My Coach - April 2011 issue

A SECTION DEDICATED TO TENNIS AUSTRALIA COACH MEMBERS Tennis Australia Coach Membership T: 03 9914 4191 F: 03 9650 1040 Email: coachmembership@tennis.com.au Website: www.tennis.com.au/membership

56 C hange for the better: As seasons and circumstances

change, coaches are finding many innovative means to adapt.

58 T raining and volume: a scientific view on the time and effort required to develop skill.

60 A natural talent: National Talent Development coach

Emma Doyle loves the challenge in developing elite players.

61 W hat do you see? Stefan Edberg provides a perfect example in pin point volleying.

62 C oach Corner 64 C oach Talk

A SECTION DEDICATED TO TENNIS AUSTRALIA COACH MEMBERS Tennis Australia Coach Membership T: 03 9914 4191 F: 03 9650 1040 Email: coachmembership@tennis.com.au Website: www.tennis.com.au/membership

Change for the better Change is a constant factor within our lives and coaching is no different, with the way you adapt to change the key in making a difference to your business. By Daniela Toleski

Coaches have seen the positives since the introduction of MLC Tennis Hot Shots.

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ou probably have a routine that you follow religiously, but as times change your creature of habit tendencies will need to adapt to what you’re facing at the moment.

Change can be awkward and sometimes really uncomfortable, forcing you to face your fears of the unknown. On the other hand, change can be positive as it promotes growth and new opportunities that you wouldn’t have experienced without the change.

“Everyone hopes they can handle change. I think we’re all stuck in our own routine and I think going to courses and seeing other successful coaches and other successful programs throughout Australia can only be helpful,” Tennis Australia Club Professional coach Arron Klumpp says.

“When you see things from other coaches that’s when you realise that you can do something better. Not saying they’re the best or you have to do what they’re doing, but you can adapt to it. That’s what the biggest move is – taking a risk which can change your whole business.”

They’ll come a point when the risk will have to be made otherwise if you don’t move with change you’ll eventually get left behind.

“You need to recognise when you need to change. You need to know what your client wants but you also need to be up-to-date with what’s coming out of Tennis Australia,” Tennis Australia Junior Development coach Nicky Mayer says.

Get in early

MyCoach

With the Australian Open held during the school holidays in January and broadcast nationally, tennis is at the forefront of many people’s minds and often is the inspirational factor that begins a child’s interest in the sport.

“I start straight after the Australian Open, as soon as the first week of school is back. And with a lot of sports starting later, I’m able to begin earlier,” Klumpp says.

Based in Burdekin, Queensland traditionally having a big following in rugby league Klumpp can begin tennis lessons up to a month earlier.

As well as being coach, Mayer is also the centre manager of Tennis Gove in the Northern Territory and changed the club’s financial year to run on a calendar year.

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Make-up lessons or off-court activities could be part of your wet weather policy.

“The main reason behind this was to take advantage of the Australian Open on TV. Cricket is also on TV around this time, but I don’t have to compete with them as there is no cricket in Gove. Everyone wants to get out and play when the Australian Open hits the big screen,” she says.

“To target new people to town, we run adverts in our local paper and place posters on our town noticeboard. In my region everything operates around school terms.

Structuring coaching programs, competitions and tournaments around this is our best option. Getting on the court before the other sports start up assists us in getting our numbers.”

Offer flexibility More and more these days people expect flexibility and this can only help you to retain athletes, especially when the other sport seasons commence.

“When soccer starts the kids move around the other timetables available and this keeps them in the sport. Trying not to let them go means flexibility is a must, otherwise they won’t come anymore,” Klummp says.

While Tennis Australia Club Professional coach Pat Coburn, based in the Northern Territory, believes that flexibility in all facets is required.

“With weather we have a flexible payment system, making sure that we are very flexible in terms of letting kids do make-up, making sure we’re flexible in what sort of lessons we’re delivering. Flexible with the payment system and flexible with the hours of how many times a week a certain type of lesson will be offered,” he says.

Obviously some parents will only allow

their child to participate in one sport, but as tennis is an individual sport, flexibility seems to be attained more easily than for team sports.

“Having said that, you can’t be the lone ranger sitting alone, so get together, get into groups. I have about eight coaches working which allows us to have a number of lesson options. You just can’t provide the service alone,” Coburn says.

