Tennis Method - Defined Timing

5. TARGET-ANTICIPATION-AREAS

6. MOVEMENT-INSTRUCTION:

7. SPEECH:

8. EXERCISE SEQUENZ

Additional concentration phase:

Abreviations:

Figure 18 : Exercise sheet

2.3 Medial aids

The following working materials (apart from racket and balls) make the implementation of the learning system possible (figure l9):

Figure 19 : Learning System

• Line system: The target areas of specific exercises must be marked. Particularly with the short distances the normal court lines do not correspond with the markings needed for the exercise.

• Course sheet: Every player fills in his results achieved in the pre-test, post-test and the exercises.

• Exercise form or exercise film: Contents and sequence of the exercises are given and explained.

• Flow text: This text is a detailed comment on the sequence of the lesson. Although it is not absolutely necessary, in the course of the years,while dealing with the exercises in the group it has proved to be the solution to all time and form constraints and thus has turned out to be useful. So the control and regulation of the complete teaching process is possible by means of a videocassette containing the exercise explanation as well as the flow text. Thus, the learning tennis players independent of a teacher.

2.3.1 Line system

In the course of the continuing learning process, the target and anticipation areas are continuously changed. In connection with the series numbers (hitting in unbroken sequence), they are an aid which makes it possible for the pupil to evaluate his performance on his own. Thus, within the context of the clearly defined movement instructions, the whole system is independent of outside influences and can be understood by the pupil. Therefore, the decision of whether something is "wrong" or "correct" can be concluded from the matter itself.

The lines marking the playing areas regulate the development of the play from a short to a longer distance. This applies to all movement rhythms (groundstroke, half-volley, volley and smash/serve). Whereas the player (individual exercise) first of all hits the ball from below or above in space, he must keep the ball bouncing within a fixed circle during the following learning step. In the next exercise, the ball must be hit over a certain distance, and then this action must be combined with a fixed geometrical preliminary movement. The next step is a partner exercise with the players playing on the spot over a marked line. After this, the players do the same while walking forward. This exercise form is then transferred to the net area of the court (distance: 1 m). Supplementary exercises are the play over the net while walking or running forward with a subsequent controlled moving away from the net.

The line plan (figure 20) shows all the markings which are necessary for the whole system. At an advanced stage, these markings are replaced by the original markings of the tennis court.

Figure 20 : Line system

2.3.2 Control sheet

Figure 21 shows the control or course sheet of the learning system, into which the pupil enters his performances in all the exercises in numbers beside the pre- and post-test.

The exercise sequences of the different movement rhythms, the modulation of the strokes (forward and backward spin), the combination of the various rhythms, which finally develop into complex rhythm combinations, are arranged vertically. On the horizontal level (exercise numbers), apart from the aspect 'practising of the movement form (dissolution into vertical and horizontal structure, as well as the aspect of curvature)' one finds a continually increasing differentiation and an increase in the distance between target and anticipation areas. By means of this control sheet one can record the whole movement space of tennis in a controlled way.

Figure 21 : control sheet

The use of the control sheet is smoothly integrated into the teaching process. Apart from the personal data (name, age, level of performance course 1, 2 ...>) each player is assigned a letter which is used for the test. Before and after each learning phase, the same test is performed, the results achieved documenting the learning progress. When doing the test, the performances in the strokes to be learned (stroke rhythms) are measured in such a way that the series numbers are determined when the target and anticipation areas for six possible trials are fixed. In doing so, the maximal result which can be achieved is a series of 10. Each player plays against every other member of his group (6 trials) and after this enters the result achieved into the pre- or post-test sequence under the respective letter of the player.

Example (course 1): The target and anticipation area for players A and B is the T-field where the ball must touch the ground. If one assumes that both players manage to play the ball to and fro 5 times (= series of 5) out of the available 6 balls (6 trials), player A notes down a 5 in the pre-test sequence under B in his sheet, whereas player B notes down the same number in the pre-test sequence under A in his sheet. After this, each of them plays with another partner. Thus a sequence of numbers is created which can be compared with the sequence achieved during the last course unit. For certain statements there exist various mathematical operations. The difference between the average numbers achieved in the pre- and post-test for example, documents the learning process. The series of 10 which are achieved, however, signify the state of performance which is necessary for the selection of the next learning objective and the group formation. Under the test sequences, the various exercises are given. They consist of four movement rhythms (groundstroke, half-volley, volley and smash/serve) and their combination as well as modulation (forward and backward spin). Every exercise sequence that shows progress is subjected to a pre- and post-test.

