My father, who was in the field of education for almost 20 years, said to me many years ago: “Your students will challenge you in many ways and they will teach you many things.” He also said that “students will give you many gifts that will come back to you in ways that just cannot…
Many times, we are trying to make a correction in our strokes, but because we’re so focused. On the racquet movement, the body rotation or the footwork, we often forget an important factor that can be the key to an efficient stroke so we should ask: What’s happening to the non-dominant hand? In this article,…
It is very common to see parents enroll a six-year-old child in a tennis program and expect a champion out of it, or for a father to have the unrealistic expectation that his son or daughter will be able to beat the number one player in their school after just one month of instruction. Good…
Last issue, I wrote an article on my favorite shot, “the cross-court lob,” as an awesome weapon to add to your arsenal in doubles. This issue, I am writing about a weapon that is a bit more abstract, but just as important. This issue’s doubles weapon of choice is “Communication.” Communication in doubles is vital,…
Confidence is something that every tennis player needs. It will allow you to relax as you play, handle pressure better and make the losses less painful. But exactly how does one get confidence? That is not so simple. If it were easy, everyone on the court would feel like Roger Federer. Confidence is tough to…
Tennis is not just a physical sport; it is incredibly tactical as well. Having a variety of shots in your repertoire is vitally important, but without understanding when it is appropriate to employ each shot in your arsenal, a smarter player could beat you even if your technique is far superior to theirs. Though there…
Most high school-aged kids who are thinking about playing college tennis have heard about the hyped college video. Who needs it? What should be on it? When should they be sent? These are always amongst the first questions people ask me when I meet with them. Hopefully, this article can clarify some of the information….
The Cross-Court Lob is probably the most underestimated weapon in USTA doubles today. I’d argue that it’s the best utility shot a doubles team can have, and yet, most doubles matches will go by with hardly one or two cross-court lobs hit at all. Here are a few reasons why the Cross-Court Lob needs to…
It’s a warm fall September day in 1975, and I am in my senior year of high school. The football players are getting ready for practice in the locker room. They have blood stains all over their shirts and pants and “machismo” oozing out of their lockers and onto the field. In the back of…
Tennis is a frustrating game. You get a bad call, you double fault or miss an easy net ball and you’re ready to blow. But wait just a moment before you break that racket. One mistake will never destroy you, but the way you react to it can. The days of yelling, screaming and pouting…