Why Traditional Spanish Methods and Philosophies Are Important For Junior Development By Chris Lewit The modern pro game is typified by shorter rallies and explosive, aggressive tennis. Huge serves and dominating returns are the norm. Rally length data promoted by analysts like Craig O’Shannessy have supported the concept of aggressive first-strike tennis at the top of the game. However, while the pro game is evolving its explosive style, juniors in development need to learn fundamentals of movement and a solid base of consistency. They need to learn a complete game—not just attack—but grinding and defense too. Moreover, they need to learn how to accelerate the racquet with control. The Spanish Method, in the tradition of legendary coaches like William Pato Alvarez and Lluis Bruguera, offers an approach and philosophy that is the ideal training system for building the important concepts mentioned above for young players. Movement Teaching great movement is an obsession in Spain. Spanish coaches love to work on the positioning of the body, the footwork of a player, and stability and balance on the move. 38
When players focus too early on attacking and hitting big shots, they neglect their movement development. Footwork can suffer. Reaction and reading the ball are not trained enough. Fast court indoor tennis in the Northeast makes it very difficult to develop solid movers because of the speed of the courts and the quick tempo of the points. I spent a fortune building European style red clay courts at my club in Manchester, Vermont. Why? Because I wanted slow courts to train my players on. I wanted them to learn how to adjust to the incoming ball, rally, defend and build a tactical game plan. On fast indoor courts, these qualities are often bypassed by players seeking only one objective: power! In New York, I train players on clay as well. The slippery surface challenges the balance of my students. There are bad bounces that challenge the eyes, hands, and feet, and force the players to make quick adjustments. After a few years on clay, my students become more agile. I teach them how to slide. They become more balanced and adaptable. They learn to run and position their bodies well to receive and send the ball optimally. These aspects can be lost when training mostly on fast courts and with a first-strike only philosophy.
Long Island Tennis Magazine • July/August 2020 • LITennisMag.com
Consistency Spain has an obsession with being steady and consistent. They believe that control is a priority in junior development. Too often, I don’t see this as a priority for kids in the US, especially in the Northeast. Control means you can hit targets consistently. Control means you can rally 10 or 20 balls in a row with accuracy. Control means you hit with balance and without exaggerated body movements. Control means you have the stamina, patience and focus to keep the ball in play as long as it takes to win the point. These basic values are often nonexistent with juniors that I see coming out of most clubs in the area. In addition, patient and steady players are often demeaned and derided as “pushers” in the US. They don’t have this word in Spain, but being labeled “steady” there is the highest honor a player could have—not a scarlet letter. Now I’m not suggesting that pushing is good (see the topic below on ‘Acceleration’), but at least pushers understand the basic building blocks of tennis are running and getting the ball in play. Making fewer errors often wins matches at all levels of the game. In Spain, to make few errors is a great attribute and highly lauded.
