Seniors

Tennis training with older players, i.e. seniors, is an exciting field. There are a few things to bear in mind when carrying out the drills, as tennis training with senior players is very different from training with children or adults. You should definitely pay attention to these things:

Clarify the player’s state of health

You cannot challenge older players to the same extent as you can with young adult players. Always check the player’s state of health before your first training session. In particular, check whether there are any cardiovascular problems. However, other chronic factors such as joint problems, osteoarthritis or diabetes should also be clarified. You must adapt your training according to the player’s state of health. You should avoid over-intensive drills. Older players no longer have the stamina to keep up with strenuous rallies. Take this into account when planning your training.

Create a good warm-up program

Those of you who are older will be familiar with this. If your body coped well when you were younger if you didn’t warm up before training, things look very different in old age. If you want to do tennis exercises for seniors, your student needs to be warmed up well. Focus on gentle movements, easy running and loosening up exercises. Of course, stretching and regeneration are also important for injury-free training.

Pay attention to the right load during tennis drills for seniors

The intensity and, above all, the duration of the drills play a decisive role. If you are practicing a series of strokes, for example, you should not make them too long. Seniors tire much faster. Perhaps consider reducing the time from 60 to 45 minutes, or use the first quarter of an hour for fitness.

Keep the focus on technique

Seniors are often very inquisitive and want to improve their technique even in old age. Use this factor to your advantage. As the focus is not on footwork, hitting speed, endurance or similar due to the physical circumstances, you should primarily improve your hitting technique with seniors. Teach an economical game in your tennis drills for seniors. Pay attention to a well-rounded and harmonious stroke execution. The idea of competition does not have to be the main focus of tennis training with older players.

Not to be underestimated: cognitive training

It is well known that the cognitive abilities of senior players also decline with age. Tennis training is a good way to train these skills. For example, use tennis drills that require the senior to concentrate particularly hard. The Save the Score” drill, for example, is a great exercise for older players that requires enormous concentration.