Dealing with weather constraints Being an outside sport more often than not you’ll have to face some weather constraints.

Programs or policies in place to deal with weather need to be in place to assist you.

“My policy is even if it’s rained within half an hour before the lesson and it’s stopped raining I’ll try to push through for the younger kids. Because we’re in tropical Queensland, it can be a passing shower and then in half an hour we can get back on court,” Klumpp says.

“But obviously if it’s squads, we go in the clubhouse and work tactically and set goals for the year and we can do physical training inside rather than let the rain worry us too much.”

“We always try to catch up if weather is a factor and we work until the last week of school. We have some sort of plan for it, we fit in catch ups, but if it has to be weekends, it’s weekends.”

While in the Northern Territory, Mayer needs to contend with not only rain, but also the heat with both having implications on her business.

“I can struggle with the heat in our build up season, so I avoid starting training

A pathway to reach potential Showing your athletes the pathway will allow them to see the next step and is a good tool in assisting them to realise where they are and where they can get to.

MLC Tennis Hot Shots has been instrumental in the last four years in allowing children to play tennis right from the beginning.

“The kids that aren’t ready for that tournament level participate in MLC Tennis Hot Shots and the kids seem to love it,” Klumpp says.

“The participation levels have grown as kids are on court and hitting balls as opposed of lining up and hitting balls in the past.

That’s probably the biggest thing I’ve seen and it’s really been positive.”

Coburn has noticed that over the years a kid’s expectation has changed.

“I think we became more successful when we recognised that the child that was coming to us wanted to play tennis, not necessarily to learn tennis and we had to wrap our lessons or any coaching and teaching had to be wrapped within a concept of letting them play and experience tennis,” he says.

While Mayer sees the athlete development pathways growing and developing further through the years.

“What was in place a few years ago will not be around today. The bar is always shifting, higher. This is a good thing though as this means our athletes are getting better,” she says.

One thing you can be sure of is that change, no matter how hard it may seem at the time, will allow your business to move with the times and continue to compete with the many options available to athletes.

Australian Tennis Magazine | April 2011

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Being flexible can help you compete with other sport seasons.

sessions too early after school and finish later. Parents usually appreciate this also,” Mayer says.

“If it is wet, some lessons may be cancelled but we try to avoid this if we can and with our squad athletes we use this opportunity to do player goal setting, time schedules, nutrition and hydration and sometimes some gym work.”

Once again flexibility assists Coburn when dealing with the weather.

“The only thing we really have in place is a flexible make-up system and a flexible payment system, where they can pay for the term or just pay for the lessons that they come to. And then in the squads it doesn’t matter whether it’s wet, they’ll be on the ladders or put on the boxing gloves, they really love being physical, the kids that are really committed to tennis. But in the beginner area we also have an undercover area we can coach in,” Coburn says.

Talking Points:

How much practice is required to develop Tennis Skill?

Damian Farrow – Senior Skill Acquisition Specialist at the AIS and Professor of Sport Science at Victoria University, Bruce Elliott – Professor of Biomechanics at the University of Western Australia and Rob Leeds – Talent Search and Development Coordinator share their insights with Dr Machar Reid.

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MyCoach

R: In its efforts to advance coaching, the sport science discipline of skill acquisition occasionally appears to have created more confusion than it has clarity.

To this end, the ‘10,000 hour rule’ has become very quickly embedded in the vernacular of sport. Has it been misrepresented particularly in tennis?

DF: Good question. I will just clarify one thing. I don’t necessarily think it’s the discipline of skill acquisition that has created the confusion. I think what has happened is that a number of popular authors, for example Malcolm Gladwell to name one, have picked up on the concept and translated it into popular science. Unfortunately for skill acquisition in some respects, more coaches read Gladwell and the like than our work – which is a bit of an indictment on us. Sometimes the message then gets misconstrued; in this instance that 10,000 hours is a prerequisite to becoming an expert performer.

