Tennis Footy Pups

The crowd are going wild. CHEERING

Here come the Footy Pups.

# They play like a dream when they work as a team

# Footy Pups Go, go, Footy Pups

# There's Pickles and Rex and Geraldine next

# Footy Pups Go, go, Footy Pups

# Rozzie and Benny and Manager Freddie

# Footy Pups Go, go, Footy Pups

# There's Rachel too and, of course, all of you

# Footy Pups Go, go, Footy Pups

# Go, go, go, go, Footy Pups! # CHEERING

Rachel Yankey, top international footballer

and all-round sporting superstar.

But when Rachel's not scoring goals for her team,

she's playing with the Footy Pups.

CHILDREN CHEER

Hi, everyone. We're all warmed up so it's time to get moving.

CHILDREN CHEER

Today on my team we have...

No 1 - Leela.

Well done, Leela.

No 2 - Casper.

Fantastic, Casper, well done.

No 3 - Jessica.

Good, Jessica.

No 4 - Alex.

Fantastic, Alex, well done.

No 5 - Ariella.

That's it, Ariella, well done.

No 6 - Jacob.

Well done, Jacob.

Also joining us are Footy Pups Rozzie and Rex.

-So that's today's team.

-CHEERING

OK, guys, gather round. It's team talk time.

KIDS CHEER

Today we're going to be looking at a sport that you play with a racket

and a small yellow ball.

Does anyone know what sport that might be?

Lots of hands. Leela?

-Tennis.

-Brilliant. Well done, Leela.

And to tell us a little more about tennis,

I've invited along a good friend of mine.

Marcus Willis, international tennis player and sporting superstar.

Marcus started playing tennis when he was nine years old

and can often be found on Centre Court competing in top tournaments.

-Hi, Marcus. Thanks for joining us.

-Thank you for having me.

What tips can you give us for playing tennis?

Tennis is a sport which we use our rackets to hit the ball

over the net. In tennis we play for sets

-and each set can last a minimum of six games.

-Brilliant.

-So what are the three main things to remember?

-Turn side on,

start your swing low

and follow through high.

-ALL:

-Turn side on, swing back low

and follow through high.

Well done. What's the first thing we should practice?

Tennis is all about hand-eye coordination,

so the first thing we're going to practise is bouncing the ball

on our racket with good control.

We've got to hold our racket out flat and slowly start to bounce

-the ball off our racket like that.

-Let's have a practice.

-They're off!

Great concentration, here.

Make sure you don't tilt it towards your head.

Always got to keep your arm straight.

-Alex is working hard.

-Keep your eyes on that ball. Well done, Alex.

That's it, follow it around.

-Keeping it nice and straight.

-Oh...

-Really good, buddy.

-Great stuff, Ariella.

Is it better to hit it high or hit it low? What do you think?

OK. Let's have a go, then. Keep it nice and low.

Keep your eyes on that ball.

Wow. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine...

Oh, wowsers, that was brilliant.

Make sure you don't have any wibbly wobbly rackets.

-You've got to have a good grip.

-Some super skills here.

Casper, high five, buddy.

That was brilliant. Well done.

Whilst these guys keep practising, here's a reminder for you at home.

When playing tennis, turn side on,

start your swing low and follow through high.

Now we're going to challenge you. We've split you into pairs.

One of you is going to throw the ball underarm and the other person's

-going to hit the ball back.

-We hit the ball by swinging our racket

back, looking where the ball is and swinging forward, like this.

-KIDS:

-Wow!

-OK, off you go.

A strong start here.

-Well done.

-Well done, great throw.

-Good swing, too.

Ooh, Jessica, what happened to that one?

Casper concentrates.

That's it, swing low and finish off high. Well done, Casper.

Make sure when you hit it, it's always in front of you.

That was really good.

It was in front of you and you had a nice C shape when you hit the ball.

Oh, that's a high one from Casper.

When you're waiting for the ball, you're on your toes, ready,

in your ready position. Yeah, that's it.

-Give yourself enough space.

-Nicely done.

-Jacob, good catch, buddy.

If you get this one it's a high five. Perfect! High five.

Nice throw, Leela.

These guys are great at practising their tennis skills.

-You're great at tennis, Rozzie.

-Thanks, Rex!

It takes a lot of concentration.

Do you remember that time Freddie tried to teach us how to play?

Oh, yeah.

Welcome to Pupton Park where it looks like Freddie's got things

ready for a very different game... set and match.

Have you put our goal nets in the wash again, Freddie?

Not quite, Geraldine.

In today's training, we're going to be terrific at trying out tennis.

-ALL:

-Oh, wow!

-I've always wanted to play tennis.

Like football, it requires skill and concentration.

It's very simple.

Two players hit the ball over the net until someone either misses it,

hits it out or hits it into the net.

If that happens, the other player gets a point.

Oh, that's what this is for!

Well done, laddie. It's called a tennis racket.

And this is a tennis ball.

It's small and bouncy.

-Keep it going.

-OK, Freddie.

Whoops! Missed.

Don't worry, Pickles, I'll get it.

Ho-ho! Thanks, Rex.

Maybe you'd like to be our ball boy.

Ball boys and girls run and get the tennis balls for the players.

Brilliant! I love fetching balls.

-BUZZING NOISE

-What is making all that noise?

Don't mind me.

I'm just knocking together some brand-new goals.

But tennis is meant to be played in peace and quiet.

Sorry, Freddie. Seeing as you're not using the pitch today,

it's the only chance I'll have to build them.

I'll try and keep it down.

-DRILL WHIRS

-Oh!

Let's try again. This one's for you, Rozzie.

Oh! I missed it.

I smell trouble.

I'll fetch it!

-Oh!

