The Effect of Coordination Training Program on Learning Tennis Skills

Introduction In sports where technique is of great importance, it is essential all athletes could perform refined skills. Tennis is a sport which demands high level of abilities (1). The term coordination has been defined in the literature as the ability to perform complex motor skills. Hirtz, (2, 3) suggested a list of 5 basic abilities: reaction, rhythm, balance, kinaesthetic differentiation and space--time orientation. Practicing the abilities seem to be necessary and has to take place during childhood and adolescence, as a form of an technique (4). This term includes additional drills that will improve virtuosity, stability and the of special sport techniques. In most sports the training of skill alone is not enough for learning and stabilizing the new skill, thus, there is a need of specific drills which will facilitate the learning process of the skill. Previous studies (5, 6) developed a theory with regard to the requirements for each sport. The abilities of (specific for each sport) are hidden under each sport skill and facilitate athletes to maximize their performance in this skill (6, 7). Derri, Mertznidou and Tzetzis (8) evaluated dynamic balance and body between athletes (rhythm and gymnastics) and non athletes and found that athletes had significant better dynamic balance and body coordination. Also, it was proposed that the athletes should be practiced with sport specific drills in order to optimize their performance. Furthermore, Starosta, Rostkowska and Kokoszka (9) studied the water feeling at water sports with the use of questionnaires based on the 5 basic abilities: reaction, rhythm, balance, kinaesthetic differentiation and orientation. The questionnaires were given to athletes from different water sports (swimming, synchronized swimming and diving) and to their coaches. The study showed that different swim phases depended differently on the abilities. The efficiency of training in sports was supported by the results of experimental studies carried out on basketball players (17), handball players (10), football players (men and women) (11, 12) volleyball players and kick boxers, tae kwon do, single combats (Greco-Roman and free-style wrestling) (13) and on judo (14). A study with young tennis players (15) proposed that the abilities which contribute mostly on proper service motion were: body coordination, reaction time and the ability of throwing at a target. Although abilities are essential learning requirements in order to perform well and to develop optimal tennis strokes and movement technique (1), there are not many studies in tennis with regard the use of abilities in learning process of basic skills. The aim of the present study was to define which abilities are the most important for tennis players and to identify if an additional training program will improve the learning process of the tennis skills (backhand, and forehand). Method Participants In the present study participated 48 novice athletes (22 male and 26 female) of sport club, aged between 9 - 13 years old (11 [+ or -] 2 years). They were randomly divided into two groups, the experimental group (EG, n = 24) and the control group (CG, n = 24). The participants had training experience in tennis one year. These individuals voluntarily participated in this experiment. Identification of abilities In order to identify which abilities are the most important in tennis players, questionnaires were given to 15 expert tennis coaches. They were asked to evaluate the abilities from the most important to the least important for tennis players. The abilities that were valued: 1) kinaesthetic differentiation, 2) space and time orientation, 3) rhythm, 4) reaction and 5) balance. …