2015 Long Island Tennis Magazine’s Coaches Roundtable Discussion
The Long Island tennis community has some of the sport’s best facilities, both indoor and outdoor, and best coaches in the world. With this wealth of talent available right in our own backyard, Long Island Tennis Magazine recently took the opportunity to pick the brains of some of these top coaches. What you will find below are some of the sport’s top instructors sharing their ideas and strategies from coaching those new to the game to skilled juniors, the state of tennis on Long Island, the role of the parent in a player’s development, and much more. Even the best coach can always learn an extra tip or two, and the following article will provide all players and coaches with a chance to learn from the cream of the area’s crop.
Meet the participants …
Howie Arons
Great Neck Estates Tennis Center
Howie Arons is the owner/director of Great Neck Estates Tennis Center, as well as the Boys Tennis Coach of BN Cardozo High School in Bayside, N.Y. Howie has coached Cardozo for 36-plus years, and has the most tennis wins in New York State history with 584 wins. He was USTA Coach of the Year in 1988 and USPTA Coach of the Year in 2007.
Carl Barnett
Glen Head Racquet Club, Home of the Early Hit Training Center
This is the 13th season of Carl Barnett’s Early Hit Training Center at Glen Head Racquet Club. Early Hit is dedicated to providing lessons, groups and training in its comprehensive ALPS program. Pat Etcheberry has worked with Carl as an advisor with the ALPS training program. Carl has concluded that students learn faster when they have core fitness, flexibility and explosive strength. Early Hit not only serves juniors as the program features nationally-ranked players in the USTA Open, 40s, 60s and 70s Divisions.
Ricky Becker
JuniorTennisConsulting LLC
Ricky Becker is the founder of JuniorTennisConsulting LLC, director of tennis at Pine Hollow Country Club and independently coaches high-performance juniors year-round. Ricky was named the Most Valuable Player for the 1996 NCAA Championship Stanford Tennis Team and was a top-five nationally-ranked junior.
Vinicius Carmo
The Ross School
Vinicius Carmo is tennis director of The Ross School Tennis Academy and coach of the boy’s and girl’s varsity tennis teams. As a player, Vinicius was ranked among the top five junior players in Brazil and played several international junior tennis tournaments. He attended the University of Tennessee for four years on a full scholarship.
Lisa Dodson
Servemaster at The Total Serve
Lisa Dodson is owner of Servemaster at The Total Serve, a USPTA Elite Pro, a formerly world ranked player and radio show host.
Steve Kaplan
Bethpage Park Tennis Center
Steven Kaplan is the owner of Bethpage Park Tennis Center, as well as the director of Lacoste Academy for New York City Parks Foundation. Over the last 35-plus years, Steve has been the long-time coach of more than 600 nationally-ranked junior players, 16 state high school champions, two NCAA Division I Singles Champions, and numerous touring professionals and prominent coaches. Steve's students have been awarded in excess of $8 million in college scholarship money.
Mike Kossoff
Sportime
Mike Kossoff, a native of Long Island, was one of the top ranked juniors in the country prior to attending Bowling Green State University where he earned a bachelor of arts degree in communications. At Bowling Green, Mike led the men’s tennis team to two Mid-American Conference Championships and became the most successful player in the history of the program. After graduating, Mike quickly became one of the top junior coaches in the East, developing numerous nationally-ranked players, while earning a master’s degree in physical education. He has competed and coached extensively in ITF tournaments around the world. Mike joined Sportime in 2000 and became Director of the JMTA Long Island Annex in 2012 and is the Tennis Director at Sportime Syosset/Bethpage.
Whitney Kraft
USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center
Since 2007, Whitney Kraft has been the director of tennis at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y. and director of player operations for the U.S. Open. Previously, he was director of tennis for the City of Fort Lauderdale Park & Recreation Department (1998-2007). He was a 1983 Singles All-American for Florida Atlantic University, and inducted into their inaugural Athletic Hall of Fame class in 2006. He is a National 10 & Under Trainer, a USPPTA Platform Tennis instructor, as well as a member of the National Cardio Tennis Speakers Team. A USPTA member since 1983, Whitney served as district director for Broward County, Florida and as president of the local CTA, Broward Tennis Association. Whitney has been the tournament director for many prestigious events, including the National Public Parks Tennis Championships (2007), ITF World Championships (2002), the inaugural U.S. Open National Sectional Playoffs (2010), USTA Boys 14 National Clay Court Championships (2000-2007) and the USTA National Open Clay Court and Indoor Championships (1998-present).
