Imagine the scenario: You are watching your child play, and it feels like you’re the one playing. Your palms are sweaty and your feet are tapping with the immediacy of how Rafael Nadal awaits the coin toss. You look across the way and see your opponent’s parents pacing up and down, burning a hole in…
In the last issue of Long Island Tennis Magazine, Coach Tim Mayotte of 360 Tennis spoke about the importance of the split-step and its three components in his article, “Wow … What a Great Split-Step.” They were: 1. Width of base and posture 2. Timing of the split 3. The height of the split At…
I was privileged to speak at the First Annual New York Tennis Expo in April, along with an esteemed panel of tennis experts. This was not only the biggest grassroots tennis event ever in the metropolitan area, with attendance numbers that reached nearly 3,000, but it was also a gathering of the most sophisticated tennis…
Many years ago, I wrote a piece on the three characteristics of great coaches. I had just done research on John Wooden, Vince Lombardi, Woody Hayes and Doc Counsilman of Indiana University. What I said was that great coaches shared three traits: â–ºThey all knew the game well and could teach it; â–ºThey all were…
The game of tennis played by the pros of today is explosive and exciting to watch. Back when I played on the ATP Tour in the late 1980s and most of the 1990s, not many players could, what I call, "Turn a Point.” What I mean is to take a defensive situation like being put…
While going through some personal issues, I was advised to make a gratitude list. It was suggested that making this list is good therapeutic advice for anyone struggling with the challenges of life or for anyone feeling sorry for themselves. Certainly, it is easy to envision people that are much worse off or to think…
Long Island Tennis Magazine has the unique opportunity to pose questions from our readers to tennis coaching legend Nick Bollettieri. Nick has coached 10 world number ones, including Andre Agassi, Boris Becker, Jim Courier, Martina Hingis, Jelena Jankovic, Marcelo Rios, Monica Seles, Maria Sharapova, and Venus and Serena Williams, as well as a host of…
Most tennis players, at one point or another, consider taking lessons to improve their game. Taking lessons is an investment, and like most investments, you’ll usually get what you pay for if you don’t do a little research. Hopefully, this article will help those individuals looking to take tennis lessons and can be an aid…
The serve is the most important and the most under-practiced shot in the game of tennis. We all want a blistering serve, but wanting and owning are two very different things. Personally, I think that most players don’t fully understand the importance of the serve, so don’t put the effort into fully developing it. Most…
The mental game of tennis has gained a tremendous amount of attention in recent years. Judging by the articles in this great publication, not only sports psychologists, but tennis professionals as well are becoming more interested and knowledgeable in this field. That being said, it is time to start using our increased mental awareness in…