What we do know of deliberate practice – which is where this 10,000 hour rule comes from – is that it’s a very specific form of practice and that it’s also one that needs to meet specific criteria. Not all practice is the same. As the name deliberate practice implies, it’s very deliberate, it’s structured to improve your current performance level, and it’s very specific to the skills or the sport that you’re performing, it requires a very concerted effort on behalf of the player and it’s not necessarily enjoyable. However, most people think that you practice deliberately every time you step on a tennis court and knock up tennis balls ... and if you accumulate 10,000 hours of that, you’re away; you’re going to be an expert. I Targeting specific areas of reiterate all practice technique, such as an improved is not equal and backhand may come at the for practice to be expense of other areas of a player’s game. considered deliberate 58

Australian Tennis Magazine | April 2011

it has to meet a number of very stringent criteria.

RL: I think Damian’s right in pointing to Gladwell and his contemporaries and the impact that their books, articles and commentaries have made on the thought processes of many coaches. It’s been positive in that it’s heightened everyone’s awareness of the investment of time required, yet, it cannot just be any investment of time. Of course, it’s a generalisation but I think that there has been the tendency to interpret the 10,000 hours as an endorsement of the traditional high volume, high repetition practice structures and the need to rack up hours on court.

One point I would like to add is that I think it’s important to contextualise the type of player that we are talking about ... we’re not really referring to those players who participate in tennis for fun. Deliberate practice, and the accumulation of deliberate practice, becomes all important for those players who have ‘specialised’ or who have exhibited the desire and interest to become a professional tennis player.

MR: As mentioned above, the 10,000 hours of deliberate practice (or the 10 year rule) is commonly referenced, however is there any tennis specific evidence to guide us here? Or are we simply borrowing from other sports to fill in the gaps of our own understanding as a sport?

DF: There is some early work, not necessarily done under the premise of deliberate practice that certainly demonstrates that you do need significant investment from a relatively young age to be an elite tennis player. But, on the whole, tennis is borrowing from the literature of other sports quite a lot.

I think one of the key things that we need to further tease out is something that Rob has mentioned. You can have high volume, high repetition practice sessions that are not considered to be deliberate practice. So, for

MR: Can you elaborate on an example of deliberate practice in a tennis context? Where does competition fit?

DF: We’ve already touched on the criteria that are considered to comprise deliberate practice. Basically, it’s where a player with or without the help of a coach has decided to improve their current performance level and have actively engaged in that process. So, if they are going to change an element of their forehand technique, deliberate practice in its most rudimentary form would see players set aside practice time to intentionally work on that aspect of their forehand – often at the expense of other parts of their game. It may involve hitting 1000 of the same type of balls or it may feature live ball drills or game play – the point is that players are actively engaged. It is hard work and they are not necessarily getting an immediate reward for their investment.

Where does competition fit? Well, this is where some of the more academic arguments may occur. The original theory was built off musicians. It was all to do with solo practice activity. It had nothing to do with sport.

When it was transferred to sport, researchers did not count the number of hours of competition within their tallies or descriptions of deliberate practice. And to me competition is an essential part of practice if it meets the criteria that we’ve just talked about. Has the coach watched the player compete? Have they discussed the lessons learned from the competitive outing? Has the player taken

Deliberate practice is underpinned by the notion that not all practice is the same.

some sort of ownership over their competitive performance and reflected on their decisions within the match? That is deliberate competition practice and fits beautifully within the model. However, if you’re just heading out there and going through the motions during matchplay, not really thinking about what you’re doing, well, competition probably cannot be considered in that way.

MR: Twenty years ago, Australian summers would see virtually every kid under the age of 12 pick up a tennis racquet and play. It doesn’t seem to happen as much anymore. Surely this would contribute positively toward the accumulation of those 10,000 hours. Why are kids playing less? Is this related to the push toward ‘early specialisation’?

RL: I think this change is multi-factorial.

For example, the extra competition that we have from other sports and the fact that other sports are increasingly savvy at getting kids to participate younger and retaining them is a big factor. Kids used to play AFL in the winter and cricket in the summer – now though, an increasing number of young kids feel the need to choose one or the other. A lack of prominent role models has contributed to fewer kids playing locally also. That said, Sam’s impact among the young females is noticeable across the group of players and coaches that I interact with. Also, on a positive note, we have the MLC Tennis Hot Shots program growing exponentially.

With regards to ‘specialisation’, the sport is getting tougher; it’s not getting easier. You

have to reach a high level fairly early – so, in this respect, I think it’s the sport itself that is dictating the dedication required to reach the top. I don’t think it’s necessarily governed by anything else other than that.