Ed Krass
College Tennis Exposure Camps
Ed Krass coached the Harvard Women’s Tennis Team to four consecutive Ivy League titles from 1986-1990. Ed is the founder and director of the Annual College Tennis Exposure Camps, which are taught exclusively by all Head College Coaches for high school-aged players (15-18). Ed is also the founder of One-On-One Doubles tournaments, which have been played at USTA, ATP, ITA and USPTA national events.
Ben Marks
Carefree Racquet Club
Ben Marks is the director of junior tennis at Carefree Racquet Club and director of tennis at Cold Spring Harbor Beach Club. He has previously worked at the John McEnroe Tennis Academy, and was the Cold Spring Harbor Varsity Head Coach for three years, earning Nassau County Coach of the Year Honors in 2014. He played number one and number two singles for Norfolk State University, and number one doubles, reaching a career-high regional ranking of ninth in the Atlantic Region. He is a 2015 National Open Doubles Champion.
Butch Seewagen
CATS—Children's Athletic Training School/Butch Seewagen Tennis Academy
Butch Seewagen is owner of CATS—Children's Athletic Training School and Butch Seewagen Tennis Academy in Rockville Centre, N.Y. He is a former U.S. Amateur Champion, coach of Ivy League Champion Columbia University, and a former top 70 in the world. Having played the U.S. Open 13 times, Butch reached the semifinals in doubles and was among the last 32 in singles.
Jay Wass
Sportime Kings Park
Jason Wass is a USPTA Professional Certified Instructor, with experience coaching all ages and levels. A graduate of the USTA High-Performance Player Development Program, Jay’s strengths lie in working with players in developmental stages of the game, building player’s technique and strategy from the ground up. Jason’s versatility as a tennis coach is demonstrated by his list of students that range from total beginner to nationally-ranked. Named the 2010 USTA Long Island Tennis Professional of the Year, Jay is the director of tennis at Sportime Kings Park.
What are the main reasons for the loss of U.S. dominance at the professional level?
Howie Arons: There are quite a few reasons for the lack of American dominance in tennis. Each of these reasons are important, but they don’t stand alone. One good reason, in my opinion, is we have no exciting players in the top 10. We have no players with talent and charisma … no magnets of the game. Where is the next 19-year-old Jimmy Connors, 17-year-old John McEnroe, 17-year-old Andre Agassi, 17-year-old Pete Sampras, etc. We have no role models to excite the younger generation, and we badly need a superstar.
Another major reason is the amount of effort it takes as a junior—playing almost every day and playing in tournaments all weekend. What I see today that is different is the total commitment of most top juniors. They believe they work hard, but their effort is fragmented because of life’s many choices.
Mike Kossoff: I feel it’s a combination of a number of factors.
First, we are still way behind other countries in how we develop our 10 & Under tennis players. Secondly, the USTA tournament and ranking system. Third, until very recently, the USTA national coaches were not working hand-in-hand with our top developmental junior coaches. Fourth, college tennis switching to no-ad scoring and match super tie-breakers for the third set is not ideal for preparation on the pro tour. Fifth, the growing expense of the sport. Sixth, the sport of tennis in the United States does not attract our best athletes. And finally, prize money as a professional tennis player. Being a pro tennis player is far from glamorous. If you are in the top 200 in the world, you are a big time tennis player. The problem is you are not making any money!
I will say that we do have some really bright young American players coming up in the rankings. We should see some of the women breaking out in the next two years, with some top men shortly to follow. I am even predicting one Long Island male to crack into the top 100 within the next three years. In fact … I can guarantee it.
Whitney Kraft: That’s a great question with lots to consider. Tennis is becoming such a global sport, whereby in some countries it currently ranks as the second most popular sport behind soccer. The U.S. has added more and more choices for youth with video gaming not helping! Navigating the competitive/developmental pathway remains a tough puzzle for parents to sort out in our country. Tournaments historically hosted in the U.S. (1980s-1990s) went overseas. This—combined with geographic advantages, innovative ranking systems along with feed-in draws—yielded more frequent and competitive match environments with France as an example.
Some nations did a superior job over the past 20 years with the “tennis-sized right” youth pathway to excellence and long term development, such as the nations of France and Belgium.
Many foreign players play and train more on clay, thereby developing excellent defensive skills, superior point construction, variety of shots and higher fitness levels.
