This exercise for beginner children is designed to develop simple forehands and backhands while incorporating movement to bring energy and activity onto the court.
After hitting the ball, players must move around an obstacle before returning to their starting position.
It is also an excellent exercise for establishing sound forehand and backhand fundamentals in young players.
Level 1: Hitting simple forehands and backhands
Setup:
The coach places a chair or another obstacle approximately in the middle of the service box. The players line up behind the chair.
The coach stands on the opposite side of the court with a basket of balls to feed.
If there are many players, the coach can place a second chair in the middle of the other service box and alternate the feeds between the two groups.
The coach also places a chair on their side of the court (or several chairs) to serve as targets that the players must aim for with their shots.
How the drill works:
When working with children, it is very important to keep them moving and engaged with plenty of energy on the court. This exercise is designed specifically for that purpose.
The coach feeds slow and easy balls with the racket. The players move to the side of the chair, hit the ball, then move around the chair using side steps before returning to their position behind it.
To begin, the coach can have the players hit forehands before moving around the chair. After several successful repetitions, they switch to backhands, causing the players to move around the chair in the opposite direction.
In this way, the players continuously move around the chair, always using side steps to stay facing the net and keeping their eyes on the coach.
If a player successfully hits his forehand, he earns 1 point. If he also hits the target, he earns 5 points.
It is very important to coach the players on their racket preparation before contact, as well as on the overall forehand technique.
Technical reminder for the forehand and backhand:
The preparation position we are looking for:
- the racket is prepared low, at or below waist height;
- the racket tip points slightly downward;
- the arms are almost fully extended and away from the body;
- the knees are slightly bent, with the body weight on the front leg.
Players should make contact in front of their body with an extended arm and finish above net height, with the racket face slightly open.
One of the key benefits of this exercise is that it begins teaching players the importance of recovering their position after every shot and understanding that padel is a game of constant movement.
Video credits: Easy Key Padel Kids Exercises! – Otro Nivel Padel – YouTube
Level 2: Moving forward and backward to hit the ball
The setup for this second level is exactly the same.
This time, the players must hit two consecutive balls fed by the coach:
- a forehand after the ball bounces near the chair (similar to the first exercise);
- then move forward towards the net and play a volley before the ball bounces.
The coach continues feeding easy balls, counting the players’ points and guiding them throughout the exercise.
After their first shot, the players should not move too close to the net. Instead, they should stop approximately one metre from the net. There is no need to stand right on top of the net to play the volley.