UK Tennis Magazine

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THIS EDITION

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OFFICIAL MAGAZINE for TenniscoachUK | JUNE 2012

Red Orange Green RAY BROWN

31

Taking The Ball Early DAVE SAMMEL

42

Grunting ANGELA BUXTON

INSIDE...

THE RATINGS DEBATE: CHERRY-PICKING OPPONENTS BRITISH TENNIS PLAYERS CAN BE WORLD CLASS PRIZE COMPETITION

JOHAN KRIEK

Modern Day Coaching

JEFF WAYNE

Serving Up Tennis and The War Of The Worlds

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CONTENTS

UKTENNIS

CONTENTS: EDITION 03

For TenniscoachUK ADDRESS TenniscoachUK 124 Main Street Burley in Wharfedale Ilkley Yorkshire LS29 7JP TELEPHONE/FAX 01943 865810/01943 865623 EMAIL enquiries@tenniscoachuk.com WEBSITE www.tenniscoachuk.com

04 - EDITOR’S COMMENTS: As Wimbledon Approaches 06 - JEFF WAYNE: The War Of The Worlds and Tennis 13 - FUN AND INSPIRATION 14 - AMÉRICO REYNOSO: Motor Co-ordination 16 - DR. RAY BROWN: Red, Orange, Green 20 - TenniscoachUK: Directors Report 21 - JOMO SET TO BE A BIG HIT THIS SUMMER

TENNISCOACHUK BOARD

25 - COACH EDUCATION AND ACCREDITATION

PRESIDENT David Sammel

26 - CHARLES APPLEWHAITE: Zones of the Court

BOARD MEMBERS Paul Braithwaite Royston Kymberly Mark Furness Mike Lipschitz

31 - DAVE SAMMEL: Taking The Ball Early 34 - JOHAN KRIEK: Modern Day Coaching

For UKTennis magazine MANAGING DIRECTOR David Goody - david@uktennis.org.uk EXECUTIVE EDITOR Royston Kymberly - royston@uktennis.org.uk ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Alex Pettitt - alex@uktennis.org.uk DIRECTOR OF FINANCE Susanne MacDonald COPY EDITOR Janice Catton

41 - PUZZLE PAGE 42 - ANGELA BUXTON: Grunting, Shrieking, Yelling 44 - SIMON CAPON: British Players Can Be World Class 46 - AEGON BRITISH TENNIS RANKINGS

No part of this magazine may be reproduced, whether in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of UK Tennis magazine Photography Team: Andy Cheung, Luke Mayes, NICMEDIA Photos / Nikos Zinas TenniscoachUK and UKTennis magazine make every effort to ensure that information is accurate at the time of going to press.

We cannot accept responsibility for any subsequent errors.

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40 - TENNIS WAREHOUSE EUROPE: Competition

UK

ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTOR Karen Goody

38 - ENRIQUE GULDBERG: Opening Possibilities

PETER FARRELL: EDITOR’S COMMENTS THE BIG SERVE

AS WIMBLEDON APPROACHES...

Independence can offer us more variation and teamwork can offer us more opportunity...

“We need both” Coach Education and Working Together The qualities that define great tennis players are also those that define great tennis coaches and great coaching environments. Qualities such as Freedom of Expression, Non-Judgmentalism, Variation, Adaptivity and Creativity. These qualities do not flourish within over restricted and heavily regulated environments, and I believe that the LTA need to continually undertake some form of self examination to ensure that they are allowing for a healthy variation of coaching methods even if they do not conform to their framework for British Tennis. To an extent this variation had for many years been protected by market freedom and through the independence of organisations such as PTRUK and RPT. But where has this protection gone?

The old PTRUK who for some time seemed dormant are hopefully soon getting back on track and those coaches who were left wondering where they were will soon be getting some direction from PTR as to what is happening next. But RPT, who was for many years the most ardent of LTA critics, now seems reluctant or incapable of delivering their own qualifications without the support of an LTA Mentor.

This organisation previously delivered the Mark of Pro Plus Qualification that included an NVQ level 2 in Coaching, Teaching and Instructing Tennis and with this, coaches could become LTA licensed, however, the NVQ expired and RPT should not have been delivering Mark of a Pro Plus after April 2011 and advising students that the NVQ Level 2 was still included. This now means that If the RPT qualification taken by a coach did not include the NVQ Level 2 then that coach would now need to complete the LTA Level One, Two and Three Coaching qualifications before they could become licensed. The LTA is now working with RPT to try and provide a ‘bridging’ course for those who had taken Mark of a Pro Plus, but this is likely to be a long process and it is not certain that this process will even be possible.

“Mark of a Pro Plus” once stood alone and stood by the strength of its conviction. In my opinion, RPT now seems a little lost and I believe that this is a loss to us all. What is sad is that I think that the situation above represents a case of missed opportunity and too much energy spent on working against others and not enough time spent on working together.

RPT have stated on their web page that they are “the only private training provider offering the Level 3 qualification and that successful completion of this course enables coaches to apply directly to the LTA to become LTA registered, however other organisations have also successfully delivered their own Level 3 qualifications and this should also provide coaches with the opportunity to apply for LTA Registration.

As coaches we want to hear about new, fresh ideas and new initiatives as these provide us with the tools to do better. RPT were leaders in this field and it would be good to see them back simply doing what they did best.

External Coach Education Providers are imperative to the industry and in TCUK they have their own association whereby collectively they can influence UK Tennis for the better, and surely this is what we all want. But by being out of touch with each other, they ultimately remain out of reach of their own goals.

Royston Kymberly (Executive Editor)

UKTENNIS

UK TENNIS MAGAZINE: LLEYTON HEWITT Picture by Luke Mayes

PETERWAYNE: JEFF FARRELL: A PASSION THE BIG SERVE FOR TENNIS

THE WAR OF THE WORLDS, ARTHUR ASHE AND TENNIS When given the chance to interview a tennis fanatic, an international music legend or a very nice chap, which would you choose? UK Tennis Magazine were very lucky to get all three, when they met up with Jeff Wayne in the Members’ Lounge at Queens Club.

UKT: Is it correct that your love of tennis came from your father?

JW: Well, I’ve been a member of Queen’s since I was nine and my father Gerry was a professional singer and actor who went into song writing and book writing and then theatre production, but he was a very good standard of player and played for Ohio State University and then when we moved to England when I was a little boy. He played in the doubles here (Queens Club), he didn’t get in the singles main draw, but the doubles of what was then the London Grass Court Tennis Championships at Queens. He also played at Forest Hills in the doubles and mixed doubles. So, I grew up around my Dad, who loved tennis and played to a good standard and I started when I was five.

UKT: He also gave you your passion for music didn’t he?

JW: Yes, because as a singer and actor, I grew up around not only him but his closest friends and they were either tennis players, actors, singers or directors, so that was my family environment. So, I’m not surprised I’ve wound up doing what I’ve done.

UKT: Did you have career aspirations to play tennis rather than go into music?

JW: I had a moment in time when I had to decide, at age 5. I was taking piano lessons, and my Dad introduced me to tennis; they were happening at the same time and I’m of the age where professional tennis didn’t really exist. One of my opposite numbers at college was Arthur Ashe, who was still an amateur, but he was playing international standard tennis so, I guess the USTA were assisting him with expenses. My tennis, however, was local to California, I travelled and competed a bit but really not far out of that Southern California area, but I did always think back when I finally became a musician, should I have given it a go and see where I could slot in, because I was national standard and played number 1 and captained at college. Arthur Ashe was playing number 3 for UCLA and I always remember my Dad showing up and watching the match and saying “well, if he is number 3, who is number 2 and number 1?!” Charlie Pasarell was number 1 and I can’t remember who was number 2 and number 4 and 5 were pretty darn good as well. I could knock out guys that were

UKTENNIS

between 20 and 40 in the national rankings, but I never cracked anybody above that; occasionally I might have got the odd set, but that was a bridge too far, so I thought why am I thinking internationally when I can’t knock off the best in America.

UKT: Did the college system in America at the time help bring players through? I mean we’re looking at the state of tennis in Great Britain at the moment, which is low, to say the least, with the number of players coming through. Is the way the system is set up in America different and does that help?

JW: It’s very different. In my 21 years captaining the Hertfordshire’s men’s team, I’ve seen a lot of juniors go off to the States. I think the NCAA, in my time there were many less divisions and conferences, but the opinion was that if you go to college you are going to play the best tennis players, not just in the United States, but you had international players coming from different countries.

My first year in college, I was playing number 3 and the number 1 player was a junior Davis Cup player from Mexico. Our number 2 player was on the American circuit, excellent players from different countries, and I think the system in America is very well developed and just keeps developing. In Hertfordshire, we have something like half a dozen of our current top players who are in the States at University at the moment; one has just graduated from college, married and in Texas, but still comes back and plays County week when he can. I would say there is a good half dozen or so going through the American system and they come back talking and raving about the standard, so I think the US model Universities could be considered and looked at in the UK. UKT: It appears to me that what you are expressing is that the competitive framework in the States caters better for producing the players; not necessarily the coaching framework but the competitive framework?

JW: Well, when I go back to my time at college, our coaches were good tennis players, they had a concept of how they wanted to bring players and teams through and the structure is taken very seriously. Coming back to a couple of the guys that have gone through the Texas system, the US have a Tennis TV Channel, they

TENNIS CELEBRITY INTERVIEW

have major sponsors and it is taken really seriously and the support that they get from the students and families is really substantial.

Running the men’s county team here in Hertfordshire, we have friendly fixtures to this day against Oxford and Cambridge University and sometimes Bath and Loughborough, and you almost have to dig out a desire to get a fixture going. Once you get it going they are very supportive, but usually it is the coach that puts the time in to organise the travel and to invite us to their universities. The University of Bath where we play, that has a fantastic set up.

I have a son who up until not quite two years ago, was playing on the circuit and he was doing quite well and then decided he wanted to finish his A levels back at school rather than private tuition. He went to Birmingham University, where he is now just finishing his second year, and he is playing for their team and normally plays number 1 and sometimes 2. He describes the fixtures as being extraordinary because he says that in the worst weather, cold freezing rain, they’re playing outdoor fixtures, rather than the University organising indoor courts. So that doesn’t inspire or encourage; of course there is a cost factor that the University would have to commit to, so you can understand it from that point, but there is that balance between being persuasive and dissuasive about a sport and I think that doesn’t persuade when you look at the weather; you know our British weather and how bad that can be!