Collegiate tennis in the United States shifted to more foreign players being recruited, thus providing support/training grounds for the likes of Kevin Anderson of South Africa/University of Illinois. Many foreign pros have lived and trained in the U.S. since infancy, for example Maria Sharapova. Are they foreign or American?
For many years, a mistake was made in thinking that U.S. players were ready to turn pro in their teenage years. As a result, many players never reached their full potential and/or caved from expectations and the pressure more easily mitigated from a more mature athlete.
Could it just be cyclical? It would be interesting to ask Sweden, Argentina, Germany and Australia the same question. Where are the top 10 men and women?
What should the ratio be between the time spent on the court and time spent on fitness for juniors?
Carl Barnett: The ratio we like to work within group is 90 minutes of court time to one-hour in the training room. Our tournament players do this three to five times per week, coupled with one or two private lessons. For high school and beginner tournament players, we encourage group lessons at least twice per week. Coincidently, my friend Pat Etcheberry was at Early Hit with touring professional Daniela Hantuchova, and they worked in the Training Center for an hour and then spent 90 minutes on the court. This, in my mind, is the best ratio.
Steve Kaplan: Almost every session on the court should include functional fitness and tennis skill development, starting with a good movement preparation warm up. It's important to recognize that most racket skill deficiencies are compensations for a lack of mobility and motor skill. These areas can be integrated into every practice. Off the court, athletes should roll and stretch daily for recovery, prioritizing mobility first and then include functional strength and power at least several times a week.
Ed Krass: Light weights and speed, agility and flexibility training should be only 20 percent of a tournament player’s training regimen. As we know, court time is very valuable for instruction, drilling and competitive practice matches, which should comprise 80 percent of a player's training regimen. Ice should be applied to the knees, shoulders, elbows and other joints after each practice, as most top college tennis teams do ice therapy to eliminate inflammation of the muscles. We must prevent injuries!
Butch Seewagen: A ratio should be based on a student’s time availability. In the winter, more time can be spent off the court due to less available court time. The busier summer months should be more of a maintenance program and time spent working on specific physical weaknesses.
What advice do you have for tennis parents in how to deal with their kids during training, and before and after matches?
Ricky Becker: It is a good idea for the parent to sit on the court during lessons, because the pro and child will feel more accountable. The parent can also report back to the coach what is being absorbed in tournaments. Parental feedback during the lesson, as well as to a child immediately after a match, are not productive or constructive.
Vinicius Carmo: My advice is for the parents to always be supportive and give their children strong confidence and self-esteem. The well-being of the child outside of tennis is very important for any player's performance. If the kids are happy outside the court, there is a good chance that they will have a good training session. If the child has a bad training session, parents should listen to their children and provide mental support off the court, so the children can come back next time and improve upon their training.
Lisa Dodson: At competitive levels, the role of the parent is to be supportive of the player and of their coaches. The coach is the coach and the parent is the parent, and it usually works best if these roles are adhered to. Parents should do what they would instinctively do for all of their children, regardless of tennis: Provide a loving, structured and supportive environment in which their child can thrive, grow and succeed. Being positive and supportive is critical. Many kids leave tennis when the parent gets a little too pushy. If kids don’t live up to their parents’ expectations, it creates an uninspired student. There is too much pressure to succeed everywhere. Kids want to achieve for their coaches. We are one step removed and can be more demanding so gains are more measurable and appreciated.
Jay Wass: In a word, RELAX. This is a marathon, not a sprint. Parents seem to be way too concerned with short-term winning and losing. The development process takes a long time, and failing is good! As far as before and after matches, let the kids drive conversations. If they need space, give it to them, and if they want to talk, be supportive.
How has coaching tennis changed in the time you have been involved in it?
Howie Arons: I have been a tennis coach in New York City and Long Island for 40 years and have come to know hundreds of coaches. The main difference in coaching today from 20 years ago is knowledge of the importance of a coordinated fitness program to go hand-in-hand with a junior program. Coaches and program directors try to make complete tennis programs, with a strong emphasis on fitness training.
Lisa Dodson: The change in the style of play has been massive. Keeping up with the times and deciding on what I believe is the best way to get through to the student is ever-evolving. With the Internet and online coaching sites, coaching has become much more of a business. There is an endless supply of online teaching and programs to learn from which can be positive and negative. A lot of players are receiving conflicting information from a variety of sources, and this can be confusing. For some, it replaces the special relationship between the student and coach. Those players don’t know what they are missing.
