Never Let Good Enough be good enough!

Some weeks ago I had a great conference meeting with some of my junior’s parents. It is fun to work with parents so dedicated to getting their children the best instruction. The young athletes want wins and now! However, hurrying up the development process is not an easy or good idea with junior athletes. I know little miss or mr. precocious looks so cute with their kill-shots and splats it is tempting to rush junior or missy along the same paths. The best thing to do is to let and encourage children to practice what they have learned rather than …

I hate it when another coach jumps in and spoils what I am trying to do. I am fussy about what I do and how I do it. Mixed messages to athletes mess up the end result. Here is an example: Athlete has an issue hitting “floaters” cross court. Opponents get fooled, are out of position, recover and get the cross court pass. My solution is to change how my athlete is hitting the ball. So I have my athlete working away and fixing this problem. Enter Coach B, a well-meaning knowledgable player. Coach B begins telling my athlete the …

Yesterday I posted some feedback regarding my amazing athletes that have chosen me for a coach. I talked about the juniors and today- The adults What they get right- Adults understand life due to more experience and I find the guidance on different problems is not needed as much as it is for youngsters developing character and personality. That said, there are times, after I know the player, that the athlete needs a guidance session. Unlike the juniors the adults may stray from the court time and usually it is for good reasons. Family, life, work, school etc. are the …

I have some amazing young and older athletes that have signed on with me. Their desire to excel is the fuel that drives my passion for coaching. The Juniors These kids are trying to get all the information they can from me as fast as they can. They fill the court with hours of practice and strive for excellence. What they get right From day one kids get it. They practice, they work hard on their games and they want to have fun along the way. As soon as they learn they are ready to go try the new skills. …

So I have these athletes moving up through the chain of excellence. Their games get better and better. They defeat someone they have never beaten before and folks are beginning to notice their improvement. Then they (the athletes) begin to think, “I have arrived.” I don’t need to practice as much and I can just play and work out. When that happens their game begins to go south and stops its northern movement. The athlete has forgotten how they got there. When that happens for some reason many players forget the process of improvement and stay in the status quo. …

Leaning syndrome is a term I have coined after watching many players throughout my video reading. LS symptoms include, weak drive serves, poor footwork, and front wall side wall shots into center court. Quite simply LS occurs when the player has all their weight on the front foot and no weight on the back foot. This results in an all or nothing shot because if the shot is not great the footwork keeps the player from getting to the next shot. The cure for LS? Several-but here are a few of my favorites. Baseball pitchers put their knee on a …

Local Legend vs National I remember walking into one of my first tournaments. In came the rock star guys, the guys in the finals all the time. All eyes were on the top dogs. In walked me . No respect does not even cover it. I had no clue what I was doing and got wiped out early! Very early! To be fair this guy who pummeled me was 3rd ranked in the world as a pro and I knew I could beat him. Little did I know how long it would take me!! Two years later I found myself …

  From the archives!!! Friday-played some geezer ball with my sparring partner at 4, drove out to my secret lair and taught an up and coming young player and got home circa 8pm. Hit the office and broke down video for three players about to play in tournaments. Not playing these days due to health issues but staying active with walking and stationary bike Saturday-phone started early as the time changes means I get up at 8am eastern! Three junior doubles players in Nebraska–all winning their matches! Three players in South Carolina-all winning! (Present day updates: Still coaching online matches …

Every few months a player asks me about their shoulder or elbow pain. Usually they have a history of getting all sorts of advice from devices to put on elbows to going up in racquet size to getting lessons. The former are curing symptoms and the lessons could cure the cause! I watched them play and I saw the problems with the way they were hitting the ball. I identified what would hurt (a shoulder and an elbow and lower back to be specific) and then gave the cure. This player went to playing pain free immediately. Now here is …