UKT: You’ve obviously been involved in music for a long time, even before The War Of The Worlds. I’ve made a note that you were

involved in the Two Cities theatre show that your father wrote and you scored; is that correct?

JW: Yes that’s right. My father finished his performing career and went into West End Theatre production and he had a couple of shows, one of them was a musical version of Tale of Two Cities based on the Charles Dickens novel. He turned it into a musical and to my stunned amazement, he took a gamble on me because my career was just starting in California. As all careers start off, I was writing songs, playing in bands and suddenly, there I am being asked by my Dad to compose the musical score for a West End musical and I’m eternally grateful, because that’s what bought me back to the UK to live and I’ve never gone back. He took a huge gamble; I think that word nepotism sneaks in, but he took a huge gamble.

UKT: So did your tennis just drop away and how have you managed to keep your tennis going? When you go abroad, do you take your kit with you?

JW- Oh yeah, all our holidays are built around what the tennis facilities are, but when I came back to England to compose the score for Two Cities, my competitive tennis stopped. I played at the Queens Club tournament, members tournament and played with my Dad, who was still hitting a good ball, but competitively I didn’t get the bug again until I moved to Hertfordshire. That was 29 years ago; I went to my local club, Radlett, which is nearby to where I live and I found that I could still make the first team. I met a bunch of county players from Herts who were team mates or opponents

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from other clubs and just sort of found my way back and thought, I like this competing side, but then I was a veteran. The time I started playing veteran tennis was 35; I was playing the nationals and some of the county and open divisions and started playing veteran open tennis and just kept going. From that point on, I was competing again and playing between 3 and 5 times a week, whether it was friendlies or club matches or nationals whatever. I found that I was hitting with some of the best veterans and think I’ve played 8 nationals and won 5; 2 singles and 3 doubles. I’ve also played for Great Britain at the 45 European championships; I played at number 2 with Roger Taylor at number 1 and Roger and I partnered. He got a great win over Alex Metreveli, who he had lost to at Wimbledon; this was on clay in Berlin. He hadn’t jumped the net in years, but he did on that occasion!

UKT: I remember Roger as a youngster and he is a great personality.

JW: Indeed, I’ve known Roger for many years. I think it was the first year that I played at the All England Club, I had just turned 45 and he was the number 1 seed. I was seeded and we were destined to play on the grass; I came to Queens in the morning and practised and I arrived and was pointed to one of the Clay courts and told “not on the grass.” We were to play on clay; I’d played doubles against him two weeks earlier on one of the back courts at Queens and lost 12-14 in a third set tie-break, so I thought “okay, clay is fine.” This was his first year playing nationals and he was a big name; I got the only ace in the match and I think that was also the only point I got in the match! I lost love and love and we came to the net and shook hands and he said “sorry mate.” So, on the odd occasion when I see him, I remind him of that “sorry mate.”

UKT: You represented Great Britain in the Austria Cup in Spain in 1999, didn’t you?

JW: Yes. Normally, to qualify for Great Britain you have to do well in the nationals; there are 3 nationals. Two of them are recognised by the ITF, so you get world ranking points, which assist you in your national rankings. Normally, if you win a nationals indoors you are straight in the team and if you are a finalist you are most likely to be. You might be a good doubles player; usually there are four places and every age group has a cup with a name to it and it just so happened that the Austria Cup was the age group I represented.

One of the perks you get is that, if you are selected to play for your team, you get automatic entry into the World Championships, which are usually in the same city, so in this case it was Barcelona. I got through two rounds of the main draw and lost to a chap who was a really good clay court player. I lost the first set 0-6 but as I was 0-3 down in the second set, I started to see something in his game that got me back into it. It was 3-3, 4-4 and I was serving at 4-5; sadly, there was an experiment by the ITF where the rule came in that if you got to deuce, it was sudden death. My opponent chose to receive on the deuce side; I missed my first serve and I threw the ball up for the second serve and immediately knew it was too low. But instead of catching the ball, I decided to serve it; maybe because it was match point, it was nerves, but the racket hit the back of my head, barely touched the ball and the ball just sort of dribbled and barely made it to the net and that was how I got

UKTENNIS

knocked out of the World Championships!

UKT-So, music is your career but tennis is your passion; is that fair comment?

JW: I guess both are passions because if you are a musician or anything artistic, if you don’t have a passion, then your work is going to be pretty bland and your not going to enjoy it. My University degree is actually Journalism and there was an overlap where my goal at that point in life was to coach a college tennis team, write investigative/sports journalism and play keyboards in bands. By the time I got the journalism degree, I realised that I had it slightly the wrong way round and I wanted music to be my career. I did go to Trinity College of Music to do speciality classes like conducting, advanced orchestration and things that were relevant to an aspiring professional and I was here writing the score to Two Cities as the musical made its way to the West End, at the Palace Theatre, London.

UKT: You keep yourself very busy and you were elected into the International Lawn Tennis Club of Great Britain; can you tell us a little about that?

JW-The IC, the International Club, yes it is a wonderful, long standing, not physical club but it is an association or club; you don’t know when you’re getting nominated. I knew I had been put forward over a few years and didn’t make it, and when I finally

TENNIS CELEBRITY INTERVIEW

did get the letter saying “Congratulations, you’re a member of the IC, would you like to attend the new members dinner and play in the tournament?” I’d had a six year period where I had very bad neck and back problems. I was operated on about 9 months apart in 2008 and I couldn’t play; I was hardly hitting a ball, but I was training so I always stayed fit. The symptoms were too substantial to play tennis at any level, so I went to the dinner and watched the tournament. When I came back from my surgeries and got into competitive tennis again, which is now almost a year ago, I ruptured my Achilles tendon in the middle of a singles match at Queens, so that just knocked me out in the last 11 months, but I’m playing again now. I played my first competitive match last Saturday here for Queens, so I’m back and I’ve kept the training up, 5 or 6 days a week.

UKT: In our magazine, we try and not provoke, but create debate about tennis and one of the things we would like to do is get people talking about tennis more. What is your opinion on the current state of tennis in Great Britain, compared with how it should be or how it’s been in the past? They’ve had this model that’s been running for a period of time and so far we have 1 player in the top men’s 100.

JW: Yes, I guess if you look statistically, we haven’t achieved very much at that high echelon, particularly the men. I don’t think its for the lack of trying at the LTA; I know a lot of the people who administrate, represent and coach at the LTA. I think the experiments at the highest level have not yet filtered through and whether they will remains to be seen. I can only look back at my college days, and think they had a very big influence on me and a lot of other players. Whether it’s a combination of facilities, motivation by coaches, how from a coaching point the influence and relationship of a coach bares fruit. It’s tough to put the finger on why we here in Britain don’t get better results, because I don’t think it’s a lack of money, I don’t think it’s a lack of desire but something hasn’t clicked. You just have to step back and say, look at France, look at Spain, look at some of the South American countries, the European countries, just on a worldwide basis why so many players reach higher levels. Some countries select and encourage players at the highest level by not just looking at what the rankings say today. They look at talent and in team events like the Davis Cup environment, the gelling of a team for the bulk of the year on a professional level should be inspirational, because it’s a brutal sport, you’re on your own a large chunk of the time.

If you’re coming up, you don’t have the team around you that you can afford to take with you. I know now, 21 years on from having been given the responsibility of running our Hertfordshire men, I don’t just look at ratings or rankings, I do look at the player, because I can tell a lot from their eyes, whether their up for it, if they’re really prepared to go the distance, how they get on as team mates and it helps them when they suddenly leave and are on the road again. What I’m trying to say is, it is not just about where you currently are, so you have to look in advance as well as how you motivate and get people involved in your county, your country and career; I think there’s certain relationships that all connect in some way.

UKT: If we just go back to the new tour, how is it coming on? I know you’ve got Ricky Wilson from the Kaiser Chiefs starring this time JW: Absolutely, it’s largely cast, in fact this Friday we will be announcing that Jason Donovan is being added into the cast. I’ve worked with Jason before, but he’s coming back in a different role I have a new album with The War Of The Worlds coming out, probably a month or so before we start touring and that’s largely cast and recorded, so the two projects have been in parallel for about a year and a half now and it’s exciting. It’s what we call a new generation; I’ve re-examined it musically and creatively, not just the guest artists but the whole groove, the tightness, the unity of the sound. It’s the same compositions but re-imagined, I guess is a good way of describing it.

UKT:Do you cast your people for The War Of The Worlds the same as your tennis team, do you look in their eyes?

JW-Well, not quite the same, but you know, there is a relationship.

When I’ve produced bands or artists or when we’ve been involved in hopefully attracting artists in one of our productions or a new album, there is something you look for, almost like a captain of a team. You look for what you think is going to get the best results and I think I’ve approached my team selections in the same way as I’ve done in putting bands, artists and casts together in shows. You need a spark, you need a willingness to be part of something that’s bigger than you as the total, yet when that’s over you are then on your own. In a way, that’s what teams and tennis is about; you come together for brief periods in time and you try to get them all to think as a team and to support each other and then suddenly, off they go and they’re playing the very next week in a tournament somewhere else in the world on their own.

UKT: Can you tell us about your involvement in The Book of Tennis and The Book of Tennis Chronicles television series.

JW: Because of my love of the sport, it was about 2002, I had this idea for The Book of Tennis. It was about having links that you could look on the back of every book to find any club, any manufacturer, but there was also factual information, stories, quirky moments in history that were paralleling what was going on in the best in tennis. It’s author was Chris Bowers, who is a very renowned broadcaster in his own right; I edited it and our company published it. It got endorsed by the ITF, so on Discovery you’d see the ITF insignia; we were very proud to get their support. The President and many others from the ITF and many people within the All England Club attended our launch, which happened to be when Great Britain was playing Sweden at the NIA in Birmingham. We had a great launch there and what followed on was the TV series, The Book of Tennis Chronicles, which was essentially bringing the book to life. For each episode, we selected a year; an episode was 5 or 6 minutes in length, so a half hour programme was 4 episodes, plus bits and pieces. So you’d pick a year, lets say 1938, the first time a Grand Slam was won and you’d show that in 1938, Hitler invaded Austria or something quirky like the Biro pen was invented, and you would cut back and forth like a tennis match, and you’d see what was going on in tennis and

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the world. It was eight half hours, distributed by Fox Sports, and ran for 3 years in about 20 countries, including the Tennis Channel, which had just been launched. We were on the cusp of starting a second series, because we had been asked for more episodes and cut down versions that could be fillers during Wimbledon or any tournament around the World, but by that time it was around 2005 and The War Of The Worlds was coming back for our first tour in 2006, so I could never get back to it, but I’m hoping to. I loved it, I loved the involvement of it.

