My Blog

May 21, 2012

Get Out and Play

Rafael Nadal won his sixth Rome Masters title against Novak Djokovic on Monday and reminded the tennis world that he is the best clay court tennis player to ever pick up a racket. SportsCenter devoted a full 30 seconds to this match ...

Steven Kaplan

May 9, 2012

Fear of Losing is Almost Always a Bad Thing

The fear of losing while playing can motivate greatly, but most often negatively because it distracts and impedes optimal performance. Fear is a terrible focal point.

Steven Kaplan

May 8, 2012

Fear of Losing When You Are Winning Can be a Good Thing

You're winning. That's good. You're composing your victory speech. That's bad. You can still lose!

Joel Ross

May 8, 2012

In All Fairness

I often hear players talk about favoritism by coaches. The frequent complaint is that "favoritism is unfair treatment," and while there may be a small absolute truth here, the larger truth is that "sameness" is not "fairness."

Steven Kaplan

April 30, 2012

Magical Thinking

If you are the parent of an aspiring young player on Long Island, there is a very good chance that "prominent" coaches have told you that "your child has the talent to be a pro." Most of you will be skeptical, especially when they add, "we are the only place with the ability to take them to the top."

Steven Kaplan

April 16, 2012

True Life

One of my favorite drill games is called "True Life," and the explanation of this game is way more complex than its execution.

Steven Kaplan

April 4, 2012

Burn and Churn?

The USTA announced changes to the National Junior Tennis Tournament structure last week. It seems like changes to the national format are as inevitable as death and taxes and after speaking with many people, only slightly less welcomed.

Steven Kaplan