2.3.3 Exercise sheet

The clearness of the exercises makes a purely verbal explanation possible. The exercise sheet contains all the necessary information. Furthermore, the pictorial presentations (exercise film and photos) make easier the joint action as well as the instructions, which

are either given by the tennis teacher himself, through the exercise card, or through the standardised flow text (videocassette: ) (cf. chapter 3.3.4).

Explanation of the exercise sheet illustrated by the example of exercise 1 - groundstroke (figure 22):

According to the instructions under (3) definition zone, the ball must bounce once. From (4) title it follows that the player must hit the ball from below in the space. (5) For the practising player, the whole space is target and exercise area. He does not have to stick to a further (6) movement instruction, but must accompany his movement by speech as indicated (7). The sequence of exercises (8) indicates that player A plays individually since there is no entry under B. The performance required consists of a series of 10 each with forehand, backhand and forehand-backhand alternately. For his attempts to achieve a series of 10, the player has available approximately the time of a series of 30. After having performed the series of 10 as required, the player enters a plus ("+") under 1 into the control sheet. If he is not successful, he puts in a minus ("-").

In the additional phases of concentration, the faults which - from experience - occur most frequently are presented. The instructions which can be found under additional phases of concentration are integrated into the sequence of exercises: For example, the hammer grip and and the implications of speech must be checked. If, for example, the beginning of the speaking of the word "and"actually corresponds with the beginning of the following movement of the ball, the first letter of the number '1' (one) is spoken when counting the series at the moment of ball contact.

GROUNDSTROKE

1. Exercise

Hitting in the space

Hit the ball with the chosen hammer grip from below after bouncing.

Target area is free - The ball can bounce everywhere

Reqired performance: Try to reach a series of 10 with forehand, backhand and the alternation each

Speech: Count and speak : ´and´, when the ball falls, ´1´ (etc.) when you hit the ball:

ADDITIONAL CONCENTRATION PHASE

1. Say ´1`(etc), at the moment of ball contact - ´and´, when the ball falls, the á ´beginning at the start

ENCLOSURE FOR GROUP -TRAINING

4.TITLE: Playing in the T-court

5. TARGET-ANTICIPATION-AREAS

6. FACE-MOVEMENT-INSTRUCTIONS

7. SPEECH:

8.EXERCISE SEQUENCE

ADDITIONAL CONCENTRATION PHASE: 1.Say ´1`(etc), at the moment of ball contact -

2. ´and´, when the ball falls, the á ´beginning at the start

ABBREVIATIONS: MI = Movement instruction- F= Forehand) - B= Backhand

Figure 22: Exercise form with control sheet (example exercise 1)

Flow text - exercise 1

Please, move to any free place on the tennis court. Take your rackezt using the hammer grip described described above. Put the ball onto the forehand face. Drop the ball and hit it from below after bouncing. Count out loud until you have achieved a series of 10.

„Let's go!„ - 30 seconds practice time - „And stop!„-

Put the ball once more onto the forehand face. Concenrtrate once again on speaking the 'number' exactly at the moment of ball contact.

„Let's go!„ - 15 seconds practice time - „And stop!„-

~ Now concentrate on speaking the word 'and' exactly when the ball falls.

„Let's go!„ - 15 seconds practice time - „And stop!„-

if you have spoken the 'and' during the falling of the ball, check whether the ´and´ begins at the highest point of the ball curve.

„Let's go!„ - 15 seconds practice time - „And stop!„-

Put the ball onto the the backhand face. Hit the ball from below after bouncing, Say ´and´ when the ball falls; count at the moment of ball contact.

„Let's go!„ - 30 seconds practice time - „And stop!„-

At the latest when changing from forehand to backhand, you notice whether you have always kept the hammer grip.

