Mountlake Terrace Adults Lessons Presented by Basha Tennis
- About USTA Rated Programs
- Adult High Performance
- Doubles Tactics
- Kingco Team Practice
- Live Ball
- Red Zone
- Serve & Return
- Tennis 101
About USTA Rated Programs
At Basha Tennis, we prioritize having balanced classes where every player can feel confident and comfortable in their environment. This means that our programs will sometimes have a USTA rating in the title to help guide players in choosing their programs. These are the USTA rating descriptions which can help guide you to the correct level.
2.0 – 2.5: The players still need more experience with on-court playing but are able to sustain a slow-to-moderately paced rally with other players of the same level. The players will need more work, fine tuning each tennis stroke and positioning on the court during single or doubles play.
3.0: Players are consistent in rallying with moderately-paced shots, but aren’t able to confidently control their power, depth, or direction of the ball.
3.5: Players are able to control their hits better, as well as diversify the variety of play on court by improving net play and court coverage.
4.0: The players are able to hit both forehand and backhands dependably and have the ability to perform lob, overheads, approaching shots, and volleys with some success.
4.5: The players have learned how to incorporate power and spin into their shots with proper footwork. These players are able to develop unique tactics for different opponents. First serves are accurate and powerful and rushing to the net are successful.
5.0: These players frequently do an outstanding job in shot anticipation, volleys, lobs, drop shots, overhead smashes, and serves.
Adult High Performance
This program is designed for players who are looking to play more in a competitive setting, to recognize and utilize tactics and formations in singles or doubles match play. Coaches will make sure that players strengthen their weak areas to help improve overall play.
Doubles Tactics
Each session, coaches will highlight a tactic/style of play, when to use it, and how to play against that style. For example, for teams that like to poach a lot; coaches will suggest using a lob to neutralize their effectiveness. This program is all about playing points in live situations. Each session will start with a warm up feeding drill for the basic strokes. Then, coaches will focus on a specific stroke to different areas of the court with a short technical breakdown and a reinforcement drill. The majority of the session will be point-play situations focusing around the shot of the day. Each program will vary depending on the targeted USTA rating.
Kingco Team Practice
This is an open practice for ladies with a USTA rating of 4.5+. KingCo Cup is a tennis league of female players for the Seattle Area Cup Tennis (SACT) League. Players who wish to join the league or just practice along with other competitive females are welcome to join in on the KingCo Cup Practices. This is open to players on any Kingo team.
Live Ball
This program focuses on live point plays in doubles teams, improving rallying, teamwork skills, and learning how to play against different opponents. This program is ideal for those who want to play in live-ball situations, aren’t entirely confident in playing in a match, or just looking for some fun rallying with others.
If you’re unfamiliar with live ball, this are how the game works:
Setup: Coaches will divide the players and choose two “champions” of the court, which will stay on the feeding side of the court. The rest of the “opponents” will stay on the other side of the net, forming a line at the back wall. The first two players in line will position themselves in default doubles positioning. Rotations will happen throughout the game, with the “opponents” team. Net players going to the back of the line, baseline players going to the net, and the first players in line going to the baseline.
Playing: The players at the baseline will hit a groundstroke from the coach. Players on court will then play out the point. If the “opponents” win the point, then the coach will feed the next shot to the players at the net for a volley. Finally, the last ball from the coach will be for the players at the baseline for an overhead shot. After 3 consecutive points, the “opponents” on court will become the new “champions” and the old champions will go to the back of the line, and the new “opponents” will be the two players in the front of the line. If the “champions” win any point, the “opponents” will rotate.
Red Zone
This program is focused on net play, either properly executing volleys, or scoring points at the net. Coaches will use different drills to help build players’ confidence in running up to the net and explain what net strategies are helpful during match play.
Serve & Return
Players will learn how to control their aim with their serves, by hitting 6 different serving targets. Coaches will also teach how to hit serves with spins, and explain how to use them. Players will receive individualized critiques to implement into their technique. This program will also give players the luxury of receiving live serves from players with different techniques. Players will learn tactical shot selection, learning when to lob, chip, or drive their returns based off of their opponent’s performance.
Adult Tennis 101
Players with little to no tennis experience, and with a goal of learning how to play tennis. Every month we will develop the basic technique for each stroke; forehand, backhand, volley, overhead, serve and return. These sessions will utilize repetition training, teamwork challenges and cooperative point play in a positive yet encouraging environment. Players will learn basic tennis match etiquette, rules, and format. During the sessions we will include hand eye coordination and balance activities to help develop general athleticism.
Benefits of Playing Tennis for Adults
Tennis may be played in doubles or singles, but always with a partner. Socializing with opponents and partners is a big advantage of the game. The company of those who share your interests and ambitions is often physically satisfying. It helps young players make friends and improve social skills.
Tennis is like calorie-free brain food! Tactical thinking, mental awareness, and critical thinking may all be improved by playing tennis.
Tennis also regulates serotonin, a brain chemical associated with sleep, hunger, and mood. Trouble sleeping or controlling your emotions?
Tennis has been shown to help lower cholesterol levels. This may reduce your risk of stroke, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease.
Have you ever seen tennis players extending and reaching to keep a ball in play? Tennis is a sport that requires regular movement and flexibility. Regular tennis practice will also enhance your agility and flexibility.
Tennis, particularly singles, is a fantastic aerobic exercise. You’re always sprinting, twisting, stretching, and moving.
We all have stress in our lives, but tennis is a great way to relieve it! Tennis forces your thoughts to concentrate on the activity at hand rather than your concerns and unending to-do lists.
5 Reasons to Get Out & Play Tennis
If you’re unsure if tennis lessons are right for you, keep reading to learn about some of the most significant effects the activity has on one’s life.
#1 Get Out and Meet Like-Minded Young People
Group tennis classes allow introverts and extroverts alike to engage in an energetic, competitive interaction with likeminded people.
Tennis helps you to make friends on the court and avoid the isolation that may lead to loneliness and anxiety that a stressful work life can cause.
#2 Lower Anxiety & Depression
Tennis has the ability to provide joy for players through exercise, competing, and socializing.
Exercise has also been demonstrated to reduce stress and anxiety; more physical activity has been shown to improve mood and outlook. This is also true for youth tennis players.
#3 Improves Cognitive Response
Tennis requires you to figure out how to get the ball to the other side of the net while simultaneously reacting to your opponent’s moves. Players must not only concentrate on the ball while moving, but also solve challenges, which promotes attention and engagement.
For people of all ages, losing and winning in tennis are good experiences as they learn to engage with others properly while pursuing personal accomplishment.
#4 Self-Esteem is Boosted
Tennis may promote a person’s confidence and self-esteem through developing physical, mental, emotional, and social talents.
Having trust in one’s capacity to cope with the demands of a circumstance is a healthy reaction to stress. Additionally, grownups are able to quickly learn which coping strategies work and which do not, plus they begin to acquire an awareness and skill set for dealing with stress in a healthy way. Each of these skills can be used in professional settings too.
#5 Strengthens Resilience
Tennis requires a player’s complete focus as well as the ability to handle mistakes and defeats appropriately.
Because of the “unpredictable nature” of tennis, which means that points can be earned as a consequence of errors, players learn to control their emotions and deal with mistakes when properly educated.
When the focus is on the process of growing better rather than on winning and losing, players can endure stress, “bounce back,” and respond to obstacles such as performing poorly, resulting in a resilient response.
Resilience is vital for overcoming stress and anxiety, as well as protecting against other mental health issues.
Those that succeed are resilient and skilled at adapting to their environment. Tennis provides men and women with the opportunity to practice resilience in a competitive situation.
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