UKT: So you’ve really sort of spanned the whole range of different tennis experiences and still have the passion for it.

JW: Indeed, I’ve mostly got my team already for Summer County Week, which is the last week in July at Eastbourne, and we’re in Group 1. We’ve had a tremendous run; I took over when we were in group 4 in the summer and group 6 in the winter and over a period of years, we’ve got ourselves into group 1. We’ve completed 7 years in Group 1 in the summer now and the first year we won it, the next 3 years we were runners-up and the next 3 years we won it; statistically that’s 35 matches played. The four years we won it, we didn’t lose a match in the week, the 3 years we were runners up we lost once. One Summer County Week, 3 years ago, on the third day we were playing North of Scotland, and who should show up but Jamie and Andy Murray. Andy played one day and Jamie stayed on. He was a nominated player and as many of the players do, they are in tournaments that sometimes conflict with the summer or winter county league and if they get knocked out and there are some days left, they might come and join their county. Jamie was in a tournament and arrived on the third day, and Andy was in town and thought that was a good idea, but wasn’t nominated, so I had to agree or not agree per the rules; the referee said as non nominated player, if the team falls below 6 available healthy players, they can call on a non nominated player. I guess I knew who it would be. The referee said you can ask the physio to check the player but I said no, because it was a wonderful opportunity for our players and for county week. The coverage from his arrival was fantastic and it was a memorable win, from our point of view; we won 5-4. It four matches all and it was us against Jamie Murray and his partner. We were a set and 5-3 up, and lost that set. Then, in the Championship Tie Break, we were 5-8 down and our guys, two brothers Ed and Dave Corey, won the next 5 points in a row and we won the match 5-4. It was very impressive to see and all the guys at county week are passionate about the game, but there you have Andy, who is number 3 in the world, and Jamie, who is a Wimbledon winner, and they were just there as team mates.They knew all the guys from growing up as juniors and Andy in particular, just mucked in as one of them and I was really impressed with that. Judy Murray was there rooting for her sons and the county.

UKT: Just as passionately as she always does.

JW: Of course, you know when I am there watching our team, I guess I’ve selected them and done everything I can as a Captain but once the match is on, it’s up to them and the first point and I’m away, you know, “Come on Herts” is our shout and I’m

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going up and down and clapping, getting the bananas or water, whatever it takes.

UKT: Jeff, thanks you so much for sharing your passion for music and tennis with UK Tennis Magazine JW: It’s a pleasure

COMPETITION

TENNISPLANET PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION

LUKE SNAPS UP THE PRIZE Last issue’s photography competition certainly got you looking through your snaps, but it was Luke Mayes who came out snap-happy...

The response to our tennis photography competition was terrific, but when it came down to it, there was only one winner. Our resident photographer Nikos Zinas chose Luke Mayes from Benfleet as the overall winner, and Luke gets to choose two rackets from

co.uk

Thanks to everyone who sent an entry in to us. We’d especially like to thank Mr. C. Foulkes and Philippa Deem, whose entries we enjoyed very much; sorry we couldn’t give everyone a prize.

the Adidas collection of Tennis Planet.

Luke is an accountant by day, but in his spare time devotes a lot of energy into playing and watching tennis. As well as being a more than useful player, Luke travels the country watching and photographing tennis, but up until this point has never considered showing the photographs to anyone else.

Luke sent us a few of his photos, and immediately, Nikos could see they were very good; so good in fact, that we have asked Luke if we can use more of his photos in forthcoming issues of UK Tennis Magazine, which Luke is very happy for us to do. We have reproduced a few of Luke’s photos opposite, and have also used them for this issue’s cover and poster pages.

Left: Our winner Luke, with tennis legend Jimmy Connors at last year’s Wimbledon, along with some examples of Luke’s work.

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FUN AND INSPIRATION

TENNIS: FUN AND INSPIRATION

FUN AND INSPIRATION Humorous Tennis Quotations (taken from “The Bowler’s Holding, the Batsman’s Willey” by Geoff Tibballs, published by Ebury Press, ISBN 978-0-09-191841-5)

Lleyton Hewitt’s two great strengths are his legs, his speed, his agility and his competitiveness - Pat Cash Compared with British tennis, Mars appears brimming with life - The Guardian A traditional fixture at Wimbledon is the way the BBC TV commentary box fills up with British players eliminated in the early rounds - Clive James The Gullikson twins here. An interesting pair, both from Wisconsin - Dan Maskell That’s one of the best sets I’ve seen him [Tomas Zib] play, although I should preface that by saying I haven’t seen him play before - John McEnroe I had a feeling today that Venus Williams would either win or lose - Martina Navratilova

She comes from a tennis-playing family. Her father’s a dentist - Radio Commentator What are my chances of winning the US Open? As good as anyone not named Roger - Andy Roddick Chris Lloyd came out of the dressing room like a pistol - Virginia Wade Miss Stove seems to going off the boil - Peter West These ball boys are marvellous. You don’t even notice them. There’s a lefthanded one over there. I noticed him earlier. - Max Robertson The only thing faster in women’s tennis than Venus Williams’ serve is Anna Kournikova’s exit - Alan Ray He’s now letting Chang play his own game - and he does that better than anyone - Christine Janes Tim Henman is the human equivalent of beige - Linda Smith The British boys are adopting the attacking position: Cox up at the net - Dan Maskell

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AMÉRICO REYNOSO: CO-ORDINATION

MOTOR CO-ORDINATION IN TENNIS We pose our 7 Tough Questions to the Chief Executive of the Lawn Tennis Association, Roger Draper...

Mental Images When we speak of coordination, many of us would perhaps create the mental image of movements with a high degree of difficulty i.e. juggling or other such complex motor actions that are only available to the few. Although this is true in one aspect, we should get away from the idea that coordination skills are momo complex acts as each motor act, however simple, is also governed by our coordinative ability.

A motor action occurs after a kick-start to our governing body (our brain), This could be a response to stimuli of exteroceptive origin (one from outside the body), proprioceptive (from the joint sensors that report the position of our body in space) and interoceptive (the internal organs). After the capture of the stimulus a process starts by which the brain assimilates the information received, it will then give way to complex reactions, chemical, physiological, mechanical, cognitive, affective, and many others that will go in search of adaptation to the situation and surrounding environment.

One objective of coordination is to develop motor skills that incorporate the ability to integrate mechanisms for problem solving, and not simply skills learned by repetitive action.

Levels of Performance In the field of sports training, we can move between many different methodological options to help an athlete reach their optimal levels of performance.

In this sense, when an athlete decides to put their development into the hands of a coach he/she entrusts that coach with a decision-making process of great responsibility,

UKTENNIS

It is not enough to have a good or highly technical execution of the tennis strokes, it is not enough to employ good performances in different physical abilities, the player needs to group a number of qualities and skills that go far beyond the mere physical or technical realm.

Today many coaches begin their emphasis on the governing body of our motor actions. Located at the highest part of our body, it is the true center of operations., The Brain, from which come all of our instructions and, decisions. These tennis coaches take up the challenge of training and integrating the skills and capabilities needed to play a sport so complicated that it is considered by many as “the sport of the brain” – in fact scientific evidence reveals that the brain activity of a tennis player falls not far short of a chess.

Cognitive Skills Cognitive skills such as anticipation, attention and ability to focus concentration, memory, recognition of patterns of play, the technical and tactical moves of the opponent or the quick reading of the stimuli, which promotes not only the speed of our reaction time but also streamlines the mechanisms and circuitry responsible for problem solving under stress.

So the job of development becomes a cognitive challenge for both coach and player alike.

The challenge is to create training programs that stimulate, mobilize or cause reactions in many systems such as; neural, endocrine, physiological, biochemical or mechanical, as these systems are functional throughout and integrated into all competitive situations. The training and improvement of the coordination capacity is a

CO-ORDINATION IN TENNIS

tool we have at our disposal which will allow us as coaches to provide our players with a skills development program that once integrated into our system will provide them with the tools they need for better troubleshooting and improvements in the decision making process.

The acquisition of the stimulus cognitive skills mentioned above will then give way to a motor skill and then culminate in another new cognitive cycle (feedback).

So, just as you can improve abilities such as strength, and speed, cognitive skills of attention, concentration, anticipation and others, can be refined and improved through coordinative orientated sessions.

Balance One of the coordination capacities of high incidence in tennis for example, is balance; this ability is strongly committed to all actions on the court. Inertia and continuous breaks in movement are major causes of technical error. During the course of a match, sudden changes of direction and suspension test the players ability in not only a muscular sense but they also impact upon the joints and soft tissue of the lower extremities. This severe strain and overload can push the coordinative capacity beyond its limits. By enhancing the response to proprioceptive stimuli we can help our

players improve their capacity to perform well under these conditions.

If we create training environments that offer coordinative variation (changing situations, that require controlled body movements in differing space and time), we are ensuring the development of Kinesthetic Movement in all directions.

Coupling Movement This should also include improved development of other sense organs given their high incidence in tennis especially that of Sight. Also Coupling Movement, which has to do with the organization of partial movements, fluidity and relaxation and amplitude of movement. Pace, especially at younger ages where the notions of frequency and speed are of vital importance to the organization of the movement under temopro-spatial concepts. (space & time) Guidance and Direction of movement in space, body positioning capability that puts the player in relation to its surroundings. Change: as the capacity of the player to adapt to situations that arise unexpectedly, it is a special ability to rectify previous movement patterns produced by the brain.

The ability of Feedback (problem solving).

WHO IS: AMÉRICO A. BARILES REYNOSO Biography: Americo is the Co-Ordination Coach at the Elite Tennis Academy, Spain. He is a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education and Sport from INEF Barcelona, and has authored the book “Tennis and Motor Co-Ordination.”

