This session is made up of exercises designed to develop the fundamental skills of padel in beginner children.
The drills are easy to perform, while still occasionally pushing children slightly outside their comfort zone.
This session is ideal for children who are new to padel, typically between the ages of 6 and 12, depending on their level.
These exercises form the foundation of your junior coaching sessions. They involve throwing, receiving, and hitting balls, both with and without a racket, helping players become familiar with rebounds, ball control, ball movement, and the basic forehand and backhand techniques.
Introduction : Coaching children in padel
Throughout these exercises, children will spend a lot of time working together.
Learning to work together from an early age is essential, as padel is always played in pairs.
For this reason, it is far more beneficial for children to perform exercises together than to spend the entire session receiving feeds from a coach with a basket of balls. The feeling of working as a team is highly rewarding for children and provides an additional source of motivation.
These exercises are designed to be fun, engaging, and game-oriented, which is a crucial aspect of coaching children. Keeping them motivated, active, and excited about padel is essential to their development and long-term enjoyment of the sport.
Tips for coaching children:
- Add an extra layer of motivation by awarding points when children achieve the desired objective: 1 point for catching the ball, 100 points for hitting the target, and so on.
- Avoid overwhelming children with too many instructions. Instead, give them a clear objective to achieve. When children understand the goal, they will naturally find ways to solve the challenge and reach it.
- Always remain extremely positive and enthusiastic. The primary objective is to make children fall in love with padel and look forward to every training session. After every successful action, use encouragement such as “Well done!” or “Excellent!” to reinforce confidence and help the child feel supported. If a child misses a shot, respond with “Almost!” or “Good try!” to keep them motivated.
This is how children develop a genuine passion for padel.
