Tom Sippy
Differentiation
I used to be a teacher, and at times, I still consider that I am. Skills I learned in the classroom are transferable to teaching tennis, with differentiation crucial to the progress of a student.
Tennis is a difficult, difficult sport to learn, in particular when your first experience is at the age of eleven or older.
Most complete beginners would be able to hit a ball over the net if it was thrown straight to them at a comfortable pace, but without positional and perceptive understanding, it wouldn’t be possible to then hit a ball which was a lot higher or faster than the previous one.
At this level, I have taught them to hit the ball back from a certain height, whilst turning to a sideways position and maintaining enough space with their arms to contact the ball.
Attempting to catch the ball between the two rackets alleviates the pressure to hit the ball back, but also allows them to practice the objectives. The additional feature about this exercise is that even without catching the ball, the correct position can still be achieved.
At the moment, these particular students are learning with green tennis balls. This is another form of differentiation I use throughout the programme. Greens have less bounce, speed and weight compared to yellow balls.
Whatever I use, the aim and expectation for me is always the same. Students should be able to learn and have the right to improve on a continual and frequent basis. Differentiation allows that with all abilities.
Student Coaching
Students learning to coach each other frees me up to coach in greater detail but also provides them with transferable skills such as aiming, throwing, building patience and empathising.
If the learning objective was to read and hit back the flight of a high and fast ball, the student coach must aim to be that specific with each throw. With practice, it will start to become second nature and there can be local opportunities for paid assistant coaching in the future. This is how I started whilst I was still at school.
What I’m most proud of is the fact that these participants now understand how to differentiate their own coaching. If a player is achieving the learning objective on a regular basis, their coach knows to either increase the distance between the two of them, change the ball from green to yellow, or to provide them with even more challenging throws. The coach might also use their racket to increase the speed of the ball, thus making it beneficial for both them and their player. If the player is struggling with the objective, the student coach might decrease the distance between the two of them or use a softer and less pressurised ball.
Positive Bonds
I’ve always thought the single most important aspect of our profession was to create positive bonds with students. I’ve always found them to be more engaged and therefore willing to learn when it’s clear that the educator values them. Therefore, knowing and using names is an absolute must for me as I think it provides them with a sense of belonging and esteem.
We’ve all had those moments where a child exclaims, ‘O you know my name??’, and it’s clear that it’s significant to them. In the after school tennis clubs, teachers who leave via our staff car park are often shouted at in excitement with the explanation of ‘Sir, that’s my Maths teacher!’ When the teachers smile and wave back, I believe it means a lot more to the pupils than you might think.
I also make sure I speak to them when I see them around school. It doesn’t matter if I’ve taught them one hundred times, once, or on occasion, if I’ve never taught them. I’ve had students join tennis just because I struck up conversations with them in other P.E. lessons.
I will also do my utmost to spend the same amount of time with each student during their lessons, provided the context facilitates that. I know how difficult that is to do in a classroom, but I’m fortunate to have smaller groups in this role and I know it’s something that the girls value.
The amount of diverse students we have participating in tennis at a girls’ school in the heart of East London is my biggest ever professional achievement and the numbers we have are far beyond what my organisation expected.
Outside of tennis, the difference in the children’s resilience, discipline and social skills is huge. The three themes I’ve spoken about are a significant part of the success of this programme, as well as working within a brilliant and supportive P.E. department at Sarah Bonnell.
SB Pedagogy 