#1 Right Stuff – Courts and Equipment are scaled to the appropriate size of the child. When children are just starting out we want to make it easier for them to play, not more difficult. Using the yellow ball on the full sized court makes it much tougher for them, especially as they are smaller. In no other sport is a six or seven year old child expected to play on an adult sized field or court!
#2 More Skills – Balls bounce lower and some (red) fly slower also, allowing players to develop technical skills faster. Using these balls means that children can learn more not less. As they develop they transfer these skills, as they move
from court to court, adding more coordination and complexity.
#3 No Extremes – As balls are hit in the appropriate strike zones more often players are less likely to
develop extreme grips and techniques that might limit their future development both tactically and technically.
#4 Play Quicker – Players can serve, rally and score faster. This means that children feel like they can really play the game and have more fun. They are also much more likely to practice as they can play without the coach, can play with you, and with their friends.
#5 Play and Stay – Players Stay in the game because they can actually play it (not a bunch of random other games). They learn the real skills required to play, and the coaches don’t have to makeup games that involve a ball and racquet but don’t actually resemble tennis at all.
#6 More Balls Please – As they can rally they will hit over 100% more balls than a player standing in line, being fed balls by the coach. No longer do children have to spend more time picking up than they do hitting. As a result they will improve much faster and also develop the essential tracking and receiving skills required for tennis.
#7 Tactical Mastery – Players develop a greater tactical awareness of the court and opponent sooner as they have the time to integrate the position of the opponent into a decision making process rather than just “winning the collision” with the ball. In short they get to “make the ball do what they want it to” and not just “cope” with the oncoming ball.
#8 Ticking all the Boxes – Red, Orange and Green tennis provides a systematic approach to developing different skills as ball trajectories change and court dimensions requires new or more advanced levels of technical and tactical skills. Players learn skills in an order meaning that they develop fewer gaps in their technical and tactical skills, or game styles.
#9 Move it – Players movement patterns are more realistic. For example 85% of shots on the tour are hit within 4 steps of the starting position. On appropriate sized courts this is very similar. Players can learn to be “on balance” and use realistic footwork and movement patterns. Also as more balls come back and rallies are longer they learn that recovery and being ready for the next shot are essential.
#10 No Robots – Players can develop a variety of game styles and skills that better suit their personality. The slower balls and smaller courts mean that players can play in all areas of the court, coming to net more often and learning to attack and defend more appropriately.
I spend a great deal of time trying to prove the worth of Red, Orange and Green to others. But recently I decided to stop trying so hard. You see the fact is that it makes sense. It’s the other side of the coin that doesn’t!
