"So … does my child have talent?" I cringe when asked this all too frequent question for a few compelling reasons. First, I defer to child development experts who agree that, at a very young age, it's virtually impossible to distinguish between real physical talent and precocious development. Most talent evaluations are misleading because a seemingly…
Whether it’s money, health, work or sports, goal-setting is an essential component to success. All goals take time and effort to reach, and planning is required to make meaningful progress. Goals can be slow to achieve, but amazing when we succeed. Understanding this for tennis makes it all worthwhile. Tennis goals can be a little…
Oftentimes, the better athlete fails. Technique makes a tennis player, but training makes a competitor. The combination of finely developed technique, hitting a high volume of balls and working often with a trainer prepares one for the next level. When one is physically and technically prepared, focus can begin to be addressed. A player begins…
It’s Monday morning, and my inbox is filled with e-mails from parents whose child has just played in a tournament over the weekend. Most e-mails lament about how the results could have gone better, including what could be done to change what appears to be this “monster inside” of their usually mild-mannered child. “You don’t…
Paul Annacone was born and raised on the East End of Long Island before going on to carve out a decorated career in the sport of tennis. The Long Island native graduated from East Hampton High School before moving on to the University of Tennessee, where he would win the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Player…
Knowledge is power and even though I have been in tennis for more than 30 years, there are a lot of rules that I learned or wasn’t sure about when I read Friend at Court, The Official USTA Rulebook. In the last issue of Long Island Tennis Magazine, I covered some of these rules. This…
Consistent strokes, footwork, fitness, visual skills and mental clarity … all of these tennis skills are essential to consistently winning on the court. But only one of these crucial skills makes almost every shot a good one. It’s that impossible-to-overemphasize visual ability to steady the eyes and head at the point of contact when the…
Patience. Patience. Patience. Patience is one simple word that has big meaning and impact on your game. Said once is not enough. One time turns into three: Patience, Patience, Patience. At some point in your tennis quest, it’s likely that you’ll reach a level of frustration that sends you in search of answers. Ninety-nine times…
In the fall of 2015, we are confronted with young people owning every gadget you can possibly think of, such as the iPhone. You have a computer that fits in the palm of your hand that you can do miraculous things with. A computer 40 years ago could not do half the things our iPhones…
The new year brings a chance to set goals for the following playing season. Most professional tennis players do this religiously. There is ample evidence that establishing goals and writing down a plan is effective for game improvement. After years of working with the highest level tennis players on Long Island, this is what I…