This drill helps young players combine lateral movement with ball striking in a simple and dynamic game situation.
It develops coordination, footwork quality, and positioning before contact, while reinforcing the fundamental techniques of the forehand and backhand.
Setup:
The coach places two cones on the same half of the court, positioned along the service line:
- one cone on each side of the court;
- each cone is placed approximately two metres from the centre line.
The players are divided into two groups and line up behind each cone, between the cone and the side glass.
The coach stands in the middle of the two service boxes with a basket of balls, ready to feed by hand.
How the drill works:
On the coach’s signal, the first player performs a lateral movement using side steps to move from one cone to the other.
As the player approaches the second cone, the coach feeds a ball by hand. The player must then:
- come to a balanced stop;
- position themselves correctly in relation to the ball, ideally using a closed stance (front foot and back foot aligned on a line perpendicular to the net);
- play a controlled forehand or backhand, depending on the side of the court.
After striking the ball, the player joins the back of the line at the cone where they finish their movement. This way, they continuously alternate the direction of their lateral movements and alternate between forehands and backhands.
As soon as one player has completed their action, the coach signals the next player to start (alternating between the two lines), maintaining a steady rhythm so that the children remain active throughout the drill.
The exercise can be performed with groups of 2 to 6 players while maintaining a high level of intensity.
Variation: To make the drill more challenging, the coach can feed the balls from the opposite side of the court using the racket instead of feeding by hand.
Objective of the drill:
The purpose of this exercise is to develop the players’ movement skills and coordination while improving the technical fundamentals of both the forehand and backhand.
Particular emphasis is placed on learning to hit from a stable closed stance, with the front foot positioned ahead of the back foot on a line perpendicular to the net. This helps young players develop better balance, positioning, and stroke mechanics from an early stage.
Video credits: Aula de Padel para crianças, movimentação lateral – Padel Raiz – YouTube