Junior Tennis

I believe there are three main components that must be present in a tennis players arsenal in order for them to say they are “Mentally Tough.” The first of these components is the toughest to obtain and maintain: Awareness. What I judge awareness to be is the ability of a player, in any moment...Read more

In order to maximize the development of players over the long run, the best plan is to adopt a four-stage training model developed by Dr. Istvan Balyi. The four stages are: 1. FUNdamental Stage 2. Training to Train Stage 3. Training to Compete Stage 4. Training to Win Stage Stage 1: FUNdamental...Read more

In my career as a tennis coach, I’ve learned that when you start working with a young tennis player, it’s not enough to just focus on the quality of the technique, you must also take into account what happens outside the court. Children play many roles … they are sons and daughters, students,...Read more

In the March/April 2019 issue of Long Island Tennis Magazine , I discussed my formula on junior tennis success. In short, it goes like this … Click Here to read Part I of Ricky Becker's article Ten percent of junior players walk onto the tennis court for the first time with clear-cut talent; 80...Read more

As has become a yearly tradition, the John McEnroe Tennis Academy (JMTA) hosted tryouts for both its Long Island and Randall’s Island facilities in late June, as tennis players from the ages of six through 16 headed to the courts in search of a scholarship into the JMTA. Mr. McEnroe himself was...Read more

The second annual Big Apple International Cup brought some of the best junior players in the world to the United States Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, N.Y. as teams from Brazil, Canada, Israel, Mexico, Spain and the United States competed against one another. “The Big...Read more

The 2019 Big Apple Cup continued on Wednesday, with teams from across the world competing against one another at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Some of the top junior players from Brazil, Canada, Israel, Mexico and Spain are in New York to battle top juniors from the Eastern...Read more

The outdoor tennis season at Pine Hollow Country Club officially kicked off with the club’s annual Opening Day Carnival last weekend. With Mother Nature finally ushering in the spring weather, tennis players of all ages and levels came out to play some tennis and enjoy a nice Sunday afternoon. “Our...Read more

The 2019 USTA Long Island Junior Team Tennis came to a close recently as teams from all across the area completed what was a successful year for a league that is only continuing to grow. Below are the winners and finalists from the season: 18 and Under Advanced Champions: World Gym Setauket (...Read more

You are not as good as you think you are, and you are not as bad as you think you are. This paradoxical statement is as true in life as it is on the tennis court. I consider it the balancing bar a tennis player must stay on to remain motivated and inspired to keep on improving and growing. If you...Read more