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FEATURES
OF A TENNIS WHEELCHAIR |
| Dimensions:
there are standard sizes available however a player normally requires
a custom made wheelchair. Wheel assembly: the wheels, whose material is similar to the ones of professional bicycles, are assembled to the wheelchair with a camber angle which can vary from 10° to 20° .This allows you to compensate the centrifugal force when performing very swift changes of directions. Compactness: a tennis wheelchair should become part of the player's body, therefore it must have a close fit in order to make the athlete-wheelchair compound as compact as possible. Seating posture: it mainly depends on the stability of the trunk and it can vary, from person to person, depending on their muscles. If you need to give more stability to the trunk you will have to seat in a more contained position. Materials: industry and technology offer today a wide range of possibilities to meet the necessary requirements of sport wheelchairs, such as lightness and strength. The frames of tennis wheelchairs, for example, can be made of aluminium alloys, titanium, etc. Manoeuvrability: a good technique and a good physical form should allow you to reach the ball in the different parts of the tennis court, however, you also need a wheelchair capable of quickly responding to changes of directions and sudden stops or simply adjusting to the movements of your trunk. |
| LET'S
LEARN HOW TO PLAY - THE FIRST EXRCISES ON THE COURT by Claudio Rigolo and Gianluca Vignali And now let's get started. Our approach to tennis with two rebounds will continue with exercises which focus on the co-ordination and mobility capacities of beginners. First of all they have to become familiar with the basic tools of the game: their wheelchair, the tennis court, the tennis ball. You have to introduce these new elements in detail trying to transmit your knowledge and sensations. They can start with the wheelchair first, simply by moving around the court (remember that tennis wheelchairs are very different from everyday wheelchairs), then moving closer to the net and along the lines, and finally moving sideways. |
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| Next they can slalom between cones, or perform similar simple exercises, in order to get to understand the real dimensions of the court. The next step will be to introduce exercises with the use of the ball. This will enhance the learning mobility process through personal perceptions and will underline the fun side of the game. The next stage in fact will be to repeat the exercises, already performed singularly, with another player. These exercises will include launching and catching a ball, letting the ball fall and catching it again with both hands, first by staying on one spot then by moving slowly. The same exercises can be performed by two players with simple but important targets like catching the ball after the first or the second rebound, which is a preview of what will happen when they will play tennis. There are many different exercises that can be created with some fantasy, always bearing in mind the real objectives, in order to give our students new and stimulating experiences and allowing them to improve their skills. This way they will learn to play tennis in an easier and quicker way. |