Steve Kaplan: When I first started coaching tennis over 35 years ago, coaching was viewed primarily as teaching the art of racket management. Over the years, progressive coaches have evolved to focus less on developing rackets skills and more on overall athletic development. Of course, advances in technology have led the way to promoting this shift which has unquestionably raised the overall quality of play.
Butch Seewagen: Before the Internet, all knowledge came from observation alone and good coaches. Now, with the information age, a student can get an infinite amount of knowledge online. It is now up to the coach to sort all this out for the student.
Which coaches do you admire in other professional sports?
Howie Arons: Tom Coughlin of the New York Giants is my favorite coach. He is tough, exciting, loves to coach and loves the process, not just winning. His players love to play for him. He makes players better and they love it. Another coach that comes to mind is Mike Kryzyzewski. He has so much intensity, but never goes over the line. He coaches with all that he has every game. There are really are a lot of great coaches in every sport.
Carl Barnett: I admire Pete Carroll, head coach of the Seattle Seahawks. He, just like us at Early Hit, strive to have a learning based organization that is hungry to figure out the challenges of expressing human potential. We cannot measure success by a point, set or match. We are more interested in the process of a successful arc of growing.
I also want to add Dr. Angela Lee Duckworth from the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Duckworth is a psychologist who coaches grit in students from a motivational perspective. Grit is passion and commitment for long-term goals. Ms. Duckworth is a leading proponent of Growth Mindset. Here, brains and talent are considered the starting point. This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment.
Ricky Becker: The late Al Arbour of the National Hockey League is someone I have always admired. He was a strict disciplinarian with a well-organized system, but was well-liked by all of his players. What a combination! He was humble and classy, and his opponents even respected the heck out of him. He certainly got results, as he led the Islanders to four straight Stanley Cups under his watch!
Mike Kossoff: I am a big fan of Jose Mourinho, current coach of the Chelsea Football Club in the English Premier League. He is a master tactician and gets the most out of all of his players. His body language and demeanor oozes confidence, and his personnel management skills are top notch.
What is the one thing you hope any student of yours learns from you?
Steve Kaplan: The positive value of effort, dedication, education, health, confidence and humility.
Ed Krass: The one thing I hope a student learns from me is that it is important to be a good person first, a good player second. Honesty, integrity and character far outweigh the match results as we prepare for the game of life!
Ben Marks: I always try to make sure that all of my students enjoy playing the game. It is very easy to forget the real reason we all play tennis … for fun! This does not mean that my students do not work hard and strive to improve every time they step onto a tennis court, because they definitely do! But, in order for them to keep wanting to work as hard as they do, they have to enjoy the sweat and occasional tears as well!
Jay Wass: Sportsmanship, and respect for the game, their opponents, competition, etc. I tell my students that they get to be tennis players some of the time, but they can be great human beings all of the time.
Do you think it is important for kids to play other sports in addition to tennis?
Mike Kossoff: Absolutely. We strongly encourage all of our John McEnroe Tennis Academy players to participate in other sports, especially team sports. It’s beneficial for kids to experience competition in different settings, as well as just enjoy themselves with their peers!
Whitney Kraft: Absolutely, research across numerous sports has shown that over-specialization at too young of an age doesn’t yield long-term results. Becoming a great athlete is more important. Diversity in sports prevents burnout and overuse injuries. Remember the sport of soccer that John McEnroe, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer played as juniors.
What are some of the teaching/coaching adjustments you have to make when going from outdoors in the summer to indoors in the winter?
Lisa Dodson: The biggest adjustment is the playing surface. I teach on Har-Tru in the spring, summer and fall, and on hard courts in the winter. I also go from a country club environment to a more high-performance program indoors. Pretty much everything is different, so it really keeps things interesting. What stays the same is teaching solid technical basics, good grips and most of all, an all-court game.
Whitney Kraft: You can leave the sunscreen and hat at home, along with the excuses about wind, shadows and temperatures. A static playing environment is optimal, thus take full advantage!
Ben Marks: There are a lot of adjustments to be made switching from indoor tennis to outdoor tennis. One of the main things I am aware of when we make the transition is the speed of the points. Preparation has to happen earlier due to the increased speed of the ball, points tend to be shorter indoors (though often not as short as they should be!), so a more aggressive approach to point construction is required as players cannot just sit back and grind. Another thing to remember is that because balls are traveling faster, players have to keep in mind that their opponents can come up with more winning shots from areas in the court they maybe couldn't when playing outside. Seeing a couple of winners flying by you can be disheartening at times, but players cannot let themselves get worked up by a few "lucky" shots from their opponents.