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DR. RAY BROWN: RED ORANGE GREEN

ROG, MANDATES AND PLAYER DEVELOPMENT Dr. Ray Brown looks at the use of Red, Orange and Green balls in junior tennis...

The controversy of the day in tennis is Red Orange Green. The short story is that there is a hypothesis that by using soft balls and small courts for small players (10 and under), more players will gravitate to tennis over other sports and thus tennis will expand its base and markets. Problem one with this hypothesis is that it was never tested before implementation. In the US, the USTA simply adopted the untested hypothesis and made it a mandate with sanctions for failing to follow the mandate in tournament formats for 10 and under. The argument for not testing the hypothesis is that it was tested by analogy. This means that since other sports used something like smaller balls, etc. it must be good. Validity of the hypothesis was never a criteria for its acceptance.

Opinions While opinions abound, there is a body of scientific information to which we can appeal for greater insight and to better discern if the hypothesis has any chance at validity. Before examining scientific evidence for the hypothesis, let’s look at the analogy theory, i.e. the decision to consider a hypothesis valid through the use of analogy. Analogy requires a structural relationship between two seemingly otherwise unrelated situations, events, activities, etc. Thus to use analogy to argue the validity of a hypothesis, one must look to another sport with structural similarities to tennis. At once, all group sports must be eliminated from consideration in seeking an analogy, since there are no structural similarities of group sports to tennis because it is an individual, eye-to-eye, combative sport requiring high precision movement which utilizes every part of the mind and body. Tennis is unique in this aspect.

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DR. RAY BROWN

Hence, there can be no sports analogies that will support the Red Orange Green hypothesis.

Science Since it it is clear that there are no sports with structural similarities to tennis, and hence no analogies, we turn to science for better insights.

What stands out immediately is that tennis requires an exceptionally high level of procedural training and learning. There are three reasons: •

the individual contestant must develop very high level skilll

•

those skills must be diverse

•

the application of those skills must relearned for a wide range of physical positions and dynamics

In short, tennis at the highest level is hard. The implication here is that Red Orange Green and any other untested hypothesis is of little importance to the average recreational player. but of the highest importance to the serious player. The fact that the importance of Red Orange Green differs dramatically for these two groups requires that it not be a mandate. The argument for separate consideration of these two groups of players lies in the nature of procedural memory (the form of memory necessary to learn a sport). Fact: if a player learns tennis using soft balls and small courts, they will have to relearn the sport when the balls and court sizes are changed. The simplest illustration of this point is that learning your way home from school does not also teach you how to get home from the store. If procedural memory scaled up or worked by analogy, then there would be little need for a map. But it does not work that way.

of play from the baseline and from the service line separately. A player can learn to be a good baseline player without being able to handle the short ball because positioning matters in procedural learning and so does the size of the court. Learning the application of force necessary to achieve a result is ball, court, position and movement specific; each has to be learned separately. So starting with Red Orange Green assures that the player will have a lot of relearning to do with each ball and court change.

For the recreational player, this may not matter much. But for the parent and child investing time and money into player development, this is very significant.

Balanced In addition to the nature of procedural learning, there are many other factors that suggest that the Red Orange Green hypothesis should have been tested before being mandated. We will not treat these issues here. The summary is that mandating an untested hypothesis that was designed by an invalid analogy is not something that one would do when using balanced even handed thinking about all the factors and implications of the mandate in advance.

WHO IS: DR. RAY BROWN

Memory The trap that is easy to fall into is to judge procedural memory by what is known as declarative memory and learning. Declarative memory is the process by which we learn facts. For example, 1+2=3 or George Washington was the first president of the United States. The type of processes, and their location in the brain, used for learning facts versus learning skills are radically different; they are not to be compared. One can learn to solve a problem using the quadratic formula with only a few examples in a few minutes. In contrast to learning facts, to learn to hit a forehand requires thousands of examples over many hours. And it is worse still in that one has to relearn the force used to hit a forehand and have it land in the field

Biography: Dr. Brown is an internationally recognized expert in high performance tennis training, having published over 200 articles on the subject.

He founded the EASI Academy in the summer of 2007 and his innovations have been to introduce neuroscience and the science of learning into tennis training, constructing a program that integrates all five dimensions of training into a single player development program.

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TCUK NATIONAL CONFERENCE 2012 “Coaching for the Future” Mon12th & Tue 13th November 2012 Northwood Esporta Middlesex

Free of charge to all TCUK Members

12 LTA License Credits apply Book at: www.tenniscoachuk.com

Q&A

FOCUSING ON OUR FUTURE

THIS EDITION

Supplement 21

24

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Jeremy Bates playedTCUK/JOMO Davis Cup for 10 years NEW and was CLOTHINGHere the former WEBSITE player, captain and coach.

British No RANGE 1 gives us his take on this weekend’s Davis Cup clash with Luxembourg...

Statement from Jim Edgar Having been on the Board of TenniscoachUK since 2004 and the Chairman since 2007 I have decided to resign and let a new person take over.

I have enjoyed my time on the Board immensely and have learn so much from fellow members. Tutoring the Roadshow has been one of the highlights of my tennis coaching career. Spending time with members has shown me what a knowledgeable and resourceful coaching fraternity we have in this Country.

I wish my successor as Chairman best wishes in their role. It is time for a someone new to bring fresh ideas and energy to the organisation.

I will remain a stalwart and committed member of TenniscoachUK and know it will continue to serve our Coaching community in the future.

Jim Edgar

CHARLES APPLEWHAITE Zones of the Court

TCUK COACH EDUCATION

TENNISCOACHUK: DIRECTORS REPORT Let’s Keep It Simple!

TCUK welcomes fair competition and we will gladly distinguish ourselves from others through the caliber of our organisation and the way in which we represent UK Tennis Coaches. Along with our Annual Conference and Roadshows we also work hard to deliver quality benefits such as this magazine, our fabulous new range of clothing, and the new TCUK Coach Education & Accreditation Program.

We take issue with tactics designed to confuse coaches as to what organisation they are joining so to “keep it simple: here are a few facts that current and prospective members should know.

FACT: If it is not TenniscoachUK (TCUK) branded it is not 66 years old and the only Independent Coaches Organisation in the UK. FACT: Our Head Office moved from Wolverhampton to Yorkshire in 2011.

FACT: If an email is not from TCUK or the phone

number is not 01943 865810 then it is not the organisation coaches have trusted for decades NOW: Visit our web page at www.tenniscoachuk. com and win in our monthly prize-draw, buy from the new range of discounted quality TCUK branded clothing and get all your license points FREE in 2 days at our National Conference.

TenniscoachUK President David Sammel National Office 124 Main Street Burley in Wharfedale Ilkley LS29 7JP Tel 01943 865810 TenniscoachUK is a trading name of the British Tennis Coaches Association Limited Company number 04261792 (England and Wales)

VIEW FROM THE CHAIR: PAUL BRAITHWAITE

It’s time to thank Jim Edgar for the role he has played

It is always sad when a member of the committee decides to retire, but after a turn ship of many years as Lead Development Coaching Officer and at the helm as the chairman, it’s time to firstly thank Jim Edgar for the role he has played within this organisation over recent years. I can remember the early days and his passion and enthusiasm to coach and his desire to inform. Jim’s professionalism and knowledge-base is as wide as it as deep and I for one recognise and appreciate the effort he has applied so willingly.

Jim worked incredibly hard over recent years within many aspects of the organisation and I am sure he often missed time on court to do so, and I feel that for Jim that was always where the real stuff happened. The board wish to thank him and wish him continued success for the future.

Moving forward the board have been meeting and sharing ideas to further support TCUK members and are inspired to deliver a comprehensive package that works for our membership and we e appreciate and

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acknowledge your support throughout.

Along with the new clothing range that can be seen on the new website, the TCUK Road Shows, and Player Plus events have proved a great success once again and the annual conference coming in November of this year will be another must come event.

Our endeavour and resolve is as ever to retain the association’s independence and offer our members genuine benefits. Our new Coach Education Programme is currently being launched and please feel free to contact any of our team at the National Office, whenever you need any additional information or support.

We always appreciate your views and comments and would like to encourage you to continue to send them in so that we may continue to improve the services that we offer you.

Regards and a happy spring / summer term.

Paul Braithwaite

JOMA

TENNISCOACHUK: JOMA

JOMA SET TO BE A BIG HIT THIS SUMMER With the appointment of Joma and MJM Sports as the official tennis clothing supplier to TenniscoachUK, we thought it would be an ideal time to take a closer look at the brand.

Joma Sport is one of the top ten sports brands in the world and whilst it is most synonymous with football, it has a strong heritage in both tennis and athletics. Already an established tennis brand in Europe and the US, Joma Sport is now targeting the UK tennis market and early indications are the brand is in high demand and has been very well received according to UK Sales Director Jon Haile.

“As one of the leading tennis brands in the world, we are delighted to be supporting MJM Sports in their new partnership with TenniscoachUK. The UK is a very important market for us and we see this as the start of a very important and beneficial tripartite relationship that will help us grow the brand in the UK tennis market.”

The brand has been enjoying lots of success of late with Feliciano Lopez, Juan Carlos Ferrero and Marcel Granollers all doing well on the ATP Circuit.

Marcel Granollers (ranked 26) and Rafal Nadal will be gold medal hopefuls as a Spanish pairing in the London 2012 Olympics. The pair will play together in the Miami Open as a warm up for the Olympic competition. With Juan Carlos Ferrero and Feliciano Lopez also having Davis Cup success and with Guillermo García-López beating Andy Murray at the Indian Wells Open, it has been a very successful year for Joma’s players.

The collection that is available to TenniscoachUK members has something for everyone with a comprehensive range for both men and women that will stand out from the crowd and offer a point of difference. The all-white rule of some more exclusive clubs is no barrier, while at the same time there are some cool pastel and colour combinations for the fashion conscious. The garments are highly technical

using the Joma Dry Max technology which is a unique fabric technology that keeps players dry and comfortable by drawing sweat away from the skin, reducing cling from perspiration whilst allowing air to circulate around the body. This allows the body to stay dry and comfortable during high level sports performance and exercise.

