Junior racquetball guidelines:
Full disclosure-this was written many years ago and these days I am coaching only seven kids and they are all at different skill levels. That makes some of these items I used to do, difficult. At the same time I am teaching racquetball there is pickleball in the gym and I see many talented kids out there playing. In the old days it was basketball and I would scoop up some kids from that group. That does not happen with pickleball as they are all out there with their grandparents playing. That said, the children I am teaching racquetball are outstanding youngsters with great family support!
1. Racquetball is a great game and a fun game-so I work to make it fun for kids!
2. After hooking the kids on that fact, you can slowly begin to teach them more fundamentals. I do it by asking the kids, who wants to play and who wants to learn more? I let them decide.
4. Multi bounce is a game Introduce to the little ones.
5. Not all little ones are ready for multi-bounce so I teach them small ball with a nerf ball. That way I can get four kids on one court. The side wall is the front wall and the short line is out of bounds. The serve has to be high and soft to begin rallies. The second court begins at the dotted line to the back wall and again, played off the left side wall.
6. Mix up racquetball with fun activities. We play sharks and minnows–the one shark in the river has to tag the minnows trying to swim across the river, The river begins at the dotted line and goes to the service line. Kids go from the back wall to the front wall across the river. and vice versa
7. I ordered gator skin dodge balls–no head shots allowed-I make the kids wear eye guards. Dodgeball is great also.
8. We use the agility ladder.
My sessions last one and a half hours and we try to keep the kids moving from one activity to the next so it is interesting
1. Open play 20 minutes–multi bounce or reg rules depending upon skill levels Or maybe even small ball with the nerf balls.
2. instruction-some aspect of the game on one court all kids bring a ball in. And we all execute basic shots or I hit them setups depending upon the skill levels.
20 minutes
3. Competitive play–moving opponents in and out with small ball, multi bounce or regular rules
30 minutes
4. Tournament play 15 minutes–some sort of competitive play of 5-7 point games
5. Grand finale–one of the activities mentioned-dodgeball, sharks minnows, agility ladder, then I make them all huddle , tell them all day they have had to be quiet in school and to make as much noise as they can so I have them Yell-as loud as they can–on the count of 3–1-2-3 RACQUETBALL!!
I tell them I want them to yell so loud people outside look over!
All Markets are different. Free or not free is a debate I have seen over the years and I lean on the side of charging so it is worth something. I teach in upscale markets and if I make it free it is not appreciated. But I have done free in the past and I do free even in the upscale markets to introduce kids to the program and to make sure they like it.
Good luck and if you need more let me know!
ps: make sure you are certified and CPR certified. I favor USA Racquetball’s program because it is child friendly-safe sport certification is a must!
JW