What do you guys add to a session to make it a welcoming, fun and exciting environment? This could be anything that is or is not integral to the session itself. I’m thinking along the lines of incentives, food and drink, prizes, etc. Aleik.
In the situation where kids (U12) are taking lessons, the last day is used to earn prizes (such as candy...I know parents shudder thinking about the dental bill!), in which the kids are tested on the skills they were taught. Example: (1) Obsticle Course Kids go through a "fun maze" of obsticles while holding their shuttle on the face of the racquet. At the end of the course, they must tap the shuttle into a large box (without any obsticles ie/ net blocking the shuttle's path), thus testing a simple net shot. During any time they drop the shuttle on the course, the child must go back to the beginning. If they are gripping the racquet incorrectly, the coach will allow them to attempt the shot, and regardless if it made it into the box, the coach will say "check your grip, no prize, try again", the child must start at the beginning. (2A) Serving Using mats or other flat objects, designate targets with certain prize values for which the kids can choose to served to (2B) Serving Same as 2A, except you use 3 courts with one target and increasing level of difficulty. In order to go to the next court, the child must hit the target (consecutively) otherwise it is back to the beginning. You can choose to award prizes along the way with each court or a big prize on the last target. The above is just a small sample of things to make it more FUN. Cheers!