If you would like to view the complete Joma tennis collection, then please go to www.joma-sport.com

Special prices on all Joma clothing is available to TenniscoachUK members: Track suit £56.99

Shorts £18.99

Polo £23.99

Hoody £32.99

T Shirt £18.99

Rain Jacket £26.99

Buy online now from www.discountsportonline.co.uk/ category/club-school-shops/tennis-coach-uk/

TCUK:SUPPLEMENT

TENNISCOACHUK: NEW WEBSITE

Visit our new website at www.tenniscoachuk.com

TCUK:SUPPLEMENT

COACH EDUCATION AND ACCREDITATION

TENNISCOACHUK: EDUCATION Would you like to: 1. Train your own Coaching Team.

2. Offer Industry Recognised Qualifications to your students.

3. Create a new Income Source and Increase your Revenue.

4. Enhance your Tennis Program and Player Performance Levels.

5. Improve Participation Rates and Retention Levels.

6. Open up a new Future in Tennis and extend the longevity and enjoyment of your Coaching Career.

TenniscoachUK will help you to fulfill your coaching potential and support you as you guide others along the way to becoming a part of your coaching team.

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CHARLES APPLEWHAITE: ZONES OF THE COURT

ZONES OF THE COURT Whenever you watch world class players, their ability to play is apparent from many varying positions on the court, whether in deep defence, mid-court or at the net.

Charles Applewhaite explores the zones of the court...

Mental Images Whenever you watch world class players, their ability to play is apparent from many varying positions on the court whether in deep defence, mid-court or at the net. Obviously, certain players may be more effective in one particular area, but to succeed at the highest level, a player requires the ability to interlink and perform efficiently in all three. These areas of play can best be described as the zones of the court and relate similarly to many other sports.

They are:1. The Defence Zone 2. The Manoeuvering Zone (midfield) 3. The Attacking Zone

TCUK:SUPPLEMENT

Many players call these the traffic lights of tennis.

The defence (red zone) is for stop, be patient and wait for the opportunity to move away from this position. The manoeuvering (yellow zone) is getting ready to move positively forward. The attack (green zone) is for go! Your foot is now off the brake and on the accelerator and you are on your way.

When you watch world class players in these areas of court, you will be able to identify the principles involved. Rafa Nadal, one of the most successful player of the past decade, applies these principles of zone play to the highest level. If you want to improve this aspect of your play, he is a superb model to copy.

CHARLES APPLEWAITE

Method

him into his defence zone.

DEFENCE ZONE

Wait for a short reply, which will allow you to move forward to your next shot and out of your defence zone.

The Defence Zone is the area near the baseline where it is difficult to hit winning shots with a reasonable percentage chance of success.

When you’re in the defence zone against a baseline opponent you will find:

When you are in the defence zone against a net opponent you will find: •

The net player has more time to prepare his volley.

•

Your are hitting along the ball for a longer distance and he will have more time to prepare his shot.

•

•

Because you are hitting a longer distance it will require more accurate control.

You have to hit the ball closer to the volleyer than you would like because of the restricted angles.

•

•

Playing angled shots is risky

The volleyer will generally be volleying a ball above net height so will be able to play an attacking volley.

•

Playing a drop shot from this area is not a percentage shot.

The best percentage shot is to hit the ball high over the net and deep into the opponent’s court, forcing

It is best to aim your passing shot low over the net to force the volleyer into a defensive situation in his attacking zone. continued overleaf...

Charles Applewhaite “Pro Tennis Holidays”

at La Manga Club Spain Are you a Tennis Coach who would like a working tennis holiday in the sun?

Please contact us if you want to: •

Organise junior tennis holiday trips to La Manga

•

Specify your own holiday dates and requirements

•

Recommend your players for an adult trip

•

Receive any further information

Any coach who recommends a player will receive a referral fee for each participant

Visit us at www.lamangatennis.com Email: charles@lamangatennis.com Telephone: 07768125685

PAGE 27

When you play a lob, the net player will have more time to recover.

You should aim the lob to land in his defensive zone.

become possible for you to hit a winner, but you should in general, which ever shot you play, try to follow it to the net (attacking zone) and when necessary finish off the point from there.

MANOEUVERING ZONE Combined with the defence zone, this is the area of the court where you can start to put pressure on the opponent and create strong opportunities for winning the point.

THE ATTACKING ZONE

Occasionally volleys will be played from this area.

But in general in this zone the shots that will be played will be groundstrokes.

When you are in the attack zone you will find.

•

You will have to move more quickly to get into a good position.

When you are in a manoeuvering zone you will find:

This is the area between the service line and the net and where the opportunities are far greater to hit a winning shot and finish the point in your favour.

•

•

You are nearer to your opponent so he has less time to prepare for his shot.

You are further up the court and the opponent will have less time to prepare his shot.

•

•

The shorter distance gives you a chance to be more accurate with your shot.

Because you are nearer the net there is an increased chance of successful angled play.

•

•

You can start to play angled shots with more safety.

You will now be playing the majority of your shots above net height which gives you a chance of more aggressive play.

•

The drop shot now becomes a greater possibility.

•

•

You will need to hit the ball lower over the net.

The stop volley have a very good chance of being an outright winner.

•

You will need to use slice or topspin for control.

The Manoeuvering zone is an area where it may

The Attack zone is the area where many outright winners are played but very often it may be necessary to play a deep and penetrating volley first to push the opponent back into his defensive zone before playing the more angled winning shot.

Strategy ZONES OF THE COURT The principles of play in the varying zones of the court are well defined but they should be adapted dependent upon the following factors: •

The type of court surface (fast, medium or slow) – this will affect both you and your opponent’s positions on court.

•

Your position in your zone (how far wide out of court you are) – this will effect your ability to set up an optimum ready position for your next shot.

•

The height of the ball when you make contact for your shot. If the ball is lower than net height it should generally be played with more caution. When the ball is above net height it increases the options available to you and allows you to play more positively and forcefully.

Your overall performance in the differing positions on court will always be governed by a combination of the above factors and should be taken into account when determining your strategy and tactics.

TCUK:SUPPLEMENT

UK TENNIS MAGAZINE: DOMINIKA CIBULKOVA Picture by Luke Mayes

At ITA we teach our coaches and our players the Natural Way using Holistic Training and Neuro Linguistic Programming techniques to get the very best out of every player All courses cost £50 per day

6 licence credits apply (10:00am to 4:00pm)

NLP TENNIS MIND AND BODY COURSE (this course is lecture-based) Date Sunday 10th June Sunday 17th June Sunday 24th June Sunday 7th October Sunday 14th October Sunday 21st October

Location Essex (Deanes Sports Centre, Benfleet, SS7 2TD) London (Riverside Esporta, Northwood, HA6 2DR) Birmingham (Billesley Indoor Tennis Centre, B13 0ST) Essex (Deanes Sports Centre, Benfleet, SS7 2TD) London (Riverside Esporta, Northwood, HA6 2DR) Birmingham (Billesley Indoor Tennis Centre, B13 0ST)

NEW COURSE Friday 22nd June (9am - 3pm)

Get the Advantage Business Course (Riverside Esporta, Northwood, London, HA6 2DR)

Book your place at www.ITAuk.net or by calling ITA on 07577 419762 20% discount on all ITA courses for TenniscoachUK members We can also deliver at your venue - call for details ITA NEW BUSINESS COURSE DELIVERED BY STEVE BUTCHER Steve Butcher is Alchemy-certified and an accredited business coach. Steve has more than 20 years’ experience in managing both single site and multi-site operations with turnovers ranging from £500k to £12m.

Steve is also UKCC Highest Level 5/5 LTA, USPTR & RPT Fully Qualified, Registered and Licensed Professional Tennis Coach UKCC Coach Education Tutor and IAPS Assessor Steve will be delivering a range of Business Courses with us from April this year so keep a look out for the details on our web page www.ITAuk.net

TENNIS CLINIC

DAVE SAMMEL: TAKING THE BALL EARLY

THE ADVANTAGES OF TAKING THE BALL EARLY Television analysts often comment about taking the ball early and cutting away an opponent’s time.

Dave Sammel expands on the theory...

Interestingly, these comments occur more often in matches with players who move forward than in matches where defensive players slug it out from behind the baseline.

But as the power game becomes more of a staple of professional tennis, we see less of the attacking style of a John McEnroe, who was able to rush his opponent without hitting the ball hard all the time.

Stefan Edberg, Patrick Rafter, Pete Sampras, Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski were all known for their eagerness to move forward, take the ball early if not on the rise, and make something happen. Less recognised is the abilities of a Federer, Djokovic and Murray who “cut in” with their movement and suddenly change the pace of a point during a baseline rally. Aggression on the baseline is, in the words of Andy Murray to me recently, about your “court position.”

In a similar vein, terms such as “top of the bounce” and “take it on” describe a similar situation where the player moves forward and hits a groundstroke as the ball ascends, or as the ball peaks. However, I’m not always certain every player knows exactly what this means and, importantly, why exactly it is so helpful.

Andre Agassi often plays inside the baseline, taking the ball on the rise and robbing his opponent of time.

Time Of equal importance, the skill set that enables players to move forward and play the ball early takes time to learn, for the timing in this technique is far different than what occurs when one waits on the ball and allows the ball to descend. It takes early

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recognition of a shorter ball and faster feet to get up to the ball sufficiently.

position and back again after the strike – split seconds that compound shot after shot.

Advantages

Advantage 4: The top of the bounce generally is as high, if not higher, than the level of the net, so balls contacted at this height more easily cross the net than balls that are contacted below the level of the net.

The following advantages are gained by taking a ball early (at the top of the bounce) given the general assumption that a ball loses half its speed from the time it bounces to the top of the bounce and another half if it drops half its height again.

Advantage 1: Striking the ball at the top of the bounce gives you maximum ball speed with good control to use against an opponent. Using greater speed by half-volleying is difficult to control and letting the ball drop gives away too much speed.

Advantage 2: If you strike a falling ball, not only is the ball travelling slower but you have to give up ground to give the ball the time to travel further and drop.

Advantage 3: This is the time that it takes the ball to travel from the top of the bounce to a dropped

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You have more speed to use against your opponent (26mph) than when letting the ball drop (13mph).

You also give away about 1-2 yards in distance and lose the time that it takes the ball to travel from the top of the bounce to the falling contact point.

A player’s ability to time and position himself/herself to take the ball early when appropriate is possibly the single most important separator in the different levels of play.

