Coaching Tips For My Son (Fred's 3rd Vid)

[JKC]

For those of you who don't know me from other forums, every month or so I have been posting a vid of Fred (my son) on Youtube and asking for suggestions as to what we should look at to improve his play.
Here is the link:-

N-Y_AFJmDvg&rel=1

I have spotted a few things to look at myself but any suggestions to improve his technique or make TT fun for a 4 year old would be welcome.

[Annie]

Wow! Can I book some lessons? He could definitely teach me a move or two. :clapping:


Actually I thought that was terrific and such a positive thing to be doing with your son. I'm sure we have some real professionals on the site that will be able to give constructive observations and suggestions.

Go JKC Jnr. :woho:

[JKC]

He is quite keen to play too once you make it clear to him that watching the TV all day is not an option.
I have done some coaching myself previously and got some kids at my school to local league standard but I have never worked with someone so young (or small) and need a few pointers as to where to go next.

[Leeston]

wish I was that good at 11 - let alone nearly 5 - he's doing really well. Clearly the foundation work you have done has given him a really good start.

Watch his free hand - get him use to using it as a counter balance and taking the ball a bit earlier to show him the differene. Can have a tendancy to rock to the side otherwise - you can see this in the video as he strikes the ball the body moves slightly sideways.

Note his square stance - try him with his right foot just a a little forward to see what difference it make to allow him to rock back to forwards rather than sideways .( may be difficult cos of his height which may make him hit the ball later so may not work yet ) This does not mean that it is wrong, just try some combination of changes to experiment with the results .

He's going to change his style as he grows, but clearly his hand / eye co-ordination is excellent. As a left hander, he's got the natural talent !

[MickM]

Great co-ordination and very balanced, Leeston is correct the free arm is like a lot of very young players, low or not thought about very much because of concentrating on hitting the ball. The whole movement thing can be introduced early when a player has a lot of of co-ordination, which in this case Fred has. Get him to start and generally move well and again as Leeston has mentioned most if not all change their style as height and build increases, that said he is a talent in the making.

The whole key as most if not all know is hard work, which is quite difficult when dealing with young minds with other interests.

[JKC]

Thanks for the help.
I will mention about the free arm, we tried it a few weeks ago and he was concentrating so much on that that everything else seemed to suffer. The stance too can cause a problem because when he is concentrating on how to stand he forgets to move at all. I will remind him about both of these things at the start of our practices and hopefully he can incorporate them into his game.
He does tend to move to his left better than to the right. Rather than move to the right he tends to drop his right shoulder and lean over to get balls close to his body. This is another thing we will work on over the next month.

[Annie]

I'm no expert but I did notice his right foot didn't move much.

I used to drive my Father crazy because I would never move either foot! loooool I wish I'd kept the sport up.

I'm sure your son's going to be a star one day :thumbsup:

[Leeston]

Hi,
Just a thought - remeber to make sure its "fun" do some target practice with cups so he can learn changing the direction of the ball ........and watch his father pick up all the cups !

If its fun, and he "accidently" learns something then that's great - if you know what i mean.

[JKC]

I will send my wife out to Morrisons tomorrow for some plastic cups. It sounds like he would enjoy that game and maybe even develop a bit more control over his direction.

[Highside]

The Batskills set is worth a look at too.

[DaveR]

Great video...............keep up todate with the footage.....and you never know he may turn out like Timo in the other video !

[SteveJ]

Totally with you on that one, not enough video diarys are kept nowadays then when the player gets older we wish we had, hindsight is a wonderful thing but video diary is even better for development and keeps sake at a later date.

Fascinating.

[JKC]

I will be making another vid later this month. Maybe next week during half-term.

[Annie]

I will be making another vid later this month. Maybe next week during half-term.

Please do because he's a joy to watch.

I'm sure your video will inspire other parents to support their children in what ever sport they choose. I can just imagine what hard work it must be fitting it all in with work and everyday life. Great job JKC :thumbsup:


p.s. Can I borrow him for the weekend, he's just so cute! :eyelash:

[FantasyCheeseBasin]

easy fun exercise,put his favorite sweet on the table on your side,if he hits it he gets it.

[JKC]

We have done that with chocolate coins. I try to restrict the number of rallies he has to hit them so there are some left for me but he insists on keeping going until they have all gone.

He just wants to play with other kids his own age but was disappointed when I took him to a practice at the local club when the kids were all 9 or 10, the coach said he was too young to practice with them so we went home. I need to show him what the point of the game is because I think if he just plays with me for much longer he will get bored and not want to play anymore.

[DaveR]

easy fun exercise,put his favorite sweet on the table on your side,if he hits it he gets it.

Im the same but sweets are running out at my age !

Hey JKC you got a great little guy and push him to the limits he looks fab with more potential than most so go for it !

[Spongebob!]

:laola::laola:

Hey JKC - great video...bless him - just wait till he's not doing his homework (it won't be long!).

Only joking - keep it up!

Just one observation - he needs fattening up - he looks all skin and bone to me!!! Maybe it was just Halloween!

[JKC]

No, this was halloween. You could be right though, he is all skin and bones.
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w153/juankingcarlos/S7300019.jpg

[Annie]

Feed him up! Work it off! Feed him up! Work it off!

I'd be a good teacher me!! :popcorn:

[MickM]

Great picture!

He looks fitter by the day lol