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Match Plan Notebook

Write a short plan before a match and an honest review after it.

By Coach Evan Waechtler Youth coach (U11, Cache Valley, Utah) and founder of SSTracker Updated October 30, 2026

Set up

Before the match, write two patterns you want to use.

Core: Two. Beat your own best out of 10.

Ages
14 and up
Time
10 min
Players
Just you
Space
Small room
Bring
Notebook
Level · skill
Advanced · Game IQ

The steps

How it works

  1. Before the match, write two patterns you want to use.
  2. After it, write what worked and one thing to try next time.
  3. Note how you handled close games.
  4. Read last week's page before your next match.

Coaching point

Plan, play, review.

Make it fun

Play it, don't drill it

Game version

Court-smarts game: a partner feeds balls to different spots, and you call “short” or “deep” before they land. The pair counts right calls.

Challenge

Pick a level: Less (one call), Core (two), More (call the spot too). Beat your own best out of 10.

Story

You are a detective reading where the ball will go.

My best

Beat your own count

Beat your own best out of 10. Only your own number counts: today against last time.

Practice makes progress

Print it now, or save it free

Free for families and teams

Save this drill to your child or team, free

Sign up and the free tennis week for this age opens in your child's planner, kept to healthy limits. A coach can send this drill to the whole team as homework, and parents see every session logged.

14 days free for a family, no card · Running a team is always free

Does your child's coach know about this?

An email from you to the coach, with the words ready. Nothing is tracked and nobody is rewarded.