When young children are first introduced to padel, playing several consecutive shots with a bouncing ball can still be difficult. Rolling the ball along the ground is therefore an excellent intermediate step, allowing them to discover the concept of rallying in easier conditions.
Similar to a game of hockey, the children use their racket to send the ball along the ground towards their partner, who then has to return it.
This exercise gradually develops coordination between movement and racket use, shot accuracy, and the ability to read the ball’s trajectory, while also introducing the first interactions between two players.
Setup:
The coach divides the players into pairs.
The two partners stand facing each other, racket in hand, approximately 3 steps apart.
Each pair has one ball, placed on the ground to start the exercise.
The coach makes sure there is enough space between the different pairs so that each group can play and move without getting in the way of the others.
How the drill works:
The two players begin by rallying with the ball while keeping it rolling along the ground at all times.
Using small, controlled forehand or backhand movements, each child tries to send the ball as close as possible to their partner to give them an easy ball to return.
The objective is not to hit hard, but to control the force and direction of the shot to keep the rally going for as long as possible.
Keeping the ball on the ground significantly reduces the difficulty compared with a regular rally. This allows the children to focus on movement, racket-ball contact, and accuracy, without initially having to deal with the height and bounce of the ball.
The coach can ask the players to count the number of successful consecutive exchanges to give them a simple and motivating objective.
If the exercise is still too difficult for complete beginners, you can add a control touch before returning the ball to the partner: the player receives the ball and stops it before sending it back towards their partner.
Variation: gradually increase the distance
After a few minutes, once the players are able to maintain several exchanges comfortably, the coach can increase the difficulty.
The two partners move two or three steps further apart and continue the exercise from a greater distance.
This exercise provides a simple and fun first introduction to rallying in padel. Once the children have mastered it, they can gradually progress to exercises that introduce the bounce of the ball, and then to real rallies with a partner.