The ANZ Tennis Hot Shots program is Tennis Australia’s official program for kids aged 10 and under, it comprises three key components: Learning through play, serve, rally and score.
Your local tennis club will give you advice of how to enrol your kids in a Hot Shots program and learn to start playing the game.
Kids have fun learning to play by enjoying a system that is full of learning opportunities, this is done without having to frequently stop the game and revert to explicit instruction based coaching that means standing around and being inactive for long periods of time.
This does not mean that technique and skills are not being taught, but technical intervention helps to perform the skills better when kids try to play the game. There is a purpose to technique that is players perform the tactics of the game more effectively.
The Red Stage
There are certain parameters for the Red Stage of Hot Shots, the court is 8m x 3m or 11m x 5-6m.
Net height is 80cm, racket 21” – 23”, and the lessons normally last for 45 minutes.
Red Stage Competencies
The skills and competencies that are taught at Red Stage are:
- Locomotion – How to move quickly in different directions, to be aware of space and to stop in balance.
- Skills – How to jump and hop in different ways.
- Body – Throwing a large ball using the rotation of the upper body.
- Control – Throw and catch a small ball using one or two hands. How to keep the head still, and coordinate the arms and legs whilst maintaining balance during moving.
- Serve – How to direct the serve over the net using an underarm or simple overarm serve.
- Return – How to return a serve, starting from a ready position, and using a simple low to high action with the contact in the front and to the side on both forehand and backhand. Also to control the return into space aiming away from the server.
- Baseline – Hot to judge the depth and direction of the ball effectively, to arrive at the ball in balance and to use a low to high action. To keep the ball in play for 10-15 shots in a baseline rally. And to change the direction of the ball and hit into space whilst rallying.
- Net – Make a simple net approach and perform a volley with control and consistency, and to control the racket face with a short forward movement.
- Scoring – To understand the scoring systems and etiquette for line calls. Be able to keep score with the scoreboard and to demonstrate where to stand when serving and returning.
- Enjoyment – Learn to enjoy competing in a variety of formats, lessons, colour ball challenges, and to play socially.
Completion
After reaching the required level of competency in all of the above, the child will be awarded a Red Certificate and will then be invited to attend the next stage which is Orange.
