanied by suggestions for application to
the court sessions. Corresponding author: Luc�a
Jim�nez. Email: luciajalmendros@
gmail.com
INTRODUCTION the new discoveries of neuroscience and the experimental
research of psychologists and teachers of education pioneers
Different former professional tennis players have shown the in their field (e. g. Piaget, 2001), provide characteristics and
importance that the first coaches had in their sporting careers modes of intervention that are useful in order to apply them
(e.g., Court and Laver), how they transmitted them with their in mini-tennis classes.
example a way of living sport, competition, life... This deep
imprint is sometimes overlooked, or even underestimated COGNITIVE AND EMOTIONAL CHARACTERISTICS FROM
the importance of the child's experience at such a young age, 4 TO 6 YEARS OLD:
reducing the objectives of this stage to acquire basic technical
notions and "having a good time". However, being fun and This is the emotional stage par excellence, a key moment for
enjoyment, different things by the way, priority objectives at experimentation and sensory development. At this stage they
this age, the breadth of enriching experiences and learning can learn to name emotions and to know their own processes. They
be very broad, and this depends on the training and resources want to learn by doing if possible by themselves, exploring
at the psychological and emotional level of the coach. the environment through their senses. Thus, environmental
learning and stimulation (not overstimulation) are crucial
While the stages of initiation (10 years and older), (Bilbao, 2015; Montessori, 1915/2014; Ostroski, 2016; Siegel
improvement, competition... are well documented at a & Payne, 2012; Steiner, 1924). This means that from birth,
psychological level (e.g. Crespo, 2010; Samulski, 2006; Young, the child is exploring the world, moving from a closer contact
2015), this, the Discovery stage is sometimes a mystery of with his mother, to a more social interaction. From the age
which, as experienced coaches, we sense characteristics of of 3-4 years, the child begins to interact more with peers as
the children, and yet, we do not know more specific aspects well as with adults other than parents. This openness to the
of their evolution, which can lead to approaches too advanced
(or too little advanced!) for their age.
"The most important period in life is not college, but the first of
all; from birth to the age of six." Maria Montessori.
A field of reference from which to nourish oneself to acquire
training at an early age is that of Education, and in recent
years educational trends have gained great recognition which,
although they have been fully developed in different countries
since the beginning of the 20th century -and sometimes
earlier-, it is in recent years when they are experiencing
greater prominence. We refer to the respectful pedagogies
implemented in Active Schools whose line of intervention is
based on positive discipline and respect for the evolutionary
stages of the child, such as Waldorf Pedagogy, Montessori,
Reggio Emilia, Pikler... These pedagogies, together with
December 2021, 29th Year, Issue 85 28
Coaching & Sport Science Review International Tennis Federation
world is complementary to the fact that they spend a great � Go to where they are: Avoid shouting or raising your
deal of time playing with themselves and often do not feel like voice, for your sake and theirs.
sharing games or material. This information is fundamental
because knowing that it is part of their development leads � Bend down and look them in the eyes: It is a basic form of
us not to force acts that do not correspond to their age, since respectful communication, show them with your example
in many cases it is a matter of projections of the adult on the the importance of eye contact and feeling listened to. It
child ("e.g.: You must always share all your toys!"). Remember, is one of the fundamental differences between contact
the best example is action, as we behave with them and talk to with human beings or mobiles/computers.
them, so we will generate certain dynamics and ways of acting
that they will absorb and eventually reproduce. This leads us � Communicate/make your request in a calm and collected
to another important characteristic, their interest in imitating tone. Remember that you are their best example.
and their great capacity to learn by observation. Finally,
highlighting the evolution in their emotional and cognitive � Establish, if they are comfortable, a gentle contact, a
world given the great development of language that has taken gesture of complicity (a ritual "bump", a hand on the
place by then, the child is able to name emotions, understand shoulder showing appreciation...).
them, contextualize them and, fundamentally, experience
them (UOC, 2021). � Give them time to finish what they are doing with
dedication. These are their real learning moments.
Note: We cannot reduce the evolution of the little ones to
marked and static ages because each child has a particular � Use practical, visual examples. Remember that they learn
rhythm, so we will take as a reference these characteristics primarily by observation, not by word of mouth.
that, we insist, can be given before or after in time.
