Using The 1/3 Rule for drilling and competing Competition allows you to work on shot selection, tenacity and focus. Drilling allows you to concentrate on pure execution of a particular skill (volley, serve, approach shot, etc.). Both drilling and competing are necessary to improve your game. Competition time can be further improved using “The 1/3…
Conventional wisdom amongst many coaches and players suggests that the key to mental “toughness” is to talk and think positively at all times; especially when it comes to match play. While this seems to make sense at first glance, let us examine and explore a little beneath the surface. The truth is that when a…
In the 30-plus years since I first began coaching tennis, society has seen many changes in the way people communicate and interact. Technology has not, however, altered basic human nature, and in this example, the inevitability of self-serving, immediate gratification-seeking behavior of junior players, coaches and parents. Many aspects of the system of junior tennis…
Robert Glickman, a USPTA pro for the last 30 years on Long Island, recently took his lessons on the road to Sans Souci Resort in Jamaica. In April, in exchange for a stay at Sans Souci Resort in Jamaica, Glickman taught tennis to guests of the resort. “It was a wonderful experience, and I look…
Through my years as a tennis professional, I have found a bounty of benefits in pairing a student's private lessons and group work with tennis specific physical training. After what we've seen over the last decade in professional tennis, its effectiveness should come as no surprise. Anyone who watched this year's French Open listened while…
For those who think being a tennis coach is easy … think again! Being a tennis coach is a full-time job in which, on top of the obvious time spent practicing, there are countless additional hours spent with parents and college coaches. Then, of course, there’s also the tournaments and travel. One coach who takes…
Pros use a simple method to volley the ball. You can do the same. This is not diving or figure skating, so additional points are not gained for degree of difficulty. The mistake I most commonly see on the volley is players getting caught with the racquet head laid back. Most people have never made…
I cannot figure out why some of my students just don’t get it. I’m telling them everything I know, I’m trying different images and drills and they still do not seem to improve. One day on the other court, I was observing a fellow teaching pro giving a lesson. In a half-hour time span, he…
While there are many ways to perform successful tennis hitting movements, there are underlying commonalities that unify and define them all. I would call these universal stroke production characteristics “fundamentals.” These fundamentals are based on the static and immutable laws of physics, mechanics, kinesiology and motor learning. If your strokes adhere to the demands of…
Multi-tasking (MT) is now the mantra of our generation. It is indiscriminately accepted not only in colloquial conversation, but among astute teachers and scholars. It is empowering. According to this widely-held axiom, our students can and do learn efficiently doing several things at once. Our younger (and perhaps hipper) students brag about their prowess at…