You've probably heard from almost everyone involved in tennis that our sport is the “Sport of a Lifetime”–that tennis’ benefits of fitness, community and health are unparalleled. What you may not know is that for young people, tennis can provide another huge upside: A pathway to college. For example, the John McEnroe Tennis Academy (JMTA)…
Tennis has often been called “The Sport of a Lifetime" because it can be played at all stages of our lives. When we are young, we tend to start by using Red, Orange and Green tennis balls on smaller courts. As our skills improve, we play with regular tennis balls and then some of us…
What if your primary focus in tennis wasn’t about the winning or losing? What if it wasn’t about being better or worse than your opponent? Certainly, that seems like a radical approach. But when we view competition through a completely new lens, the lens of “More Than an Athlete,” where the performer brings their whole…
Resistance training for adult athletes promotes many positive benefits. However, for one reason or another, the topic of resistance training for young athletes has become a controversial topic. There used to be a time when resistance training for a child was viewed as taboo, so we began associating it as an unsafe activity that would…
Over the past four decades, I've spent thousands of hours as a coach at local, national and international junior tournaments, and as they say, "I have seen it all." Here are 20 candid observations about the behaviors and interactions between players, coaches and parents before, during and after matches. I'm sure readers could suggest many…
Claude Okin grew up on the Upper West Side of Manhattan during the dawn of tennis’ Open Era and the tennis boom that followed in the 1970s and early 1980s. He came from humble means, as both of his parents were teachers. His father was an avid tennis player, playing on outdoor courts across…
What a great time of year to be playing tennis and what a crazy year 2016 has been so far in the world of pro tennis! First, the match-fixing and gambling scandal and now Maria Sharapova fails a drug test? I'm not sure how closely you have been following the drama off the court, but…
The New York tennis landscape is always growing and evolving. There are a myriad of options, both indoors and outdoors, for local tennis players to choose from. So how does a successful tennis entity separate itself? How does a successful club increase its player base and continue to grow? New York Tennis Magazine recently…
I called a parent today to inform him that his child didn't fit into an Orange Ball Class and would be a better fit for a Red 3 Class. Luckily for me, the parent seemed open-minded to the idea, but felt it would be hard to explain to his child the "demotion" from Orange Ball…
Having coached high school tennis for 24 years and having been a USPTA professional for 41 years, I’ve heard the term “mental toughness” thrown around repeatedly. What exactly is mental toughness? How can you recognize it? Is it something that can be learned? Can you teach it? Let me share what I have learned in…