Many thanks to over 65 active volunteer coaches who make this 9-school program possible!
All coaches, please read this Adaptive Coach Training Essentials article and watch this Basic Feeding and Progressions video for an introduction/review of feeding and progression skills in preparation for the training session on Marh 1st at 1pm at Bluffton High School. Hope to see you there! –Coach Wayne
Recommended Lesson Plan for Week 1: HERE
Recommended Lesson Plan for Week 2: HERE
Recommended Lesson Plan for Week 3: HERE
Alternate Lesson Plan: Week 2 or Week 3: Three or Four Stations (volley & serve, groundstrokes, rally and footwork)
Diagram for Lesson Plan for Week 4: HERE (2 coach feeders per court, athletes moving through a circular course)
Lesson Plan #4 is focused on footwork (or more inclusively, positioning, for athletes with mobility challenges) and using positioning to hit accurate balls to targets. Targets can be coaches (catch) or designated areas behind coaches but in play. Mobility-challenged athletes may remain near their ideal hitting position between turns. Coaches should feel free to engage/bump rally balls with athletes, with the remainder of the group cheering and celebrating the count of successful rally hits!
Tips for working in stations
- Three 15-minute (then rotate) stations allows for quick warmup, water breaks, rotation time, no game at end (but do gather for group cheer!)
- Quick demos at each station (help athletes change gears)
- Maximum 7 players per station, minimum 2 coaches per station
The Coaching Mindset for Successful Special Olympics Coaching
In our groups, the range of ability is wide and variable! So… the keys to success are to involve all athletes equally, to equally value all skills and activities, to embrace ability and to celebrate inclusion in our group training sessions.
Video Review of Training Session (excerpts) on March 1 at Bluffton High School
Special thanks to Daniel Rodriguez, from our adult Special Olympics team, for coming out to help me with demonstrations!
Class A Approval
All coaches need to be “Class A” (background check) approved. This approval is good for 3 years.
New coaches should follow the Class A registration instructions at this page: https://publictennis.org/special-olympics-volunteer-coach-registration/ If you think your Class A approval may have expired, your lead coach should be able to find out when it actually expires.
Coach Training
All coaches are invited to in-person training at 1PM on March 1, at Bluffton High School. This year we will provide a video (available shortly) for all coaches to review in advance so that the on-court training can be quick, efficient, and focused on active participation working on skills.
Coach TShirts and Hats
Coaches who do not aready have shirts and/or hats should provide their shirt size (and their need of a hat) to their lead coach.
Online Scheduling
If all goes as expected, this year we will have a new online system for managing coach availability by date/week. An announcement will be made about this in the coming weeks.
Spring Programs and Weekly Days/Times
HHI High School: Tuesdays 11:45 – 12:45
HHI Middle School: Wednesdays 1:00 – 2:00
Bluffton High School: Thursdays 1:30 – 2:30
McCracken Middle School: Mondays 10:00 – 11:00
May River High School: Tuesdays, 1-2PM
Hardeeville School: Fridays 10:00-11:00
Beaufort, Battery Creek and Whale Branch Combined Schools: Fridays 12:00-2:00
Questions, Comments, Ideas: Contact jbtrew2016@gmail.com or wayne@publictennis.org