Blue Stage

Recommended for Ages 3,4,5,6

This stage works on fundamental motor skills such as

• Throwing
• Catching
• Striking
• Movement

Activities are modified to make it easier to succeed. 

Warmup – During the warmup, children will learn various footwork, such as sidestepping, dodging, balancing, and jumping. We might also do activities such as crocodile snap, follow the leader, or imitate various animals. 

Racquet skills – Balancing the ball on the racquet or rolling the ball along the ground can help gain basic control over the racquet. 

Throwing – Learning to throw over arm with a point and letter L is important as it is similar to serving. Also, an underarm throw is similar to a forehand. 

Catching – Is the best way to improve coordination and the ability to read the ball’s flight. Many activities will involve catching in a net or in their hands. 

Serve – We modify the serve as a “push serve” with no ball toss. 

Rallies – We rally along the ground with no bounce because most kids ages 3-6 can’t perceive the bounce yet. 

Volley – Students can block the ball with high five

Striking – We can strike the ball off the cone to learn forehand and backhand. Also the coach can feed some forehands and backhands for players starting to read the bounce.

Main Objectives

• Ready Position
• The forehand is with one hand, the backhand is with two hands
• Turning side onto the ball, swinging low to high and having the strings forward at the contact
• Short backswing on the volley, just a blocking action
• Push serve and increase to a small ball toss. 
• Able to catch
• Able to throw overarm or underarm.
• Can perform various footwork. 

To Level up to Red 1 we are generally looking for

– Can they serve with a small ball toss

– Can they perceive the ball’s flight, move a small distance and hit after one bounce?

How long does it take to level up?

Generally, 1 year on each level. However, players starting at age 3 or 4 will likely require 2 years on blue level.