TENNIS SHORTS
a higher percentage of clean shots, but also to learn the footwork and positioning required.
By Joe Dinoffer
This occasional series, “The Art of Coaching”—for coaches, players and tennis parents— features key concepts that apply leading educational and sports training methods to help tennis players become their best.
T
©BIGSTOCKPHOTOS.com
ennis is all about quick decisions, and that decisiveness builds self-confidence. Since this trait is more nurture than nature, positive reinforcement from parents and coaches will go a long way to root that positive outlook into the persona of a young athlete. Positive reinforcement has many faces, with the basics cemented in the following five habits of successful tennis parents and coaches. • Encourage fun over hard work with young children. • Emphasize performance over outcome at every opportunity, especially during the developmental years for juniors. • Saying “Great effort” goes much further than “How could you miss that shot!” • Balance a competitive playing schedule with twice as many wins as losses. • Although tennis is primarily an individual sport, fit in some doubles and team events. Players who ooze self-confidence and decisiveness tend to play the game for life and do better at the game of life as well. There are many creative on-court drills and exercises that can build self-confidence and decisiveness in young players. Here are a few:
Oh Great, It’s a Lob! This drill works well with any shot, but let’s focus on the overhead smash since it is a shot that is predicated by confidence and decisiveness. Feed lobs to the player and have him or her call out with enthusiasm, “Oh great, it’s a lob!” While repeating this may sound forced, the goal is for players to convince themselves they actually like hitting overheads and to set up early enough to complete the phrase before striking the ball. Courage This drill is one of my favorite confidence-building exercises. It encourages calculated risk-taking alongside explosive and decisive play. Two players play a competitive regular set. The competition is not outcome- or score-oriented. In fact, the most fearless player will almost always come out ahead. In each game the players are individually allowed up to four “courage” points that can be replayed. The only requirements are they can only call out “replay” when they are the ones who made a mistake while going for a shot. Points cannot be replayed if the ball is hit into the net. With these simple guidelines, players will quickly realize they should go for their shots since they have little to lose and everything to gain. Sweet The name of this drill comes from the sweet feel of hitting a ball so clean that it feels effortless. Two players hit baseline to baseline (or one feeder and one hitter). Players then call out “sweet” when they hit the ball clean in the sweetspot. The goal is to not only become more sensitive and hit 10
TennisLife magazine
TL JULY_1-16.indd 10
Returning Serve Besides the serve, there’s no shot more important than the return. In order to return serve well, players need to be decisive by planning in advance where they will hit their returns. A coach or parent supervises two athletes playing a set. The coach stands to the side of the player who is returning. The receiver says out loud where he or she is planning to hit the return. For example, the player might say, “If the serve comes to my forehand, I’ll hit down the line. If it’s to my backhand, I’ll hit crosscourt.” If the receiver forgets to call out where the return will go, the point goes to the server. Distraction Tennis One of the most challenging situations is playing in the face of distractions from either an ill-behaved opponent or from spectators. Two players play a competitive regular set with one modification: They can trash-talk, including in the middle of a point. The benefit is for players to experience play under adversarial conditions and to remain cool, focused and positive. Joe Dinoffer is a Master Professional in both the PTR and USPTA, a distinction awarded to only a handful in the tennis industry. He has published numerous books and videotapes, and is a frequent speaker at tennis conferences around the world. For more information, visit www.oncourtoffcourt.com.
Should You Consider Online Schooling? By Leigh Sims
A
strong backhand. Mental toughness. Algebra II. These are all skills that 17-year-old Michael Schaeffer needed to stand out for college recruiters. Juggling training, competition and good grades is a huge challenge for junior athletes, and being stressed and stretched doesn’t help any athlete bring out their best. Today, though, many young players are turning to online high school to help them manage their time and improve their game. Schaeffer is a doubles ace, ranked No. 1 in doubles in the Pacific Northwest. He trains as much as six hours a day, and was missing 10 or more days of school a semester while competing. Two years ago, he transferred to Insight School of Washington (www.insightschools.net), a tuition-free, full-time public online high school. Armed with a school laptop, one-on-one mentors and serious flexibility, he has been able to work school around his training schedule and recently signed with University of Oregon for next year. It’s a growing trend among junior athletes, and there are several competitive tennis players currently enrolled at Insight. Nationally, there are an estimated 1 million students enrolled in online learning. Online school isn’t for everyone, but for many serious junior athletes who often already have the discipline and responsibility needed for online school, it could be the solution they—and their parents— have been looking for.
©BIGSTOCKPHOTOS.com
Building Confidence
JULY 2 0 1 0
5/27/10 3:33:50 PM