The very best in the world are almost balletic in their footwork and artistic in their use of spin and pace off an early strike. Great approachers of the net, especially off the slice backhand, are masters of using the pace of the ball against opponents –

TENNIS CLINIC

Edberg, Rafter, Henman, Rusedski, and Novotna are a few of the recent masters of slice backhand approach.

One of the major changes in tennis is the growing exploitation of taking second serve returns extremely early, by hitting over the ball rather than as a slice approach. Agassi, Safin, and Federer are masters but in general, all the best players in the world clearly understand how to “take time away” from an opponent and more importantly can execute at the right moments. It is this ability to speed up a point without resorting to pure pace that allows top players to suddenly control a point from inside the baseline. This opens up attacking options and the opportunity to sneak forward.

Drill An excellent drill to begin to gain the feel of an early ball is to rally at ¾ pace, with one player following each shot with a step behind each shot commonly known as “moving through the ball”. The lower pace allows for time to feel the sensation of taking a ball early.

The drill requires one player to rally from behind the baseline hitting at ¾ pace down the middle of the court. The other player takes each ball on the rise and follows his stroke with a good solid step behind the ball. The ¾ pace enables the feeder to be very accurate and the person practicing the top of the bounce can do it expertly, without rushing back to recover. As confidence and timing grows, the pace tends to automatically increase.

Another aspect in performing this drill at ¾ pace is that players learn that taking a ball early does not necessarily mean swinging faster. It is one thing to move up the court to cut down an opponent’s time or to hit on the rise putting pressure on an opponent, but it is another thing to swing faster and earlier than is necessary.

The net result of taking the ball at the top of the bounce is: 1. You save the fraction of a second it would take for the ball to travel from the top of the bounce to the half drop and back again.

So if you are “game” to try and take the ball earlier than usual, consider the following. The single best opportunity to move forward and “take it on,” as the Brit’s might say, is when the opponent hits a short and relatively simple ball. When might this occur? Well perhaps in a rally, perhaps if your own shot was deep and well placed causing a short reply.

Scenario But a simpler scenario, and one that can be practiced on a daily basis, is to move forward and take the return of the second serve on the rise – each and every time. The second serve is by definition a short shot, generally hit with less pace and placement (unless you are playing an outstanding player) and if you want to apply pressure, take their time away and play the ball suddenly – this is as good an opportunity as one gets. Go for it!

So if you are now willing to “take it on”, you understand the benefits, the rebound velocities, and the likely scenarios as to when you might move forward to take the ball early, here are some concluding tips about how the tempo of such a stroke feels.

Tips Prepare just slightly earlier than usual – this does not mean to instantly take the racquet back, but in this version you are trying to rush the opponent without necessarily rushing your own shot. In general, this stroke is shorter on backswing than one used behind the baseline and often you needn’t swing as fast because you are using your opponents pace against them.

When playing behind the baseline, the opposite baseline can be as much as 85 feet away (the court is 78 feet long) but when inside the baseline, you have less court to cover and the angles open up better for you. Finally, learn to enjoy the feeling where you have more time because your early ball has caused your opponent to retreat, but the opponent feels rushed. Time is an extremely important factor in tennis, so enjoy “stealing” time off of your opponents.

2. You have more ball speed to play with.

3. You are physically closer to your opponent.

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TENNIS MASTERS: JOHAN KRIEK

MODERN DAY COACHING Former world number seven Johan Kriek has been running his academy now for five year. It’s an elite junior tennis academy, but unlike many other academies, Johan personally trains all the kids; he is there every day on the court with the players.

Right: Johan with the Australian Open Winners Trophy in 1981

Demand for Coaches The recent announcement of former World Number 1 Ivan Lendl joining Andy Murray in his quest for a Major title in 2012 had me thinking. I saw my old buddy Ivan a few weeks ago in Delray Beach, Florida and we had another “head to head” after all these years and I finally got him 6-4,6-3. It is amazing to me that there are so few real Grand Slam title holders coaching juniors full-time and involved in the formative years of these future stars but are more readily available for current top ATP or WTA stars.

It is also very interesting to me that there is such a demand for coaches of my era, especially on the ATP Tour. Players who did their battles in the 80’s and 90’s; for example, Paul Annacone now works with Roger Federer, Larry Stefanki is working with Andy Roddick, after a short stint of Jimmy Connors with Andy before Stefanki took over. Brad Gilbert worked with Andre Agassi for many years and then Darren Cahill took over for a short while, Marion Vajda has been at the helm of the Novak Djokovic team even though Todd Martin also worked with Djokovic for a short time and now Ivan Lendl working with Andy Murray.

Seeking Advice So why do so many current tennis stars seek the advice of these former top players, most who are now in their late 40’s and 50’s.

Perhaps it is because these players, who had achieved a lot of success in the 80’s and 90’s, have

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such a rich experience, not only because that era made tennis boom immensely and the fact that the serve and volley game was still employed back then with the likes of Pete Sampras, John McEnroe, Stefan Edberg, Pat Rafter, Boris Becker, Roscoe Tanner and myself battling baseline huggers like Bjorn Borg, Guillermo Vilas, Mats Wilander, Yannick Noah and many others, mixed in with all-courters like Ilie Nastase etc. Another factor is that those who played in the late 70’s and early 80’s went through a huge change in tennis racket technology; I used the old wooden Dunlop Maxply, then switched to the

TENNIS MASTERS

“red“ Head all-aluminum racket, then had my own racket made by Rossignol which was part plastic, part aluminum, part foam injection, etc. Synthetic strings back then were not nearly as good as they are now, so good old VS gut was the string of most pros. We all had a tremendous pool of knowledge due to the vivid styles being used and the racket changes of that 10 year period from 1977 through to 1987.

More Sophisticated The modern tennis game of today is much more sophisticated and scientific than previous decades, due to all the details that are to be addressed. A top ten ATP or WTA player of today has a team of people, each responsible for certain aspects of the player’s game. Coaching is not just about the strokes, it is about fitness, nutrition, racket technology, recovery protocols after tough matches (especially during majors) and last but not least, the mental fitness of the player.

The coaching of a top ATP player is quite different from coaching a top WTA tour player. If I can be critical for a moment, we see too many clones on the WTA tour, just hitting power shots from corner to corner, with very little variety like dropshots, very little slices, very little net game and not to mention the ridiculous amount of service breaks we see at every WTA tournament. It is as if the serve is not really considered a weapon anymore by 90% of the WTA players! One player who stands out as a player that can “do it all” is Agnieszka Radwanska from Poland, who just dusted Maria Sharapova in the finals of the Sony Ericcson in Miami; she knows exactly what her strengths and weaknesses are. One thing she really does well, is to look “ordinary” yet possesses a fierce determination to just hit well enough to “stay close” to her opponent, knowing that if the opponent pushes a bit she will roll over her. The only WTA players that can overpower her are Serena Williams or Victoria Azarenka. Why are there so few “all-round” players on the WTA tour? My opinion is the lack of creative coaching in younger kids! I see it all the time!

Three Musketeers I personally enjoy the current ATP tour’s wonderful rivalry between the “three musketeers” with Djokovic, Nadal and Federer clearly a step above Murray (for now). We saw Federer dominate tennis on the men’s side from 2006 for a number of years,

then how hard Nadal worked to get by Federer and finally did, only to have both Nadal and Federer hauled in by the fiery Serb Djokovic a few short years later, who put together an astonishing feat of winning an unheard of number of tournaments in 2011, perhaps never to be broken. Now we all lie in wait to see if Andy Murray can find that “magic” to leapfrog all of these great players to lead the charge.

Above: Johan demonstrates for his pupils

Coaching a top superstar like Murray to achieve that number 1 spot in the world takes more than just looking at his strokes. It all comes down to studying the player’s stats against the top five or so players around him. It is analyzing videos of matches, checking the percentages of everything, from percentage of first serves in, points won off his own second serves, points won off an opponents first serve, second serve returns, points won and lost

PAGE 35

Right (l to r): Jimmy Connors, Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe and Johan Kriek

at the net and so much more. Based on those hard core facts, one can begin to formulate a plan of what to work on first of all. Statistics don’t lie! I am sure my friend Lendl is digging out all of this data and made recommendations on what to focus on to make Murray just that much more effective. The rest is up to Murray and a bit of luck helps too! It would be great to see Murray make that leap and get the job done!

Bird’s Eye View Being in the world of junior coaching for the past five years has provided me a “bird’s eye view” on what is out there in terms of tennis talent and what junior coaches are doing to get these kids to the pro level. Unfortunately, I see a lot of wasted talent due to overbearing parents and bad coaching. There are still great coaches all over the world, however I am afraid that too much emphasis is now placed on technology, with perhaps the loss of the “old school” values. The tremendous achievements of the great coaches of stars like Borg, Nadal, Federer and so many others were based on friendship, trust and an unshakeable belief that what they were doing together was the right thing. I hope that those old school values will still be taught for generations to come.

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WHO IS: JOHAN KRIEK Biography: Johan Kriek has won two Australian Opens, was a semi-finalist at the US Open, reached the semi-finals at the French Open and the quarter-finals of Wimbledon. He has won 14 professional singles and 8 doubles titles, reaching an all-time high ranking of Number 7 in the world. Kriek’s most memorable wins include victories over Andre Agassi, Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg.

He now runs the Johan Kriek Tennis Academy with his wife Daga Mrozek Kriek, which is soon moving to Charlotte, North Carolina in the United States.

TENNIS MASTERS

According to the FedEx ATP Reliability Index, Johan Kriek has the best 5th set career record of all time. His record of 18 wins and only 4 defeats sees him sitting top of the rankings, above such tennis luminaries as Bjorn Borg (3rd), Rafa Nadal (4th), Novak Djokovic (7th), Pete Sampras (15th), Boris Becker (21st) and John McEnroe (32nd).

Source: www.atpworldtour.com/Reliability-Zone

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Located in Charlotte, North Carolina the Johan Kriek Tennis Academy (JKTA) is an elite tennis academy where young, upcoming tennis stars train. The JKTA set itself apart by providing daily hands-on coaching by two-time Grand Slam champion, Johan Kriek. Johan is an internationally renowned player who was ranked number 7 in the world, won the Australian Open in 1981 and 1982 and has 14 singles titles and eight doubles titles.