For younger players, do you emphasize mental toughness and attitude more than technique? How do you find a healthy balance between the two?
Carl Barnett: We start focus training in the training room. A group may be doing 18 core hops and a new student may only be able to do five. We have that student do five and hop up until they can do seven. Eventually, the student will join the group at 18, but until then, they do the exact amount they've committed to. Focus is based on self-belief and this achievement and growth enhances belief. Technique is best developed initially in private lessons. For example, when a student is doing inside-out forehands and their footwork could improve by watching a higher level effort from a more experienced student that will help them find a better technique. The balance between technique and focus is then best developed in supervised match play where nuances can be addressed as they develop
Ed Krass: The younger players, ages 10-14, need to establish solid technique that will allow their game to grow. They also need to learn some of the key mental aspects of the game if they are to learn how to handle winning and losing.
The older juniors must learn the balance of respect and pressure to perform optimally each time. That being said, juniors must learn to give credit where credit is due, the other player counts too! This will allow for huge mental growth. The mental side needs to be stressed all the time—as it is our minds that tell our body what to do.
Butch Seewagen: Obviously, proper tennis technique and skills are emphasized, first and foremost. Mental toughness lessons are best learned in the school of hard knocks—competition. A lesson should be learned from every competitive match.
Do you think it is important for top junior players to play high school tennis, or are they better off focusing on individual tournaments?
Ricky Becker: I played four years of high school tennis at Roslyn while having a top national ranking and loved it! But my coach let me train on my own and just play matches. High school coaches should be sensitive to a top-player’s time and practice quality. Top players don’t “need” high school tennis to play college tennis, but I would recommend it.
Vinicius Carmo: I think that top junior players should compete in high school tennis as long as the high school tennis coaches have flexibility with the player’s practice schedule. It is important to be part of a team in case you play college tennis one day. It also improves self-confidence for the player to represent the school.
Ben Marks: This is a question without a straightforward answer. It comes down to the individual and their high school coach finding a balance between the two. I coached the Cold Spring Harbor Boys Varsity Team for three years. I was fortunate that I was able to coach players who have reached the top 100 in the county in their age groups and have gone on to play D-1 college tennis, yet still wanted to represent our team. I believe that playing in these high-pressure matches was fantastic for their development as players, and future college athletes. I believe that high-performance players cannot give up their individual tennis completely during the high school season, like many coaches require, without causing harm to their games and without bad habits creeping in.
All of the players on my team were given the option to attend one to two private lessons during the week instead of coming to every high school practice. This was a great compromise for all of our players and the only way high school tennis can still attract the best juniors in the country.
High school tennis provides huge benefits, such as playing under pressure, playing as part of team, dealing with many unusual conditions, but it cannot provide our juniors with the technical help and structure that they need to continue their development like our academies and clubs can.
What are the biggest positives and negatives of the current state of tennis on Long Island? How can we continue to grow participation?
Carl Barnett: We need to honor all achievements: Level 3, Level 2, high school tennis, etc. Winning at any level encourages tennis players to keep playing. Be welcoming and encouraging to beginners. We may not remember it, but we were one once beginners too at one point in time.
Vinicius Carmo: Of course the biggest challenges are the cost of indoor tennis and the lacking of a national hero. Children today do not have a top American player to inspire them to play the sport of tennis.
I believe in the 10 & Under method of teaching, using the appropriate sized nets, racquets and balls for children to play tennis. I hope that all clubs and academies continue to use this method to grow the sport of tennis. Children will have more fun and they will engage in the sport at a much earlier age.
Steve Kaplan: Tennis has the potential to thrive on Long Island despite the current participation downturn in most local areas. This starts by giving great regard to economic circumstances and providing opportunities to players based on need as well as ability.
I also talked in this magazine about the opportunity for clubs to go beyond the scope of QuickStart and reach out to local communities to become leaders in early childhood athletic development.
Jay Wass: Long Island has an amazing group of people involved in the game. Coaches, parents and former players are all ready, willing and able to help out our current players. I believe we need to embrace more opportunities to get players started in the game at a younger age. Ideally, we as coaches can find ways to work with schools to offer more play within their current curriculum.