� Recognize their achievements: At this age they already
LIMITS AND NORMALITY perceive themselves as "capable or not" of achieving what
they set out to do; let's try not to condition them with our
A characteristic from the earliest years is the constant search preconceived ideas or limitations, let's build a mentality
for limits by children and adolescents. They ask, through their of confidence and openness to experimentation, beyond
actions, to be told or tested how far they can go. A tennis the result.
lesson is a space of coexistence in which to harmonize moods,
desires and rules within a given time. In this sense, limits and � Involve the family. Tennis is a collective sport that is
certain rules - few and clear - are important, as they save time practiced individually. If you involve the family in your
and energy. In line with positive discipline, being kind and firm. philosophy of tennis, how they can give it continuity from
Their participation in the establishment of certain rules is, in home... learning will increase exponentially.
turn, fundamental, as they begin to develop a common vision,
which looks out for the good of the whole. � Reach out your hand and invite action.
On the other hand, what we understand as normality and A space for reflection
what we take for granted is not so clear in early ages. If you
want greeting, asking how you are, picking up, listening, Having read some basic characteristics of children of this age,
empathizing, accepting and/or persisting for a goal, to be a you can reflect on the following:
natural part of your players, create that seed in your classes,
now is the time. � What could I do in my classes that I haven't tried yet?
RECOMMENDATIONS AND PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS � Have I left out, forgotten, omitted... any important ideas?
"Don't worry if your students don't listen to you, they are � How could I improve my classes to make them even more
watching you all the time". modified by M� Teresa of Calcutta complete or creative?
� Open and close the sessions with a ritual (and name it!): � How would I like to be remembered? And to remember
A fun way to establish the phases of a session (warm-up, your first years in tennis?
main part, cool down) is through rituals that define the
transition from one phase to another, the beginning and
the end of a class are good times for children to learn to be
in contact with their body, their sensations, how to relax,
activate ... in addition to creating spaces for interaction
with turns of speech or action, which give rise to basic
social dynamics that will generate an inertia for later
stages. Remember that it is now when the "normal" is
established, and the "normal" is not stipulated externally,
you create it in your sessions through the dynamics that
you carry out.
� Make circles when communicating: It's an organized and
equitable way of interacting that leaves an imprint on the
subconscious (everyone at the same distance, everyone
equally important).
December 2021, 29th Year, Issue 85 29
Coaching & Sport Science Review International Tennis Federation
CONCLUSIONS REFERENCES:
We are in the stage in which the first contact of boys and Bilbao, A. (2015). The child's brain explained to parents. Barcelona: Plataforma
girls in a tennis class takes place, what happens here and Actual.
now will leave a mark that will influence the rest of their
years in the sport. It is a very special and beautiful moment Crespo, M. (2010). Psychological issues when dealing with 10 and under. ITF
in their development, their creativity is sky high, and they are Coaching and Sport Science Review, 51 (18), 20-21.
full of energy. To plan fun, enriching sessions, open to social
interaction and experimentation, welcoming all the emotional Montessori, M. (1915/2014). The method of scientific pedagogy applied to
range that invades them is a challenge that the coach can childhood education. Madrid: Biblioteca nueva.
enjoy enormously, it is a matter of organization, training, and
illusion. Ostrosky, F. (2016). Brain Development. Retrieved from http://portal.oas.org/
LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=QSVgfnifmNc%3D&tabi.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST AND FUNDING
Piaget, J. (2001). Psicolog�a y pedagog�a. Barcelona: Cr�tica.
The author declares that she has not any conflict of interest Samulski, D. (2006). Tennis is a mental game - part one. ITF Coaching and Sport
and that she did not receive any funding to conduct the
research. Science Review, 40, 14- 15.
Siegel, D. & Payne, T. (2012). The child's brain: 12 revolutionary strategies for
nurturing your child's developing mind. Barcelona: Alba.
Steiner, R. (1924). The kingdom of childhood. Introductory talks on Waldorf
Education. NY: Anthroposophic Press.
UOC (2021). How to manage emotions in early childhood education. Retrieved
from https://fp.uoc.fje.edu/blog/como-gestionar-las-emociones-en-la-
educacion-infantil/
Young, J. (2015). Tennis is a game of strong and resilient confidence. ITF
Coaching and Sport Science Review, 65, 3-5.
Copyright � 2021 Luc�a Jim�nez
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