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Charlotte, North Carolina www.johankriektennis.com Become a fan on Facebook or follow us on twitter

STAT ATTACK

UK TENNIS MAGAZINE

ENRIQUE GULDBERG: OPENING POSSIBILITIES

PERFECTION IS THE LAST GOAL Perfection is the last goal Strategy One day when I was coaching and trying to get more spin in the 2nd serve and after many trials and exercises without any result, I suddenly realised that we were just looking for the perfect shot. When I asked the player, “do it wrong” then, the shot started to work.

I tried this strategy again many times most of the time I got the same good results. What is happening? Why when asking for mistakes is it possible to get the perfect shot?

Most of the coaches that I knew in my life were quite obsessed with getting the perfect shot and didn’t permit the players to go beyond his instructions. In this way the player is losing all of the possibilities to try around the “perfect” instruction or movement.

First of all it is necessary to understand the difference between option and possibility. Option is the way that I already know, possibility is the unknown way, the possibility becomes an option once we know and try.

Example: typical instruction, “bend your knees”, “move your hand” etc. what does it mean for the player this instruction? How is he perceiving the action? Is it possible that he perceives that he is actually doing what we are asking?

In my experience most of the times the player is thinking that he is following the instruction perfectly.

That Is what he perceives when in fact he is quite far from perfection.

That is the moment when the conflict starts, the coach is saying that it is bad and the player is trying to do it well whilst at the same time having a complete other perception Even if the perfect shot is the main goal, maybe the motor skills that the player has in this moment are not enough to get the perfect shot. Then it is the moment to think of new possibilities: Which possibilities are there around the perfect shot that can help the player to get closer to the goal?

This means that the coach doesn’t have to just ask for the perfect shot, this is in fact the last goal.

5 days of expert training at the Elite Tennis Academy, Barcelona

www.elitennis.com

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DEBATE

DEBATE: RATING CHASING

RATING CHASING AND CHERRY PICKING “Does the Rating System mean anything anymore?”

When any player enters a Ratings Match-Play, we should be able to assume that their rating is appropriate to their level of tennis; not their age.

There is no such thing as an age based rating so if children have achieved 7.2 ratings by “cherry picking” their opponents based on age, then this is not good for them or the ratings system as a whole.

Is it fair then, to ask a 17 year old to forego a match against a 13 year old just because of his age?

Won’t this just create a rating system that doesn’t mean anything? Boris Becker won Wimbledon at 17, and I don’t think that he would have refused to play a 17 year old when he was 13. Too much protection creates players with a lack of variation, adaption capacity and good mental strength. Playing ratings matches should be more about competitive experience that will stand them in good stead in the long-term, not just short term rating chasing.

One big problem is that players with ratings hard-earned under the old system are now being overtaken by youngsters with inflated ratings under the new system and are not being given the chance to compete against them in order to redress things. This is not the fault of the younger players or the parents but the fault of the system and the organisers. The term “cherry picking” that I used earlier was not directed at the player or the parents but more at the process that has evolved since changes were made in the ratings system. These changes have allowed players to progress through the ratings without suffering ratings losses from 10.2 to 9.1. The changes were made with good intention and in the short term they may have encouraged more competitive play but the side effects have been very negative and are not good for the longterm development of our young players.

All parents have a natural perspective with consideration for their own children and they want them to achieve their goals. The goals set by the

LTA were to improve their rating and the parents will support their children in this. But perhaps we should also consider the perspective of a parent of a 15-year-old player, one that had previously earned his 8.1 rating during the years where losses meant losses. He is a good 8.1 whose playing level is really 7.1 and he now wants to enter tournaments to improve his rating, but the organisers are protecting the 12 year olds who now have the same rating, so they refuse him entry. The 12 year olds play each other and improve to 7.2s, and even if the organisers do allow entry as there are two other 8.1 players of 15 years of age who have playing levels of 7.2, the 15’s only play each other and the 7.2 potential players suffer the ratings losses they would not have had if they had played the 12 year olds.

These tournament organisers are bowing to player and parental pressure and causing inflated ratings in young players at too early an age and they are also creating a cooked rating system that has no relationship to actual overall playing standards.

They do this under the guise of an argument based on childhood physical development but it is not a sound argument and there are examples of young players of 11 playing Junior Wimbledon against 15-16 year olds, and also 14 -17 year olds actually winning Wimbledon and other Grand Slam Events.

These players did not come from over-regulated environments that protected them from exposure to older players or defeat, but came from environments where they could learn their trade without any other consequence to a loss than the lesson they learnt from it.

Tournament organisers have a duty of responsibility to all players and an 8.1 rating should mean exactly that; 8.1, not an “under 13. 8.1”, which does not exist.

The LTA might need to be reminded of this.

PAGE 39

TENNIS WAREHOUSE EUROPE COMPETITION Would you like to win a new racquet, courtesy of the very kind people at Tennis Warehouse Europe?

Just identify the 3 tennis players shown below...

Tennis Warehouse Europe have very kindly offered to give the winner of our competition the choice of any racquet from their fantastic range; to see just what sort of a prize you can win, head on over to their website at www.tenniswarehouse-europe.com where, as a member of TenniscoachUK, you can also get a 15% discount on all purchases by using the code on page 2 of this magazine.

To enter this competition, email the names of the three players shown below to info@uktennis.org.uk along with your name and address, or fill out the form below and send it to : Tennis Warehouse Europe Competition, UK Tennis Magazine, 4th Floor, University of Essex, The Gateway Building, Southend-on-Sea SS1 1LW

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FUN AND GAMES

PUZZLE PAGE: WIMBLEDON QUIZ How much do you know about Wimbledon?

Answers in our next issue.

Q1. To what height is the grass cut on all of the 19 courts each day of the Wimbledon Championships? a) 5mm b) 8mm c) 12mm Q2. Approximately how many tennis balls are used during the two weeks of the Championships?

a) 45,750 b) 49,500 c) 54,250 Q3. The Championship stringing team use approximately how much string during the two weeks?

a) 20 miles b) 30 miles c) 40 miles Q4. Which legend of tennis holds the record for the most defeats in Wimbledon Singles Finals?

a) Chris Evert b) Jimmy Connors c) Venus Williams Q5. How many ATP/WTA ranking points does the winner of the Championship earn? a) 1,000 b) 2,000 c) 3,000 Q6. In the 2011 Championships, how much did a first round loser in the Mens Singles earn?

a) £4,500 b) £8,500 c) £11,500 Q7. The official name of the trophy won by the Ladies Singles champion is the...

a) Venus Rosewater Dish b) Venus Bidwater Dish c) Venus Grangewater Dish Q8. If the roof on Centre Court was closed, how many tennis balls could it hold?

a) 90 million b) 190 million c) 290 million Q9. In the marathon 2010 match between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut, what was the score in the final set? a) 70-68 b) 72-70 c) 74-72 Q10. Who was the last British player to feature in a Wimbledon Final?

a) Virginia Wade b) Fred Perry c) Jamie Murray

Answers from the February 2012 edition British Tennis Crossword Across: 2 Rusedski, 4 Durie, 6 Cox, 7 Wade, 8 Mottram, 9 Robson, 10 Mills, 12 Bogdanovic, 16 Baltacha, 18 Taylor, 21 Castle, 22 Truman. Down: 1 Henman, 3 Keothavong, 4 Dod, 5 Maclagan, 10 Mortimer, 11 LLoyd, 13 Croft, 14 Murray, 15 Maskell, 17 Austin, 19 Watson, 20 Bates.

Missing Wimbledon Champions Men: 2008 Nadal, 2007 Federer, 2002 Hewitt, 2000 Sampras, 1997 Sampras, 1996 Krajicek, 1992 Agassi, 1991 Stich, 1989 Becker. Women: 2011 Kvitova, 2008 Venus Williams, 2006 Mauresmo, 2002 Serena Williams, 2001 Venus Williams, 1998 Novotna, 1996 Graf, 1994 Martinez, 1990 Navratilova.

PAGE 41

ANGELA BUXTON: GRUNTING

GRUNTING, SHRIEKING, YELLING Intimidating?...Yes! Disruptive?...Yes! And believe it or not – Sexual?...Yes! Possible to resolve it soon?...Yes! Angela Buxton and Nenad Simic explain...

Noise The noise associated with the world-wide women’s game to-day is being ridiculed. For example, many young women in Miami found Sharapova’s yelling very amusing and tried to imitate it, whilst many young men in Miami recently revealed at the Sony Ericsson Open that they found Sharapova’s grunting sexually attractive and were drawn to watch her because of that! Unfortunately, both reduce highlevel women’s tennis to low-level bawdy music-hall humour.

Letters Last year, Ian Ritchie, the then Chairman of the All England Club at Wimbledon said “Certainly if anyone would ask me ‘what do we receive most letters about?’ I would have to answer that grunting is high on the list. The players have the ability to complain about it! If one player is grunting too much and the other doesn’t like it and/or finds it at all distracting, they can complain to the umpire!” Already this year, two topten players, Agnieska Radwanska (the current winner in Miami) and Caroline Wozniaki (the former world No 1 player in 2011), said in their press interviews that they find it unacceptable being on the receiving end. Players, umpires and referees also should be on their mettle because one day soon, some female high profile player like a Radwanska or Wozniaki is going to stand their ground, probably within the first few

UKTENNIS

balls being struck in a match, and have the guts and sufficient fire in their belly to stop play and claim the point under Rule 26!

Rule 26 The Rule reads:- “If a player is hindered in playing the point by a deliberate act of the opponent, the player shall win the point.” If queried by the umpire, the player could or might say that because the grunting/shrieking coming from their opponent is so long and so loud, that it is not only disturbing them making their next shot but is concealing the sound of the ball being struck; useful information which is normally a ‘given.’ What is more they would be totally correct!

Julie Heldman A similar situation occurred in the early 1970’s in Chicago during the American National Indoor Championships on wood in a match between Billie Jean King, who was a leading American and topworld player then, and Julie Heldman. At that time, it was well-known in the locker-room that King liked to ‘sail very near the wind’ by seemingly trying to distract and intimidate her opponents during play.

Julie, on the other hand, did not have an official ranking at all, but because of her being a savvy confident performer, had been ranked as high as No. 5 previously and was trying to make a ‘come-back’.

