When I am asked about the secret to athletic success, I invariably say that the ingredient that every top athlete must have is the long-term support of an intact family with both parents being on board for the long haul. The mother must be there to solace, guide, encourage, drive, plan schedules and organize plane…
Jordie Dolberg is the new director of tennis at Sportime Massapequa. Jordie lived in Florida his entire life, attending college at The University of Florida, before recently moving to Long Island to accept his new position. As a junior player, Dolberg was ranked in the top 10 in the nation, from the Boys 12s Division…
Traditionally, strokes are developed and corrected by haphazardly focusing on body movements, racket movements and ball and racket interactions. This approach is confusing, ineffective and needlessly complicated because it fails to address the kinetic chain of events that led to a successful stroke. I suggest a different paradigm for managing tennis stroke production corrections by…
The Long Island tennis community is blessed to have some of the best indoor facilities and best coaches in the world right here in our backyard. Recently, Long Island Tennis Magazine spoke with some of these top coaches to get insight into their coaching/training strategies, what they look for in a great player, views on…
I have read quite a bit over the years about Eastern philosophies on martial arts instruction and training. I learned that “Karate is a martial art in which the ultimate purpose is not to seek to win, but to work toward perfection of character and strong body. As with any martial art, karate requires solid…
The night before an event often determines who the winner is. The loser will be anxious, worried, distracted, thinking of troubling things, and above all, never be thinking of how good a player he or she actually is. The winner, on the other hand, will be remembering who they are and will recall and own…
If you want more power, then I’m going to give it to you. Most of the time when trying to hit the ball harder or achieve more power in tennis, we end up doing things that take power away. It’s a frustrating cycle, but not one that is impossible to break. Keeping a few things…
Perhaps the most important quality for success in tennis is steadiness and the avoidance of errors. It might come as a surprise then, that in practice "Blue Chips" miss more shots than “Five Stars,” while "Five Stars” miss more shots than “Four Stars,” etc. If you are thinking that superior players miss more balls because…
I am still fired up from this year’s U.S. Open … the most physical Grand Slam tournaments I’ve ever been a part of since I began playing them in 1983. Before the tournament began, there was an earthquake centered in Washington, D.C. and felt on the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center with no…
A surfer sits out in the open ocean. The water is calm, the surfer is in complete control. Atop his surfboard, the surfer can enjoy the tranquility of his sport. However, he has not come out to the open water to enjoy tranquility. The surfer has ventured out in search of the big wave ……