DF: Specialisation, as with the 10,000 hour rule, has been popularised and therefore it’s probably taken on a more significant perspective than science originally had planned. I think in general, society is assisting with that occurring though. I saw on the internet that you can buy little harnesses to help teach your kids to walk sooner ... normally kids just work that out for themselves. Sport is beginning to follow suit.

The idea that the earlier you start, the better is an example of just that.

BE: When I walk around the streets I see lots of people playing tennis in a structured format. I see the same with football and soccer. But what’s missing in my mind is the concept of unstructured practice; the concept where kids play with each other; where kids hit against a wall; where kids in actual fact experience the ability to develop rhythm or some of the other foundations that underpin sound technique. For example, the only way that a young player will learn to use their wrist through full range is by participating in this sort of practice ... rather than having coaches continually structure things. So, in this sense I think Hot Shots is a great format.

NEXT MONTH: The experts discuss the link between deliberate practice and specialisation.

Australian Tennis Magazine | April 2011

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me, it cannot always be about how much but rather the quality of what’s being done and its purpose. If you have high purpose and high quality and you do 10,000 hours, you’re going to be a better player than one that does 10,000 hours of practice, which is low in quality and low in purpose. That’s a pretty simple message.

BE: And this really is where things can get confused. No one really knows how to measure the 10,000 hours, nor in fact whether it’s 10,000 hours that are required. We know that it’s a sizeable investment of time over a number of years – more importantly though within that, it’s the manner in which you practice that is critical. As Damian has mentioned, not all practice is equal.

The other side of the coin is that once something is developed, say technique, subsequent modifications do not require that same extensive investment of time. In using technique as an example, the amount of time required to make technical change is a function of the problem itself and the appropriateness of the interventions used. In other words, I don’t think that the importance of deliberate practice subsides when expertise is reached.

Coaching: a natural talent

plied of Ap Doyle mma Bachelor and E : e e : hing Exercis Nam cations Coac in ifi Qual e (Sports Majoring a High c li : Scien istration is Austra States n d in Adm logy, Ten ch, Unite tion a ia io Phys mance Co nis Assoc te IV and r a n c o e f T r ifi t l e ss r a P e 1, Ce usine ssion igenc Profe cate – Pro ce and B nal Intell ates la c p io ifi t ifi k t t o r r r o e C W Em el 1 Ce ma ( ified Diplo g), Cert NOS), Lev and in ll th E h c G a ( reng Basketba Co er fit, St d tition Prac acise, Vic rition an e ut ox ourn pment in: B ioning, N Melb it lo ping, nt Deve cilitator, Cond g p E a ale ity hin coac eisure C stralia T earning F e u at L :L Club : Tennis A stralia – E Corpor u C r Othe Tennis A liverer, A ach e o h, Coac Tennis d I Sports c io E Card ator and it Facil

Having recently become the new Director of Tennis at Leisure City Epping in Melbourne’s northern suburbs, Emma Doyle feels that her 20 years of coaching experience will help her provide a world-class program with first-class facilities.

MyCoach

“T

he goal of every player in our program is simply to realise their potential in tennis, by developing technically efficient and tactically smart tennis players. In addition, through the teaching environment, they are encouraged to love the battle of competition, maximise their athleticism and develop into well rounded and balanced people,” Doyle says.

Doyle’s coaching experience comes from a broad range of mentors and influences. Her first moment of inspiration came from David Parkin, former Carlton coach and her course coordinator at Deakin University. As a mentor he encouraged her to take her own tennis as far as possible before turning to the coaching profession.

With this advice, Doyle deferred her university course and choose the US college tennis pathway with a division one scholarship to Middle Tennessee State University where she was awarded Most Valuable Player in 1995.

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Australian Tennis Magazine | April 2011

“Having played college tennis myself, I can honestly say that it is an exceptional way to hit thousands of balls, continue to have an education and learn how to truly compete and grow as a person. As a result I have helped eight other players gain US scholarships, all of whom have excelled and still had the opportunity to turn professional post college.”

Doyle’s competitiveness began early, way back as a seven-year-old slugging it out on the grass tennis courts of suburban Melbourne. But it was in the US that Doyle discovered her real talent of coaching. It came naturally and she had the ability to analyse and correct within minutes.

“I’ve gained some great experience and knowledge from working at top tennis academies in the United States including Nick Bollettieri’s Tennis Academy where I was fortunate to observe the Williams sisters and Maria Sharapova and learn from the training they received in their early developmental years,” Doyle says.