Although Julie came from Houston, Texas, in the early 1970’s she was living and training in London.

One winter during that period, she informed her London coaches that it was extremely possible that she may face King in Chicago and that something sinister may occur concerning the rules, as it usually did. She particularly requested them to prepare her for any eventuality of this nature.

ANGELA BUXTON AND NEMAD SIMIC

Stamping So Heldman went to Chicago well rehearsed and knew the Rules of Tennis like the back of her hand; she absolutely knew what to do if she felt at all hindered or intimidated in any way. As expected it did happen. King won the first set easily and they were proceeding to play a tie-breaker in the second when Billie suddenly threw up a high lob into the rafters of the indoor court. As Julie prepared her sideways stance, with left hand up pointing to the ball, King started to stamp her feet so loudly that it resounded throughout that indoor hall; the intention was to distract Julie as she prepared to strike the ball. Instead, Julie caught the ball and said “I claim this point under Rule 26!” No-one, except Julie, knew the rules sufficiently well to know what was going on; the referee was called and a Rule Book was eventually found. Julie stood her ground and was indeed found to be correct; she was awarded the point. Julie not only went on to win the set but also the match, as King seemed completely unnerved. Travelling coaches, for their part, should make sure to spend time instructing their players not only to eliminate grunting, but also to become more conversant with the Rules of Tennis and how a player can make them work to their advantage, not the other way round.

Grunting To return to The Sony Ericsson Open, according to Victoria Azarenka when queried she said “Grunting?

70% of the Tour grunt!” Indeed, on the Satellite and Challenger Circuits to-day, one finds very often 12 courts or more in a row with only a loose netting separating them. On nearly every court there is a chorus of Sharapova wannabes, shrieking and yelling at the top of their lungs causing absolute mayhem, reminiscent of a female zoo; no wonder spectators are quickly put off and walk-away. Last, but not least, more and better use of Rules of Tennis would soon put paid to this unacceptable behavior that is threatening to tarnish our sport which we, the true lovers of the game, want to keep safeguarded and intact for many years.

WHO IS: ANGELA BUXTON

Biography: ANGELA BUXTON was a former World no.5 and ran the successful London Tennis Academy for many years. She now operates a tennis consultancy, travelling between the USA and the UK.

NENAD SIMIC Biography: NENAD SIMIC has been a successful tennis coach both in Serbia and the USA for many years. He now lives in Florida with his wife and family. His daughter, Martha, played on the Challenger Circuit until recently.

Their book “303 Tips For Successful Tennis” is available from buxtontennis56@yahoo.com Cost: $15 in the USA plus $5 shipping £8 in the UK plus £5 post and pack

PAGE 43

WORLD CLASS: SIMON CAPON

BRITISH TENNIS PLAYERS CAN BE WORLD CLASS British tennis is currently facing a period of low morale. Other than Andy Murray, we are being told by the media that Britain has little or no talent. This poor attitude is one that is unlikely to inspire young players to take up the game, and more importantly

discourage players with ‘raw’ talent to pursue the hours of dedicated practise and commitment, to have any chance of changing the fortunes of our national team. I have listened to many discussions from coaches and players alike about whom or what is to blame, and although I think there is no single miracle answer, I know that there is one area that is not looked at in enough depth.

Bottle The one word that is continually used is ‘bottle’.

It is constantly used in just about every sport that we have a national team. There are many misconceptions about the mysterious ’bottle’ and once understood it’s easy to appreciate that it can be overcome easily and efficiently.

I work with a player who is County standard. During practise he is consistent, confident and his timing is excellent. Unfortunately, as a tournament player, he is a very different character. He lacks self belief, has little confidence and often looks as though he doesn’t really want to be there. We had a discussion about how he is as a practice player compared to him as a tournament player. To begin with he couldn’t come up with an answer and I explained how I saw his situation. The facts are that he is the same person, the court is the same, the tennis balls are the same, his rackets are the same and on many occasions, the opposition is the same. So what is the difference? He then thought for a few minutes and confirmed that the only difference was his state (our state is how we are feeling at any given time). Taking this into consideration, I looked at the detailed components of his state during practice and installed them into his tournament play state. The result was incredible; not only is he winning and his form consistent, but he is enjoying his match game as much as he enjoys practice.

UKTENNIS

SIMON CAPON

State So what is ‘state’? As I mentioned earlier, our state is how we are feeling at any given time during our day. We can be in a state of motivation or procrastination, excitement or dread. Essentially, we can have any state we want instantly. State is made of two parts. One is our internal representation, or in simple terms, it’s the pictures, sounds and feelings that are going on in our mind. The second part is our physiology, or how we stand, sit or hold ourselves.

Returning to my tennis playing friend, he used to walk out onto the court for practise with his head held high, his stride pattern was long and no matter how he played the previous shot, he would instantly readjust his body and prepare for the next shot. His breathing was from his chest, deep and easy. When he sat down for a break, he would sit up straight and look at the court as if he owned the space. However when he used to play tournaments, he would walk out onto court with his head down, he had a short stride pattern, and his breathing would be from his stomach and much more shallow.

He would sit between games and sets and just stare at his feet. When he played a poor shot he would waive his racket around as though he was squatting a fly. I simply pointed out every detail of his physiology during practice and he reconstructed it into his match game.

The second part was his internal representation.

While practicing, he would have an internal picture of himself as a very tall and powerful player. Like most of us he would talk to himself, and the voice he heard was one that had a very encouraging tone that continually told him he possessed an incredible natural talent, he had feelings of power and strength (therefore he stood tall as a direct result of this). Once again during match play, all of this was very different. He would have a movie going in his mind that reminded him of previous poor performances and defeats, the internal dialogue would be harsh and remind him of his old teacher’s voice that used to belittle him. And he felt he was unfit and weak. Consequently, by consciously taking all of the elements of his practice mindset and coupling them with his new physiology, the positive result was inevitable.

Now I understand that everyone is individual, and have their own set of problems and challenges.

However, I know from experience that by using

this model it will have an instant impact on your game. When you are playing at your best, make a note of what pictures you have in your mind. Be aware of any internal dialogue that you have and think about the feelings you possess, and where in your body they are. Notice your breathing, and if it’s high or low in your torso, and how you walk and hold yourself on court. When you sit down for rest periods, are you sat up or learning forward? Look at every detail you possibly can, and recreate all of this when you play in practise and competition.

The benefit of spending time with this exercise is invaluable.

This technique will be of benefit to players at all levels, and with practice, ensures that you will feel the same in match play conditions as you do when you practice on a quiet Sunday morning.

Success Top British tennis players have had a very bad time in recent years, many of whom have the ability to put in world class performances. State change is a must, so that these players experience international success.

WHO IS: SIMON CAPON Biography: Since 2006 Simon has worked with professional sports men and women.

He uses a variety of techniques including skills from NLP and hypnotherapy. His philosophy is simple; create self belief and your behaviours and actions will change and so will your results.

He has a selection of mind programming recordings available on MP3 downloads from Amazon, iTunes and Nokia.

Visit his website at www.simoncapon.co.uk

PAGE 45

AEGON BRITISH TENNIS RANKINGS

MALE

FEMALE Rankings as of 27th January 2012

No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Name Andy Murray James Ward Jamie Baker Joshua Goodall Daniel Evans Alex Bogdanovic Alexander Ward Christopher Eaton James McGee Joshua Milton Daniel Cox Richard Bloomfield Daniel Smethurst David Rice Morgan Phillips Andrew Fitzpatrick Marcus Willis James Marsalek Sean Thornley Liam Broady

County Scotland North Middlesex Scotland West Hampshire Warwickshire Middlesex Northamptonshire Surrey Wales South Lancashire Norfolk Lancashire Hertfordshire Surrey Warwickshire Berkshire Somerset Kent Lancashire

No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Name Elena Baltacha Anne Keothavong Heather Watson Laura Robson Naomi Broady Emily Webley-Smith Tara Moore Melanie South Samantha Murray Katie O’Brien Lisa Whybourn Anna Fitzpatrick Jade Windley Lucy Brown Amanda Carreras Francesca Stephenson Yasmin Clarke Eleanor Dean Nicola George Nicola Slater

County Scotland West Middlesex Channel Islands Middlesex Cheshire Avon Yorkshire Surrey Cheshire Yorkshire Cambridgeshire Yorkshire Lincolnshire Oxfordshire Oxfordshire Essex Derbyshire Yorkshire Lancashire Scotland South

Special Guest Rankings - Longest Match Winning Streaks No. Men

Matches (Year)

No. Women

Matches (Year)

1

Guillermo Villas (Argentina)

46 (1977)

1

Martina Navratilova (USA)

74 (1984)

2

Ivan Lendl (Czechoslovakia)

44 (1981-82)

2

Steffi Graf (Germany)

66 (1898-90)

3=

Bjorn Borg (Sweden)

43 (1978)

3

Martina Navratilova (USA)

58 (1986-87)

3=

Novak Djokovic (Serbia)

43 (2010-11)

4

Margaret Court (Australia)

57 (1972-73)

5

John McEnroe (USA)

42 (1984)

5

Chris Evert (USA)

55 (1974)

6

Roger Federer (Switzerland)

41 (2006-07)

6

Martina Navratilova (USA)

54 (1983-84)

7

Bjorn Borg (Sweden)

38 (1979-80)

7

Steffi Graf (Germany)

46 (1988)

8

Thomas Muster (Austria)

35 (1995)

8

Steffi Graf (Germany)

45 (1987) Source: Wikipedia

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(£480 per issue)

Half Page

Qtr Page Half Page Vertical

Full Page

Full Page

Half Page

Quarter Page

Half Page Vertical

Full colour or mono Bleed or squared up

Full colour or mono Bleed or squared up

Full colour or mono Squared up only

Full colour or mono Bleed or squared up

All measurements in mms

All measurements in mms

All measurements in mms

All measurements in mms

Type Area 190 x 130 Trim 210 x 148.5 Bleed 216 x 155

Type Area 94 x 130 Trim 103 x 148.5 Bleed 108 x 155

Type Area 94 x 64 Trim n/a Bleed n/a

Type Area 190 x 65 Trim n/a Bleed n/a

Picture by Luke Mayes

UK TENNIS MAGAZINE: DANIELA HANTUCHOVA