My Coach – November 2014 issue

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From the Coach Coaches Conference My Tennis Life

FROM THE COACH

Devastating delivery This month we feature a stunning sequence of images of Grigor Dimitrov’s serve. A high speed camera has captured 35 frames that allows you to observe aspects that aren’t possible with the human eye.

Dimitrov, a top 10 player coached by Australia’s Roger Rasheed, uses this serve to great effect.

Geoff Quinlan is Tennis Australia’s Manager of Coach and Talent Development.

Geoff is a qualified Tennis Australia High Performance coach and has a Bachelor of Applied Science (Honours) in Human Movement and Sport Science.

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Note the following technical fundamentals of Dimitrov’s serve: – Ball release at eye level – Hitting arm trails the ball toss arm – Foot back technique – Deep knee bend

– Significant shoulder tilt

– Full extension at impact

– Leg drive up to impact

– Landing inside the baseline

– Vigorous internal rotation through impact

– Arabesque on follow through

– Forearm pronation bringing the strings onto the ball

Note: The bold statements refer to enlarged images.

NOVEMBER 2014 AUSTRALIAN TENNIS MAGAZINE

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COACHES CONFERENCE

Pride in

performance With his own path to becoming a winning athlete and top trainer requiring many sacrifices and a lot of hard work, ALLISTAIR McCAW will be sharing tennis and life lessons in equal measure at Melbourne Park this summer.

M

ost athletes encounter obstacles as they target elite professional goals, but few are likely to have faced them as early as Allistair McCaw. Raised in Johannesburg, South Africa, McCaw knew he loved tennis as soon as he picked up a racquet at around eight years of age – but opportunities to actually play it weren’t always readily available.

“Having a new can of balls in those days for me was like Christmas,” recalls McCaw, who would climb under the fence of his local club and hit for hours against a wall. “I would find balls in the long grass near the courts.

We could never afford coaching or club fees, so I decided to get good enough so the club could choose me for their senior league team.”

That strategy led to McCaw winning the club’s Senior

unique era. “I experienced the pain of apartheid, I witnessed Nelson Mandela being released and I watched sanctions fall from sport,” he says. “Sport in South Africa was and still is an incredible tool to nation building and pride.”

Having gone on to excel in many athletic endeavours of his own – he was a national junior athletics champion and recently achieved a goal to complete 12 marathons in 12 months – McCaw is now instilling that pride in other athletes.

A string of top players have benefited from McCaw’s training techniques, including Svetlana Kuznetsova, Dinara Safina, Xavier Malisse and Bernard Tomic. His proven “McCaw Method” of training has also led to work with world-class golfers (such as 2012 Australian Open golf champion Jess Korda, daughter of former ATP No.10

“Tennis, like most sports gives us so many valuable lessons like respect, discipline, accountability and working together with others.”

ALLISTAIR McCAW Championships at age 13 (“They decided to waive my registration fee!” he relates) but after rising to become the 11th ranked player in South Africa U/14, an alternative sport beckoned. “I stopped due to the costs,” he explains. “It would drive my parents nuts so I decided to take up running. A pair of shoes was cheaper.”

But those early years in the game had strengthened a natural competitive spirit – as did McCaw’s upbringing in a 62

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Petr Korda), world No.1 squash players, cricketers, runners, ice hockey stars and others.

McCaw says the focus on a range of sports helps provide a broad perspective that can lead to greater all-round development. “I believe that being specific in one is important, but knowing other sports and working with them gives you great insights into how others do it.

Some of exercises and drills

originate from other sports like basketball,” he points out.

Coaches will have the chance to learn from McCaw at the Grand Slam Coaches Conference to be staged at Melbourne Park from 15 –18 January. The Floridabased athlete was one of the most popular presenters at the same event earlier this year as he explored such topics as tennis as a deceleration point, how to build coordination, linking the upper and lower body, as well as how to train athletes to make them better, and not to make them tired.

Among the topics that will be covered in 2015 is how careful training can prevent injuries, especially in younger players.

“I’d like to bring across the fact that a healthy athlete is a happy and winning athlete,” says McCaw, who’ll demonstrate some Prehab, or “bits ’n pieces” exercises, at Melbourne Park.

“A coach or academy whose players are constantly injured is not going to attract more players. They need to sell what I call a ‘protection plan’ in their coaching package, not just a fitness program,“ he explains.

If McCaw’s own example is any indication, there’ll be some

priceless lessons for coaches to take home. Explaining that he gains as much satisfaction from watching a senior player achieving their club level goals as he does watching the pros he’s trained achieve Grand Slam success, the Florida-based trainer is clearly qualified to bring out athlete’s best.

“I have always been a highly motivated individual, I didn’t need anyone to motivate me. So now with being a coach, it’s easy for me to motivate and get the best from those I train,” he says.

Perhaps most valuable are the lessons that are applicable to life as they are too sport. “Tennis, like most sports gives us so many valuable lessons like respect, discipline, accountability and working together with others,” McCaw notes.

“I am all about building people and not just a player. A great coach to me is someone who can give their athlete more than just athletic or game skills.

It’s a big scary world out there after tennis, so you better be prepared.”

You can register for the Australian Grand Slam Coaches at tennis. com.au/coachesconference.

The art of anticipation Ever wondered how players like Roger Federer are almost always in the right spot at the right time? ALLISTAIR McCAW explains the art of anticipation.

T

he most important athletic skill an athlete can have is best developed before the age of 12. And what is this great characteristic found in the best athletes you ask? Anticipation.

Ever watched a player who doesn’t visually appear to have the physique to be athletically quick, but somehow seems to get to every ball or be in the right place all the time?

Ever wondered, besides other great attributes, why Roger Federer has been at the top of the game for so long?

