Solo ball skills are an excellent approach for students to practice and enhance their talents. Students can practice these solo skills at home, outside of school squash sessions. Students can use any racquet or ball at home to enhance their hand-eye coordination.
‘ROUND THE WORLD’ ON RACQUET – (See image for correct position)
- Arrange the students so that they stand in a clear area.
- Ask them to hold the racquet level in front of them (hold the racquet face flat to keep the ball on the racquet).
- Place the ball in the center of the strings, then gently tilt the racquet face to roll it around the rim of the racquet without it falling off.
- To make it more difficult, instruct students to do this while walking. Organize a team relay in which one student from each team walks down the gym and back, completing ’round the world’ on the racquet face. If a student drops the ball, they must restart from the beginning. The winning team may select a forfeit for the other teams (burpees, push-ups, etc.).
THIS VIDEO WILL DISPLAY ‘AROUND THE WORLD’ ON THE RACQUET FACE.
BOUNCES ON THE RACQUET
- Arrange students in a clear space.
- Ask them to hold the racquet level in front of them.
- Instruct them to bounce the ball in the center of the strings, keeping it low and near to the strings. They can increase the height of their bounces as their ability improves.
- Add some competition by timing the session (e.g., 2 or 3 minutes) and measuring how many they can bounce consecutively without error. Repeat to see if they can beat their own score.
THIS VIDEO WILL DEMONSTRATE BOUNCES ON THE RACQUET.
SOLO HITTING AGAINST THE WALL/NET ON THE BOUNCE (Progressions)
- Locate a clear net or wall space.
- Stand sideways, racquet head up (not too high) and in the correct grip.
- Throw the ball against the wall, softly hitting/tapping it before attempting to catch it. Repeat until the task is easy to do.
PROGRESSION 1: Throw the ball onto the net/wall (or bounce it to begin) and hit the ball against the net/wall with the forehand to continue the rally to oneself. Count the number of consecutive hits that may be accomplished without error.
PROGRESSION 2: Begin the above drill with a mini ‘serve’.
PROGRESSION 3: Stand further back from the net/wall.
PROGRESSION 4: Hit the ball on the bounce from side to side. forehand, backhand, forehand, and so on, indefinitely.
PROGRESSION 5: Hit mini volleys against the net or wall, without allowing the ball to bounce between strokes. Count the number of consecutive hits that may be accomplished without error.
REPEAT THE ABOVE FIVE PROGRESSIONS ON THE BACKHAND.