„Let's go!„ - 30 seconds practice time - „And stop!„-

End of exercise. Please go to the course sheet and fill in under exercise 1 whether you have achieved 3 series. Plus or minus. Please sit down and have a look at exercise 2·

Figure 22: exercise sheet

2.3.4 Flow text

For tennis instruction various teaching methods are possible:

• The tennis teacher is at the centre and goes the teaching himself by means of the usual verbal aids such as movement task, movement description, movement instruction and visual aids, such as personal demonstration, presentation (film/ slide) etc.

• The pupils work with so-called exercise cards, a standardised text giving the impulses for the learning of techniques.

• The flow text (not to be confused with the standardised text of a book programme) can be presented by the teacher himself or·by the audio-visuel self-learning system of ´defined timing´ (see 5 Video tapes).

In the present case, the latter method is used. The flow text which accompanies the lesson should contribute to the organisation of the learning progress and should make the procedure transparent, as far as teaching method, organisation and contents are concerned. The flow text takes over functions of the teacher ( who has only a supervisory function) , e.g. the methodical measures and procedures mentioned above, in order to give the tennis teacher the time which is necessary for organising group work. On the one hand, the instruction is done in a 'flowing' way on the other hand, this method of teaching makes the learning processs more objective as compared with the other methods mentioned above. Contrary to learning by means of exercise cards, the process organisation guaranties optimal conditions for all pupils without loss of time. This is made possible by means of repetitions and additional phases of concentration (-impulses). In the printed text, the bare exercise times are given in seconds, it starts with “let's go“ and with “And stop“ the exercise is finished.

The process of practising is only interrupted by intructions and the information which is necessary for the organisation of teaching unit. The tallk at the end of a teaching unit, the analysis, is also a part of this process of practising. All this taken together constitutes the flow text of the sequence of actions. With Defined Timimg this flow text can be standardised, so that, as far as time. space and contents are concerned, all actions can be transmitted by means of an audio-visual system (videocassette). For the fist course this flow text is printed together with the exercise sheets and guarentees a learning process taking place independently.

2.4 Learning categories

1. Without a previous determination of target and anticipation (-areas), no statements, either by teacher or by the learner can be made on the succes of a movement. The invariance of gravitation makes possible to structure the exercise sequence from the easy to the difficult in such a way that the target and anticipation areas can be developed from taking place on the spot to taking place in distance and space. The series which has 'only just' been achieved gives information about the player's level of performance.

2. Movement instructions must be clearly described as far as space and time are concerned (point, line, gravitation which is natural ' giver of time'). This is done by means of the contact point which is in this case the meeting of racket face and ball. The movement form is created by learning this describable contact-point form movement. The invariance G, apart from creating distance, also makes possible - as a learning method - the differentiation of the whole form movement into a vertical and horizontal aspect, as well as into the aspect of curve. Thus, the interdependence of the various aspects and quantative disclosure are experienced.

3. The movement must always be considered in combination with the corresponding perception. If the space-time-structure is known, speech (spoken words) serves to exert influence and to control. The conditioning of difficult coordinative process is made possible through 'time giving'.. The correspondance between movement and word symbolism serves the formation of concepts. Time must be related to mental contents, which makes the invariance G possible. The spoken words, whose rhythm is an imitation of the movement rhythm, represent the unit of percetion and movement, silence being the conscious dealing with speech.

4. The learning process is determined in the pre- and post-tests via the relation to the partner in such a way that in defined learning intervals. Series games (under standardised conditions: defined target and anticipation area, limitation of attempts) are required for the respective goals. The series does justice to the casuistic character of the movement. It is an expression of the harmony between the movement and the image connected with it. Statistical details, as for example hitting rates, contrast with this. A typical characteristic of such misunderstanding is the use of ball throwing machines and ball baskets. They are the killer of learning a rhythmical perceiving movement. According to our conception of movement evry basket and machine are rejected on principle. The delopement towards a series means to play with only one ball in the long run, The measurement of the exercise performance is done by means of the serial counting of the mere number of hits into the target area or the following of movement instructions which are connected with this. The clearness of the description of these movement instructions makes it possible for practising player to make a statement in the form of yes or no (digitalisation). By the partner potential taking over of the teacher's role the player experiences a continual personal assessment