Here’s why. The best movers on the court, not only have great footwork and movement skills, but also have the ability to read the game and anticipate. They see the play before it happens.

Even though the required muscle and properly trained

movement patterns are essential in developing a great mover, it’s the athlete’s ability to react and their reflexes that determine just how well they will move in their chosen sport.

Simply put, all movement starts with the brain telling the body that it needs to move. The neuromuscular system or ‘brain to body wiring’ as I like to call it, needs to be continually trained.

Good anticipation and response skills are essential qualities to being a good mover on a tennis court. Knowing the opponent’s next shot, the one that’s coming back, allows players to move early and into the correct position to be ready.

The key to a good mover in sport is that they react faster.

They are earlier into position and ready. Reaction and anticipation

exercises should be included into all movement programs, not just athletic based skills.

These skills are developed best in the ‘skill hungry’ years (between ages four and 12).

This is when an athlete is more teachable, pliable and receptive to acquiring the skill. The later an athlete is left to acquire reaction and anticipation skills in their development, the less chance that athlete is going to be a great mover.

It’s highly recommended that a coach or trainer develops and works on these motor skills in their kids’ sessions by including lots of games that involve challenging the child’s ABC’s: Agility, Balance and Coordination skills (catching and throwing).

Even still, when I’m giving my professional athletes a movement

Roger Federer is always ready for his next shot.

training session, I include anticipation and reaction skills as part of their routines. Great movers in sport read it early, they see it before it happens.

Train it early, when they’re young, and remember, all great movers are great anticipators!

ASIA PACIFIC’S PREMIER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT EVENT FOR COACHES

15–18 January 2015 The Australian Grand Slam® Coaches’ Conference is welcoming a range of high profile speakers again in 2015.

Join us at Melbourne Park — home of the Australian Open!

Nick Bollettieri

John Anderson

Allistair McCaw

Tennis legend and coach of over ten world #1 players.

Founder of international tourism business, Contiki Holidays.

A recognised leader in the field of athletic performance enhancement.

For more information and to register, visit tennis.com.au/coachesconference NOVEMBER 2014 AUSTRALIAN TENNIS MAGAZINE

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MY TENNIS LIFE

James Bolzonello is drawing on the positive example of some world-class role models as he instils a culture of hard work and competitive spirit in his students.

BRINGING

out their best I started playing tennis when I was 11 years old. My most memorable moment was the first ever Challenger I played. I remember coming down the stairs before the match and signing my first autograph.

It was amazing to have umpires and ballkids on the court.

constantly pushing their limits to expect the unexpected.

I want my students to have the ability to remain composed, controlled and calm during competition and meet every competitive situation with a positive and ambitious attitude.

I began coaching while I was still at college. I moved to England for 12 months after college, where I gained experience coaching at a resort and school. When I came back to Tasmania, I knew that coaching was the pathway I would take and make it a career.

At 23 years of age I became part owner of the Launceston Tennis Academy and have been coaching now for 10 years in my first and only career choice.

I am happy to be seen as a role model for my players. I see myself to be professional on and off the court and try to demonstrate to my students how they should conduct themselves.

We have a very strong group of under 12 players coming through, which I am very excited about. I recently took Samuel Elliston-Buckley and Samuel Whitehead to the National Talent Development Camp. Both of these players show great potential and are tracking very well. We also have a great group of under 10s coming through, some of which attended the Super 10s competition at Melbourne Park earlier this year.

The main attribute I want my students to take away from my coaching is confidence.

As a coach, I aim to encourage my students to achieve their personal best and maximise their full potential. I’m

You can take a lot from different sports in many areas of the game. But if a player wants to be the best, then they have to train harder than everybody else. There are no short cuts, only hard work.

I point out Novak Djokovic as a role model for my students. This is because of his competitiveness, his positive mindset and passion on court.

He is consistently pushing the limits of what's known in the

sport to the unknown and as a result pushes his opponents.

In the last couple of years we have had the development of the Launceston Regional Tennis Centre. This included nine hard courts and two synthetic clay courts. This has given the Launceston Tennis Academy the opportunity to build its client base and competition. We are now running eight Junior Development Series and Hot Shots tournaments a year. We have increased numbers in our junior Friday night competition, which in turn has helped increase memberships ‌ We are now seeing a more competitive culture in the north of our state.

The coach-player relationship I have with my students is built on trust. My players trust that I am teaching them to become the best players they can be.

I have high expectations of my players and go into every lesson with a plan and clear objectives to make the player better, regardless of their standard of play.

BUILDING TR UST: The Ta smanian co encourages ach young play er strive for ne w personal s to constantly highs.

James Bolzonello QUALIFICATIONS: coach Tenn is Australia Club Professional CLUB: Tasmania Launceston Regional Tennis Centre, OTHER: Talent Development coach, ANZ Tennis Hot Shots mentor, Cardio Tennis mentor

I aim to inspire my players with their work ethic by pushing myself every time I am on court. If the players can see that I am able and willing to give them 100 per cent intensity, professionalism, then that is the standard.

The best part of my job is seeing each and every player improve and developing myself and my coaching philosophy.

I gained professional development training from Melbourne coaches Bernhard Goerlitz and Alex Jago last year. This was a great experience for me, as I was able to experience first hand the high performance environment of the National Academy at Melbourne Park.

I also had the privilege of working with other worldclass coaches and professional players in the National Academy and AIS, which was inspiring.

My future goals as a coach include further developing my coaching ability by doing the Tennis Australia High Performance coaching course.

I want to spend as much time with National Coach Simon Youl as he has a wealth of knowledge and experience I can learn from and I would also like to get more involved with the National Academy structure. I will also continue to develop and inspire young players.

DANIELA TOLESKI NOVEMBER 2014 AUSTRALIAN TENNIS MAGAZINE

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