Performance improvement is all about hard work, and you need to work as hard as you can, right? Wrong! Hard work is important, but the ultimate goal is to be as productive as you can and this comes from finding just the optimal balance of effort and temperance. Remember … smart work is your best…
In my 32 years of teaching and coaching all levels of players, I have realized that there is a huge difference between teaching a student and just providing tennis information. The most important thing I have learned is to first be a student and then a teacher. I have seen many coaches who are so…
The vast majority of tennis games are played with great sportsmanship by players who demonstrate that tennis is a game of scrupulous honesty and courteous competitive spirit. A handful of players—and I do mean a handful—whip out a new rule interpretation that rattles the brain. I saw a player stop a match in a third…
For 26 weeks in 2009, Russia’s Dinara Safina was the number one ranked player in the world, holding that distinction from April 20-Oct. 11, and again from Oct. 26-Nov. 1, reaching the finals of three Grand Slam tournaments. But towards the end of that 2009 season, a back injury became a lingering problem for Safina….
The University of Virginia men’s tennis head coach Briand Boland will be the new head of men’s tennis for the USTA Player Development, the USTA announced on Tuesday. Boland will “oversee all training and coaching of male junior, collegiate and pro players by USTA Player Development, and he will manage all USTA national coaches on…
At this point in time, every athlete has heard of meditation and some have tried it on for size. Let’s take some time to review the history of meditation and assess some of its benefits and its limitations. The history of meditation Meditation has been around for a long time, a very long time. There…
During my career, I have had the privilege of competing and training with some of the best players of my era. Beginning when I was in juniors, my coach in Israel, Shlomo Zoreff, always encouraged me to befriend the top players in each international tournament and to try to get them to practice with me….
Remember the last time you turned on the lights? It’s a mindless activity, we do it all the time. When the lights go on, we don’t give it another thought. But, what about when the lights don’t go on? Usually, we may flip the switch a few times, trying to “will” the lights on. Let’s…
The head of men’s tennis for USTA Player Development Jay Berger announced that he will be stepping down from his role in early June after serving in the position since it was created in 2008. “Jay has done a tremendous job over the last nine years to support the development of the most promising generation…
As 2017 has arrived and 2016 is in our rearview mirror, it gives us a chance to reflect on what we want to accomplish this year as athletes. I cringe at using the word “resolution,” as it has a stigma attached in the athletic community associated with jam-packed parking lots at the local gym…