“Whilst working at Saddlebrook Tennis Academy I gleaned crucial pieces of training methods including an element of Pete Sampras’ serve which I still make reference to in my coaching today.”

After Doyle’s USA, Mexico, Canada and UK coaching experiences, she went on to spend more than seven years coaching internationally on the junior and senior world tennis circuits.

She has coached some of our nation’s finest tennis players and was the coach for both the Australian Junior Fed Cup Team (16/u) and the World Championships (14/u) – numerous times finishing inside the top eight every year.

“When you are representing Australia and wearing the green and gold uniform, the pressure is high and being able to sit on court and impact the players directly, this situation requires you to step up as a coach. Years later, it is very rewarding when I see some of these players starting to make their mark at a senior level. You know you have made an impact when players, such as Isabella Holland and Sally Peers, reminisce about specific matches and experiences from their earlier years during our touring days.”

After her travelling coaching roles, Doyle

became interested in a wider vision to further impact her players. This led to further study in areas of life coaching, corporate facilitation (team building through behavioural styles) and emotional intelligence.

“Since broadening my skill set in these areas I believe that I have become a much better coach by developing NLP (neuro-linquisticprograming) and positive communication skills to bring out the best qualities in a player due to accelerated learning,” Doyle says.

And this is seen through the records she has achieved, and continues to achieve, with high results in developing talented young athletes.

“Currently under my instruction at Leisure City Epping, I have two players, a natural lefthanded player in Bethany Toner (11 years old) and a great court tactician in Connor Di Marco (10 years old), who are very exciting to watch and names to look out for in the future,” Doyle says.

Consequently Doyle has been recently recognised by Tennis Australia as a Talent Development Coach which is a national program to help develop elite young tennis players. She also has a role with many people who are beginning their coaching journey as a Tennis Australia Learning Facilitator for the Junior Development and Club Professional courses.

“My player improvement philosophy begins focusing on building and creating the environment. Once this occurs, it’s possible to create a challenge which encourages players to problem solve which ultimately helps build healthy competitors.“ “There is nothing more rewarding than seeing one of your students improve and grow as a person, player, decision maker, risk taker, be goal driven and see tennis as a life sport.”

Emma Doyle helps peo ple begin their coaching careers as a Tennis Australia Learning Fac ilitator.

What do you see?

By the Stroke Master

While the serve volleyer is not common in today’s game, players are still transitioning to the net to finish the point. More often this is behind aggressive ground strokes. While ground stroke strength did not feature as much as his net prowess, Stefan Edberg was recognised for his pinpoint volleying. Below he shows us his forehand volley in a match played on the ATP Champions Tour.

Head is balanced and eyes are focus on the contact zone.

Hips are low to suit the level of the oncoming ball.

Forward movement generates power at impact.

MyCoach

Wrist is stable, racquet face is vertical and strings are aligned towards his target.

Australian Tennis Magazine | April 2011

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Coaches’ corner

The ‘magic moment’: when a coach makes a difference

What makes people listen to the right advice? How do you engage and inspire the hearts and minds of athletes and have them grasp every session, every minute, every moment as if it was their last? By Wayne Goldsmith Frustration

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ithout doubt the most frustrating times for a coach are when talented athletes, or any athletes for that matter, do not perform to their full potential.

Even worse, is when the coach knows, or at least believes, that the reason why the athlete has not performed to their full potential is due to an error or mistake or flaw in their own coaching. That somehow there was some way to have touched the heart of the athlete, inspired their mind and challenged their soul and magically, miraculously the athlete turned it all around to become all they could be.

As a coach you are looking to deliver the right information to the right athlete at the right moment: the ‘magic moment’. The moment when the athlete is as ready to hear the message as you are to give it. That moment when you and your coaching made all the difference.

Knowing coaches the world over, you are always ready for the moment. You live for those moments. And that’s the problem.

It’s not your moment – it never was: it’s the athlete’s.

You can’t hurry magic

MyCoach

Ever heard the song, You can’t hurry love? It goes: You can’t hurry love.

You just have to wait.

You know love don’t come easy.

It’s a game of give and take.

