Adaptive tennis: The 'centipede' drill

The 'centipede' game is a sensory, movement, footwork, concentration, coordination and social skills activity for red and orange ball-level players. Equipment needed for this drill includes colored round poly sports, racquets, and red- and orange-dot balls.

Each participant has their own racquet and ball, and are each given a colored poly spot to stand on by the coach. Coaches should ensure the colors are alternated, leaving enough space between colors, and line the poly spots up in a row—level with a service line or baseline, leaving a foot-length of a gap between them. Have poly spots available for each of the participants.

Each participant will stand on a colored poly spot. The first player starts by placing the ball on their racquet strings, before passing it to the next player's racquet strings and so on, until the ball gets to the end of the line. Players should make sure the ball doesn’t fall to the ground—slow pace is the key. When the ball reaches the last player, that player then goes to the beginning of the line as the rest of the players move to the next colored poly spot. As this drill continues, each player holds onto their balls. The game continues until each player moves through the line.