Professional coaches are receptive students and as eager to receive information, critique and criticism as they are to give it. They think independently, solve problems creatively, and assimilate and integrate information into a message that works best for each student. Great coaches are constantly learning and growing by questioning teachings of the past and uncovering…
When your son or daughter catches the tennis bug and has a little talent to match, it could be very overwhelming when figuring out what academy to join or what coach to train with privately. Parents often make quick decisions based on unnecessary facts. In today’s very competitive business environment, many coaches recruit at tournaments…
Ask any athlete how important the mental game is and most would say it’s between 50 percent and 99 percent of competition. In individual sports like golf, running, swimming and tennis, the value always pushes the higher limits. In team sports like baseball, basketball, lacrosse and football, it has great relevance as well. Remember Yogi…
With the playoffs of the adult USTA Leagues approaching, it seems an appropriate time to ask ourselves, how we practice to maximize success. The people who play in the leagues are folks with jobs, families and other responsibilities. If time allows, they will practice and work on their game, but how can that small amount…
We live in a world where resources are limited and people are increasingly trying to find ways to squeeze more out of less. In a tennis match, there are a multitude of opportunities to extend rallies, points, games and sets to get as much as you can out of your time on court. Just like…
Any coach who teaches mostly junior players has had to deal with the parents of their students. It is a delicate job that requires a lot of psychology. As a parent myself, I know that when it comes to our kids, we all get a bit emotional and our judgment is sometimes clouded. When I…
Tennis is becoming an increasingly international sport every year. Though it is more readily available, there are still many noticeable differences in the background of the junior athletes being developed all over the globe. I took some time to interview three former top junior players from different backgrounds. Matt Belenchia from Atlanta, Ga.; Max Beliankou…
Tell us about your tennis background. Skip Hartman: I started playing tennis at the age of eight at camp and then in the public parks in Manhattan, specifically, a park that no longer is there on 63rd Street and York Avenue that I could ride my bicycle to. I was a good junior player, having…
I’m asked many times how power is achieved in tennis shots. We see on TV many players on tour with amazing power. While of the world’s best players are bigger, faster and stronger than in years past, and technology has improved the racquets, the answer to generating power is still in the timing of two…
I was asked this past spring by the parents of some of my five-year-old students if I would consider starting a class for two-, three- and four-year-olds. The younger children had been coming to my club as tagalongs to their siblings’ lessons and were feeling left out. Secure in my belief that Google would rescue…