What if your primary focus in tennis wasn’t about the winning or losing? What if it wasn’t about being better or worse than your opponent? Certainly, that seems like a radical approach. But when we view competition through a completely new lens, the lens of “More Than an Athlete,” where the performer brings their whole…
All great players do many things that helps separate themselves from the rest of the field. My coach in the 1980s always talked about Bjorn Borg’s diet being superior to the players of his time. My friend Viorel Marcu (longtime practice partner for Borg) says Bjorn would practice in the morning and then again after…
Over the past four decades, I've spent thousands of hours as a coach at local, national and international junior tournaments, and as they say, "I have seen it all." Here are 20 candid observations about the behaviors and interactions between players, coaches and parents before, during and after matches. I'm sure readers could suggest many…
What a great time of year to be playing tennis and what a crazy year 2016 has been so far in the world of pro tennis! First, the match-fixing and gambling scandal and now Maria Sharapova fails a drug test? I'm not sure how closely you have been following the drama off the court, but…
Having coached high school tennis for 24 years and having been a USPTA professional for 41 years, I’ve heard the term “mental toughness” thrown around repeatedly. What exactly is mental toughness? How can you recognize it? Is it something that can be learned? Can you teach it? Let me share what I have learned in…
There are ways to improve your doubles play as a team, as you and your partner should always be on the same page. In this article, I will discuss the server’s partner while playing the net. Strong communication between partners is a must. In between points, talk to each other about the placement of serve…
A few years ago, I attended a seminar where Patrick McEnroe, director of USTA Player Development at the time, spoke about the future of tennis in the United States. He spoke of the demise of tennis as a youth sport and asked why there wasn’t something like Little League in our sport. The crowd, filled…
I have been working full-time at an academic institution. In my fifth year, academia has done something that I could never envision when I took on a full-time role as head tennis coach at SUNY Oneonta. I am exposed to great thinkers, doctors and professors from many fields on a daily basis. I attend lectures…
As a sport psychologist, I have treated many athletes who have been injured. There are 30 million kids playing sports and 10 percent of them will get injured this year. Tennis is not quite as dangerous as football, soccer or ice hockey, but there are plenty of ankle, knee, elbow and shoulder injuries. The consequence…
Uncertainty … For some reason, human beings are not wired to deal with uncertainty very well. We want to know. We need to know. In a tennis match, there are few certainties. That’s what fascinates me so much in the game of tennis. Momentum can change at any time. One minute. you are coasting, the…