The practice of any type of sport has countless benefits for the physical and cognitive development of children. But if what we want to know is how to teach padel to children and introduce them to the peculiarities of this sport in a practical and effective way, then you will have to follow a series of basic tips.
The recommended age for initiation in this sport is from the age of 4-5 years, with dynamic and fun classes in which they learn through play. The role of the parents should be at all times to facilitators, supports them in the development of their skills, but never subjects them to high pressure. For all these reasons, it is best to leave this teaching in the hands of professional technical teams that will help them develop their skills in the best possible way.
Before learning how to teach paddle tennis to children it is important to remember that this sport will provide a reinforcement of dynamic coordination, an improvement of hand-eye coordination, a good body development by perfecting their physical abilities and an increase in muscle strength. The fact that they memorize movements and learn specific tactics will also be part of the cognitive learning, while the assimilation of values such as self-improvement and companionship will make them grow psychologically.
For a padel class to be constructive, it is important, as an effective method to know how to teach padel to children, that it is focused on the playful of the activity itself, without a purely sporting approach. Learning should be gradual, adapting the exercises to the age and requirements of the group. But always emphasizing that victory should be secondary to individual and group development.
That motor and social development that will be obtained through the sessions will be key and the results will begin to flourish if we have followed the right path on how to teach padel to children. At Playtomic we also offer children the option, with adult supervision, to form their own games with other players of the same level and age.
Learning methods
There are different methods or techniques that can be put into practice to know how to teach padel to children. A progressive learning but without ever losing the fun and and the illusion of the little ones.
Through imitation
This teaching method is based on the reproduction of models, since the youngest children follow the actions of certain people and objects. A distinction can be made between adaptive learning (through active or passive movement) and perceptual learning (through a process of active comprehension).
Through reinforcements
If you want to follow an effective methodology on how to teach padel to children the trial-and-error situation will be key, because by repeating it a specific number of times the child will learn to assimilate concepts until he/she achieves success by his/her own means.
Through play
An infinite number of games can be created and adapted according to the space and the level of the students. Among the games we can highlight “Catch the ball” which serves as a warm-up. The teacher stands on one side of the court and the students on the other side of the net, throwing balls to different sides. The student who runs out of ball will score a goal and those who score three points will be eliminated.
With Avoid being touched students will be behind the serving line and must be hit by the balls thrown by the teacher. When they have received three hits they will become hunters. Another game is ‘Sitting on the ball’. The program helps to improve the spatial-temporal and hand-eye coordination of the youngest children. A course can be set with cones and the children will be placed in rows by teams. The ball must be rolled all the way around the course. Variations such as two balls, zig-zag or passing the ball to the partner can be introduced.
Another game with which you can learn how to teach padel to kids is ‘Ball catcher’. The students must pick them up with the help of a cone after bouncing them on the ground. You can even add the option of returning the ball with the padel to the opponent’s court. Finally, another game to highlight would be the ‘Pasabolas’. The class will be divided into pairs. The ball will be passed with the palm of the hand without bouncing. At the teacher’s signal, whoever has the ball at that moment must throw it into the opponent’s field.
As a variation
All the known methods of how to teach padel to children can be modified in many ways, using the full creativity of the full creativity to create new combinations and expand the motor repertoire of the students.
Through competitiveness
It is important that when we opt for this method of teaching paddle tennis to children, it is in a healthy and reasonable way. The child will compete against his own performance and that of other children, gaining greater security and greater interest in pursuing lifelong learning under the conditions of social comparison.
In an intelligent way
This learning method is effective if we want to know how to teach padel to children. The motor repertoire, increasingly broader, allows a better assessment of its multiple possibilities.
There are many methods and exercises to initiate the youngest and learn how to teach padel to children. In the earliest phases, learning tends to be directed more towards the recreational component, and not so much towards sports initiation.
