What’s the most difficult thing to do in tennis? I’d have to say it’s the ability to balance efficient learning with optimal performance. The best players present a growth mindset to maximize learning and improvement and shut down that mindset to perform. Learning is premeditated, performing is about letting go, relaxing and “just doing…
I was playing golf recently with a friend who also happens to be an avid tennis player. As we walked down the seventh fairway and approached our drives, he asked me a seemingly simple question: “Tom, how do you teach tennis players to finish off their opponent and go on to win?” Indeed that…
Unfortunately, over the last few years, the Long Island High School Team Champions are the schools who have most of its strongest players participate and not necessarily which high school has the best players. After speaking with some high school coaches, I realized that the athletic director sets the mandate as to what commitment…
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…
As coaches and teaching professionals, we are constantly trying to help our players develop good habits, but how often do we look at our own habits as teachers? This article will portray simple actions and behaviors that can make us better professionals. On-court teaching As someone who spends most of my working hours on-court,…
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 Stage (ages:…
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, friends…
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 percent…
Participation in high school tennis is not thriving on Long Island. That’s too bad because school tennis is not just an extracurricular activity, it’s an essential part of a well-rounded tennis experience for 98 percent of all young players. It develops teamwork, school spirit and socialization. Participants learn cooperation and sacrifice and what is…
As players age, the tactics of the game of tennis also change. The typical, albeit annoying, byproduct of getting older is the loss of mobility and power. Instead of remembering how fast and strong you were and trying to recapture this younger innate characteristic, it would be wise to accept the changes, and modify…