The ‘magic moment’ is like this. You can’t hurry athletes to be ready to listen to the message any more than your parents or relatives could have forced you to save money or study hard or believe in yourself: you have to be ready to deliver the message when the athlete is ready to hear it.

The motivation myth Motivational speaking is a thriving business. Motivation is a myth or at least the 62

Australian Tennis Magazine | April 2011

belief that someone with some snappy sayings like “If you believe you can or believe you can’t, you are right” can walk into a room and motivate people to do something is a myth …. that is unless the people in the room were ready to be motivated.

You can yell, you can scream, you can bribe, you can jump up and down wearing a clown suit, you can come up with all the slogans and sayings known to mankind, you can do whatever you want to but a motivation talk without the ‘magic moment’ is just hot air.

So how do you know when the ‘magic moment’ has arrived?

Sometimes the ‘magic moment’ comes like a bolt of lightning. An athlete will walk up to you and say, “Coach, I want to be the best Can you help me get to the top?”.

Sometimes it is a subtle thing and the ‘magic moment’ evolves out of a series of little changes in behaviour. The athlete arrives early for training and starts warming up without any instructions. Or they stay back to do a little extra training without being asked to. Or they do 11 repetitions in the gym when they were supposed to be doing 10.

And sometimes the ‘magic moment’ just emerges in an unexpected situation like sitting next to an athlete on the bus and in the course of conversation they say, “I would like to break the world record coach. I dream about it sometimes. But I have never felt able to talk to you about it”. No matter when, where, why or how the ‘magic moment’ presents itself be ready for it.

Coaches don’t get older, they just get better at knowing when to use the magic wand

Australian captain David Taylor was courtside for Jarmila Groth’s magical Fed Cup debut.

I recently had breakfast with two of the greatest coaches I have ever known with over 80 years collective experience at international level coaching. We were discussing – you guessed it – coaching and I asked one of them why they had been so successful for so long.

He replied, “I believe you take out of coaching what you took into it. You have a box of tricks, skills and abilities that are part of who you are and what you believe. When you begin coaching, you throw everything you have at every athlete every day the same way. It’s tiring. It’s frustrating and it just does not work.

After a while you learn that by saying or doing the right thing at the right moment, you can make a real difference to the life of an athlete. As you get more experienced you just get better at identifying that moment”.

So here’s a challenge. Look at your own athletes. Write down their names. And write next to their names two things: 1. How will you recognise when their ‘magic moment’ has arrived?

2. What will you say and do when it does?

Read the full version of this blog at sportscoachingbrain.com/magic-coachingmoments or sign up for regular email posts from Wayne Goldsmith at sportscoachingbrain.com.

Morningside Tennis Centre Open Day

Activities included: n MLC Tennis Hot Shot promotion n Hit the target n Tennis Australia promotional equipment n Racquet demo – Don Nicol from HEAD and Mike Osborne from Dunlop Slazenger

n Social tennis n Lessons with coach

Result from the Open Day: n Two more trainee coaches employed as a result of increase in numbers n Doubled first term numbers from last year (kids) n MLC Tennis Hot Shots numbers were 40 at end of last year and is at 53 so far this year.

Side note: In more recent months I have been able to provide work to those coaches affected by the floods.

Social media has an impact Incorporating social media with our business has helped us to promote our club and receive feedback from our customers. (see right).

Ross Orford, Tennis Australia Club Professional Coach

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Serious about your tennis?

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MyCoach

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orningside Tennis Centre’s 2011 Open Day saw more than 200 tennis fans sample our programs and services between 10am and 2pm on Sunday 30 January 2011.

Our free half-hour adult and junior coaching sessions were very popular, and hitting the targets during our serving and ball machine competitions proved a fun challenge. The free half hour court hire slots also filled up quickly with families and friends inspired by the Australian Open, whilst those needing new racquets had the opportunity to talk with HEAD and Dunlop Slazenger representatives and trial stock.

Participants also had an opportunity to chat with our staff about our programs and membership over a free BBQ lunch ensuring the Morningside Tennis Centre’s Open Day was the most successful yet.

Visit us at www.lifetimetennis.com.au Or Phone 07 3261 7777 or 07 3716 0077 Australian Tennis Magazine | April 2011

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Coach Talk

Turn your vehicle into an effective marketing tool with Tennis branded car signage

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t just $29 (incl. GST) Tennis Australia qualified coach members can purchase the Tennis branded personalised artwork for car windows. Whether driving or parked, car signage is a moving advertisement that increases awareness of your coaching services and business within the community. Simply take the artwork and specification sheet provided after purchase to your local sign-writer to arrange quote and installation. Visit tennis.com.au/coaches/ membership/benefits/marketing to download the order form and view all products available to assist you with promoting your business.

