We were sad to see our wonderful and colorful Hungarian fitness trainer Beci Ilyes move back to Europe last month. Besides doing a great job motivating and working our players, the kids had grown quite attached to him. Instead of letting him slip out of our minds, we decided to say goodbye formally and have…
We are seeing the game on the ATP Tour better than at any other time in the history of men’s tennis. The historic accomplishments of The Big Four—Fed, Rafa, Djoker and Murray the Scott—have promoted the game to levels of interest never seen before. The game has always had its ups and downs, driven by…
The focus on juniors in competitive play and training is usually on singles. Singles is always the main attraction at every major televised tournament and brings with it the most prize money. Singles is at the heart of the spirit of tennis. It’s you against your opponent, one on one, the best you have against…
After watching Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal battle for six hours in last year’s Australian Open final, it is evident that the world’s best players are some of the fittest athletes in the world as tennis has evolved from a "gentleman’s game" into a demanding athletic contest. The modern game, at every competitive level, is…
For the past year, I have been the head men’s and women’s tennis coach at SUNY Oneonta and have discovered something. Typically, when a junior tennis player thinks of Division III, they think of strong academics and not-so-strong tennis. The former is definitely true. If you look at the top 75 national universities and the…
I just finished an interview with Jason Rolle, a 22-year-old tennis pro out of Sportime Roslyn. I started the interview with a simple question: “What is the biggest issue your students present every day?” Immediately, he said, “That’s an easy one. The biggest issue I face each day is that the young player often lacks…
As a veteran teaching professional, the top two questions that I am asked about the serve are: “How do I get more power”? and “How do I fix my toss?” In the real world of the serve, the toss is the most misunderstood action. Players are so focused on striking the ball and the outcome…
I would like to salute team captains of our league teams. From coast to coast, the largest demographic of passionate and competitive tennis players in the nation are the adult league players. The unsung hero in a no-win situation is the team captain. Whenever I meet a team captain, I never fail to get a…
Being a tennis coach necessitates a unique ability to connect with the player. Tennis is a game of skill, strength and strategy. As a coach, the challenge is to guide a player to perform their best in all of those aspects and then come back the next day reaching for more. As in any sport,…
Early in my coaching career, the following scenario would take place with me and my students repeatedly … I would work long and hard with a player and achieve a smooth, efficient stroke, only to see the shape of the swing fall apart when the player moved more than one step to the ball. I…