What's the best way to practice or play with my kid?

Question: What's the best way to practice or play with my kid?

Answer: If your kid is taking lessons, you can greatly accelerate his progress by taking him out to play. Generally, the more a kid plays, the better, but practicing bad habits can be counterproductive. Ask his pro what you should keep an eye on while playing. You won't necessarily try to do any teaching, but you might want to remind him, for example, to keep meeting the ball at full extension on the serve. If you have questions about what the pro is teaching, get the pro alone and ask her to explain. You don't want to second-guess her when you're practicing with your kid.

You can feed balls to a beginner or rally and play sets with a more experienced player. Rallying is excellent practice, and to work on a greater variety of strokes, you can try numerous games that involve net play, etc. Here are a few articles of interest:

Have Some Real Fun Playing With a Beginner
Best Practice Games: "Smash and Volley"
Group Games: Jail and Around the World
Best Practice Games: "Five Person"

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