Get an Advantage with a Tennis Australia coach

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f you would like more copies of the Tennis Australia coach poster or the customised PDF which can be used to promote your coaching qualifications and business in schools or for use in your local newspaper please email coachmembership@tennis.com.au.

Tennis branded backpacks and leather compendiums are available now

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he backpack features two main compartments with a laptop padded and secure pouch within one of the compartments. The bag is full of features including: pockets on either side for drink bottles, mobile phone holder, iPod/MP3 holder with earphone opening to listen whilst backpack is on, pen holders, mesh zippered pouch for coins etc., internal clip for your key ring and also has padded adjustable straps.

The professional portfolio compendium

zips securely around the cover. Features include zippered expandable compartments and business card pockets. It also contains an A4 lined note pad, stylish ballpoint pen and multi-function calculator. The compendium is leather with the Tennis Australia logo embossed on the front right hand bottom corner.

Order now through the Australian Open shop – click on the coaches section and have your My Tennis ID ready to ensure you get your discount.

Are you an MLC Tennis Hot Shots deliverer?

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LC Tennis Hot Shots is Tennis Australia’s official kids’ starter program. Aimed at children aged 5–12 it uses modified courts, racquets and balls to keep things fun and easy. The program is an exciting way for children to get into tennis and is based on a ‘learning through play’ philosophy.

The program is designed to let children develop

MyCoach

Coach Education update

J

ust as Term 1 is a hectic term for all coaches across Australia, Tennis Australia’s Coach Education team has also had a busy start to the year with 52 coaches in South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales completing their Junior Development Coaching Qualification.

Furthermore, the intake of participants completing the Intro to MLC Tennis Hot Shots coaching course has continued to flourish,

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Australian Tennis Magazine | April 2011

technically and tactically, and is a great complement to your coaching business. Coaches are required to be an approved deliverer to participate in the program. Register now at the discounted rate of $98 for registration until 30 June 2011. Contact your state tennis association by phone (03) 9914 4107 or visit tennis.com.au/ mlctennishotshots to sign up today.

with 10 Intro to MLC Tennis Hot Shots coaching courses delivered Australia wide. If you are interested in participating in one of our five coaching courses/qualifications visit tennis.com. au/coaches/education.

The delivery of Professional Development workshops continues to be Tennis Australia’s priority and many workshops on various themes have already been conducted in each state.

Furthermore, the Cardio Tennis Workshop will be a big part of Professional Development in the coming months. With more Professional Development workshops scheduled make sure you don’t miss out in attending the next one that is conducted in an area near you.

For further information on all upcoming Professional Development workshops visit tennis.com.au/coaches/education/workshops.

Baseline to baseline – volume and intensity Focus: taking time away from the opponent, hitting depth with consistency and balance Stage: explore (4–7 years), develop (7–10 years), encourage (10–12 years ), enhance (12–15 years), cultivate (15–17 years), performance (17+ years) Equipment: nil Time: 30 mins

Objective Technical: balance, quick preparation and explosive movements.

Tactical: taking time away from the opponent, hitting depth with consistancy and learning to hit shots with angle.

A

Description 1 • One player stands inside the baseline and the other player stands behind the baseline.

• The coach or player can feed the ball in and the players work together to keep a rally.

• Player inside the court should hit all balls on the rise and not move beyond the baseline.

• The other player looks to hit the ball deep to challenge the player inside the court.

• These drills can also be done on red, orange, and green courts.

B

Possible progressions

B

Key

• Cross court deuce court/recovering around a target after each hit.

• Cross court ad court/recovering around a target after each hit.

• Alternating hits inside and outside baseline.

• 2 v 1.

• Full court: after each hit touch singles tram line on opposite side the ball is hit.

• Points after pre-determined rally i.e. eight shots.

• Points.

Coach

Coach feed

Ball direction

Player

Thrower/Catcher

Player movement

Spot markers Drop down lines

MyCoach

A

Buckets Hoops

Australian Tennis Magazine | April 2011

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