-Rex, that was me instructions!

Sorry, Groundskeeper Pete.

OK, team, I think I've got this.

HE WOOFS

-Oh, no!

-Out!

I'll fetch it!

-THE CHEER-FLEADERS BUZZ

-Oh, I forgot.

It's the Cheerfleaders' vuvuzela practice today.

Come on, Cheerfleaders, we've got to play together.

-THE CHEER-FLEADERS SCREAM

-Oops, sorry!

A fine catch from Rex, there.

But with all this drilling and vuvuzela practice,

Pupton Park is a very noisy place today.

Here you go.

Allez!

Allez-oop!

Oh, I missed it again.

Got it!

To you, Pickles.

Oh, I miss it every time!

What a howler.

This is fun!

Oh, let me try again.

I've got that too.

-Yo-ho-ho! Whoopsy daisy.

-REX LAUGHS AND WOOFS

Freddie, we're just no good at tennis.

We keep missing the ball.

I'm really sorry, Pups.

I thought you'd love playing tennis.

We would, Freddie, but it's really hard.

We can't even hit the ball back.

Well, it's a good job you can get back to playing football then.

Me new goals are...ready?

They don't look like goals.

They look more like...

-ALL:

-Tennis rackets!

Oh, dear!

What was I thinking?

Hey, maybe we'd be better at hitting the ball if we used bigger rackets.

You'll need a bigger ball, too.

Oh, I like your thinking, Pups.

Let's hope the Pups can get the swing of tennis with bigger rackets.

This is a big moment for everyone.

Not again!

-I'll go, again.

-REX LAUGHS

THE CHEER-FLEADERS SCREAM

ROZZIE LAUGHS

If only we were as good at hitting the ball as Rex is at catching it.

-SHE SIGHS

-But catching is easy.

I just make sure I keep my eye on the ball,

-and before I know it, I've caught it.

-Oh!

That's what we're doing wrong.

We keep taking our eye off the ball.

Of course! Every time we hear a loud noise we get distracted

and forget to watch where the ball goes.

No wonder tennis is usually played in peace and quiet.

Allez-oooh!

We should try playing proper tennis again.

And this time we won't take our eyes off the ball.

Sounds like a puppy plan.

-Ready, Rozzie?

-Ready, Pickles.

I'm watching the ball.

Great shot, Rozzie. Keep it up, Pups.

Amazing!

HE SINGS

Keep concentrating on the ball, Pickles.

We've done it!

We've worked out how to play together, too!

If you can play through this noise, you can play through anything!

HORN BLASTS AND THEY YELL

I've finally put all these bits of wood to good use.

HORN BLASTS AGAIN

Nice to see the Pups are finally hitting that ball...

All this tennis is making me dizzy.

..and the Cheerfleaders are finally hitting the right notes.

# If you want to play tennis here's how to whack it

# Keep your eyes on the ball and swing that racket!

#Go, go, go! Rozzie! #

Tennis is much more fun now we can hit the ball.

It sure is. Let's have a go.

Oh, bones.

Oh, it's stopped making a noise.

Ho-ho! Great shot, Rex!

I'll fetch it!

THEY LAUGH

Ha-ha! Tennis is really good fun, isn't it, Rozzie?

-ROZZIE GIGGLES

-It sure is, Rex.

-Hi, guys.

-BOTH:

-Hi, Rachel.

-Rozzie, you're great at tennis. Can I join in?

-Of course you can.

-Brill. Rex, you can be ball boy.

-Yippee!

OK, I'm ready.

Oh, Rex, you're only meant to catch the ball when I've missed it.

Do you guys remember how to play tennis?

Turn side on,

start your swing low and follow through high.

-OK, guys, who fancies a game?

-KIDS CHEER

So I've split you up into two teams.

We've got the Reds. Reds, give me a cheer.

THEY CHEER

And we've got the Oranges. Oranges, give me a cheer.

-THEY CHEER

-Brilliant.

Let's take a look with the Footy Pups to find out how to play.

Come and have a look.

To play this game you'll need to be on your toes.

When the whistle blows, the first player runs forward with the tennis

racket. A ball will be hit across the tennis net.

The first team-mate hits it back and the next team-mate runs forward.

The winners of this game will be

the team who hit the most balls over the net.

-OK, guys, are you ready?

-THEY CHEER

-Three, two, one.

-WHISTLE BLOWS

-Both teams race forward.

-Good, Ariella, well done.

-Run to the back.

-Keep your eyes on the ball. Hit the ball over the net.

-Brilliant stuff.

-Great shot. Get your feet in position.

-Swing your racket back. That's it.

-Fantastic, Alex. Well done.

-Casper's up next. Looks for the ball.

-Good shot, Casper.

-He's pleased with that.

-Make sure you keep your eyes on that ball.

-Unlucky. Alex.

-Really good, guys. Well done.

Come on, Jacob.

Oh, what a shot!

-Ooh!

-Fantastic.

-Shot!

-Leela's on the move.

-Well done.

Fantastic forehand, there.

Great skills here from both teams. They're making it look easy.

-Take your time, Jacob.

-REX AND ROZZIE:

-Hooray!

There's not long left. This could be anybody's game...

set and match. WHISTLE BLOWS

-And time.

-Let's have a replay.

Both teams were tiptop at tennis,

swinging and striking ball after ball.

But who will be today's winners?

Let's go to Footy Pups Rex and Rozzie for the final scores.

-Yeah!

-Both teams hit nine balls over the net,

making today's score a draw!

My team today have been terrific at tennis.

We've turned side on, we've started low

and we've followed through high.

All thanks to tennis superstar Marcus Willis.

That's it for today.

Well done, everyone. Now you've got the skills, remember to pass it on.

THEY CHEER