There has to be something wrong with you mentally if you choke, right? Wrong! While "choking," or that feeling of paralyzing performance nervousness, is often an overreaction, it could be based on something very real. Maybe your fears are rooted in the reality that you are unready? It's healthy to be fearful if your fears are real,…
The First New York Tennis Expo was held at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center almost one year ago and it was a amazing event, with nearly 3,000 enthusiastic attendees. Critics can talk all they want about how the participation numbers for tennis are weak because we don't have many American champions, but…
Do you serve great in practice, but break down in matches? Join the club. The most common serving practice mistake is to stand around watching your serve while failing to recover. You then get into point play and rush your serve in order to recover to play the point. Practice recovery on every serve to keep it…
Beginners and pros alike understand the importance of keeping the ball in play. A common complaint is that every shot feels like an adventure, even while demonstrating consistent play. An important goal is to FEEL consistent, because movement familiarity promotes supreme confidence. I've heard this feeling described as "being grooved," and it's that great zone when…
One of the most widely played live ball practice games is commonly called "Sweeper." It's essentially a singles rally game started with a neutral feed from the baseline. Sweeper is a staple game of junior practice sessions everywhere, and a fun way to build a solid foundation for point construction. It's a bit unrealistic, however, for the more advanced levels…
The calendar may say "Spring," but the thermometer says "Winter" and the wind chill says "Brrr!" You don't have to suffer and waste valuable energy shivering. Save your movement for the match by dressing wisely. Wear wool or synthetics instead of cotton. When cotton gets wet, it has negative thermal properties. Wear a mesh vapor layer. "Craft" and Under Armor" both make…
I've learned a few "hacks" in my years of coaching that I would like to share weekly in this blog, beginning with "Part 1: Impress the School Coach at Tryouts." So your trying out for the school team with numerous other players and you want to make your best impression on the coach? Here's a foolproof way to…
What do you do when you’re stuck in a situation without any obvious way out of it? That’s the situation I found myself in recently during the last snow storm. My car was stuck where I had parked it and had little hope of getting it out. This was not the first time at the rodeo though,…
Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic, taking a page from the Academy Awards, tried to take a "selfie" during their exhibition match last night during the BNP Paribas Showdown at Madison Square Garden. Fail! How come these guys can't master how to use a cellphone on the court? Well perhaps they just don't spend much time with their…
Disco was popular and the best doubles team in the world was "John McEnroe & Anyone." That was a long time ago. The BNP Paribas is coming to Madison Square Garden again this year and in one of the matchups John McEnroe, the "Michael Jordan of Doubles" is teaming with his brother Patrick (let's call him…