Sports are almost entirely a visual motor game, and when the mind fills with chatter, this is when the trouble starts. Many players begin to over think when under pressure. They secretly believe that words will help them make better shots. They will say things like “don’t hit it long, do not double fault, don’t…
The Tennis Channel has a feature in which top professionals dig into their bags to see what they have inside. I suspect that they find some long lost items when they do this bag check, and the tone of this feature is more flippant than serious. Junior tournament players, however, should recognize that having a…
I scored two goals playing tennis in one day … how you may ask? I mishit a ball so severely on two separate occasions that it flew backwards over the fence and into two soccer goals which were adjacent to the court. It may be one of the biggest clichés in sports, but “keep your…
“I’m the better player, how did I lose?” Does this phrase sound familiar? Imagine this: it was the finals of the annual 16-and-Under Tournament, the weather was hot and muggy, and the sun was beaming down like a laser. The time was 3:00 p.m. and the stands were jammed with fans, coaches and the local…
We know teaching is more art than science, but we’re still undecided on what matters the most … the message or the messenger? First, let’s take a look at the messenger, or the way in which we deliver the “goods.” Methodology is determined by many factors. Every teacher and coach, has their own shtick or…
Whenever I step on to the court to teach a lesson, I ask myself three things: (1) Who am I teaching? (2) What am I teaching? (3) How am I going to teach it? When planning my lessons, I consider the age and level of the student, what the student’s goals are, the strengths and weaknesses in his…
One of my first tennis instructors when I first began taking lessons in the late 1960s-1970s taught me something I will never forget. I preach this message to this day to many of my students, as well as my own two boys who compete in college and the USTA Junior Circuit: “Just let your racquet…
It’s early summer morning and you’re about to take the kids to tennis camp. They may not be hungry now, but it’s time to eat. Half a bagel or a bowl of cereal will do it if they are picky eaters. Just don’t let them go to work on an empty tank. It’s also time…
In 1971, Larry Linett, a tenacious baseliner from Albany, N.Y., was ranked number one in the East in the Boy’s 12-and-Under Division. A talented lefty from Douglaston, N.Y., John McEnroe was ranked number eight, in that same age group. Six years later, as McEnroe was winning the French Open mixed doubles, advancing to the semifinals…
Daniel B. Dwyer, a managing partner at the Point Set Indoor Racquet Club in Oceanside, N.Y., and a past president of the USTA Eastern section, died suddenly of a heart attack on May 25. He is survived by his daughter Kimberly, son Shawn and three grandchildren. Danny Dwyer was the Johnny Carson of tennis. He disarmed…