Embarrassed To Be An American

By Ricky Becker
Let me start out by saying I am very proud to be an American. However, my trip to the 14's clays in Fort Lauderdale left a heck of a lot to be desired. Granted, nobody's perfect and there was one coaching situation I wish I handled differently but between the behavior of the players, officials,...Read more

Don't forget to hydrate!!!

By Jason Wass
So far this summer is one of the hottest I can remember. We have had 3 "heat waves" in a matter of 3 weeks and temperatures have regularly been in the 90's. Do yourself a favor and drink 3 or 4 glasses of water AT NIGHT before you go to bed, this keep you from dehydrating early the next day,...Read more

I Got to be Free

By Steven Kaplan
The mission of the USTA is: "To promote and develop the growth of tennis." In the local area, we can now add, "To promote and develop the growth of its junior development program" and the first step in this growth is to promote an extensive free program. The USTA is now in the junior development...Read more

Where are the tennis fans???!!!

By Jason Wass
I just got home from watching the NY Sportimes v. Boston Lobsters featuring James Blake. Now I realize that it is always nice to go to an event where big names are playing, but this is good tennis. More so, its a fun, family friendly atmosphere that should be supported by anyone and everyone in the...Read more

What Level Tournaments Should My Child Play?

By Ricky Becker
For starters, every child is different and unique. However, as a baseline, the USTA has done a comprehensive study on world class players and what level tournaments they played as juniors. What they came up with is that a player has the most long-term potential if they have a 2:1 win/loss ratio...Read more

More Than a Feeling

By Steven Kaplan
While watching the Wimbledon Men's Final between Rafael Nadal and Tomas Berdych, I heard NBC broadcasting legend Dick Enberg ask John McEnroe about a comment made by Andy Murrey after his semifinal loss that "Nadal's ball just feels so heavy on my racket." "What?" Enberg asked, "does that mean?"...Read more

"My Child Thrives When He Is The Weakest On The Court"

By Ricky Becker
Not Important For Getting Better In A Drill Group: 1) Exclusively playing with better players - When a parent says their child wants to be in a group that is stronger than their level, this tells me that the child wants to artificially feel like he/she is stronger than he really is or maybe the...Read more

High Performance Camp

By Steven Kaplan
I just came back from the USTA High performance camp in Boca Raton, Fla. Several of the best 11 and 12 year olds from across the country, as well as their primary coaches, were selected to participate, including a student of mine, Brenden Volk. I have a few observations from this experience that I...Read more

Why Do They Hate Us?

By Ricky Becker
An interesting comment was made to me in 1995. I was having a little give and take with some of my California college teammates when I mentioned that I won an Eastern Sportsmanship Award when I was a junior. My roommate and #1 singles player commented, "Winning The Eastern Sportsmanship Award means...Read more

The Restlessness

By Eric Dietsche
It’s now official. Now that the Spring Break trips have begun and it is also possible to play on outdoor courts again (at least in the Berkshires—if you’re somewhere further south, you may have been playing outside much longer), the spring season has begun, and the restlessness of the winter has...Read more

Should I Get A "Name" Coach For My 6-8 Year Old?

By Ricky Becker
A lot of times people want to go out and seemingly do well for their young child. "Who are the best coaches in the area?" They may ask their friends. Truth is, the coaches who are known as top coaches are top coaches for a completely different demographic than the one a 6-8 year old is in. The best...Read more

My Opinion: What’s the Story With Tennis Lingo?

By Eric Meditz
I was recently at a dinner party at a friend’s apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. I got caught up in a conversation with some guy who said that he worked in the city as some sort of financial or investment banker. I wasn’t quite sure what he was talking about, because I was trying not...Read more
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