STRAIGHT TALK

The largest problem in the tennis teaching and coaching industry today is that far too many so-called pros are teaching Conventional Tennis, which destroys instinct, intuition, athleticism, spirit and feel for the game. Conventional Tennis is unnatural, fighting against you every step of the way. Tennis is about feel. Conventional Tennis lessons kill feel because the pro is fixated on the exact mechanics of the stroke, making the student believe that mechanics performed correctly is the stroke. That is simply not true.

Throughout my coaching experience, I have witnessed dozens of players perform strokes mechanically and send the ball to the moon or to the closest pond, while other players that do not have the perfect stroke keep the ball in the court repeatedly without a problem. Why? This happens because of FEEL. Your internal senses must be developed through repetition. Within the repetition of your stroke you will find your unique style that works best because your internal senses are being fine tuned to help with your timing, balance, judgment, instincts, spirit and intuition. What is most important is the functionality of the stroke, not how it looks.

Looks aren’t everything - just ask Brad Gilbert, co-author of the book Winning Ugly. He surely didn’t play pretty tennis, but boy was he effective. He beat everybody who was anybody throughout his career. Remember the 1986 Masters in Madison Square Garden? Brad beat John McEnroe. Brad Gilbert’s genius was forcing the opponent to play their weakness against his strength, making them hit shots they didn’t like from spots they didn’t want – turning their game against themselves.

Ever wonder why kids from other parts of the world are getting better at a faster rate? The methods and training techniques are superior. These Coaches emphasize Modern Tennis techniques, integrating mental toughness skills into the training. In my entire life, I’ve only seen a handful of pros recognize and apply this in their lessons, training and overall coaching. I incorporate all of that and more with my students. The results speak for themselves. One of the greatest myths is that mental toughness cannot be improved – either you have it or you don’t. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. While we are all born with a certain genetic amount of mental toughness, the truth is that this can be enhanced or damaged. Mental toughness is a learned skill. I’m recognized for helping my students gain these skills and apply them in training that seamlessly transfers into match and tournament playing conditions.

I coached Kate Donnelly for three years. Under my coaching, her ranking moved up 72 spots, going from around 100th in New England to 28th in New England. The fact is, she beat players in the top 15, and now plays for Sacred Heart University Division One Tennis in the #1 singles position as a freshman, on a tennis and academic scholarship. Please read Kate's mother's testimonial to see what she said about my coaching.

If you need more proof, let me tell you about Joe Delinks, the Massachusetts State Singles Champion 2008 that I worked with heavily in preparing him for the biggest match of his life. Joe Delinks is a special young man. It was an honor and pleasure to be a part of his success in his quest to become the Massachusetts State Champion in Singles for 2008. Joe is a even better person than he is a player – this is a young man that will always be successful in the game of life most importantly. One thing that I will never stray from is the importance of being a good person. I will never put tennis ahead of being a good person. If my students were to become great players, but are lacking character, morals and ethics, than I have failed. Being a person first and a player second is what I preach. Win or loose, be first to the net to shake hands. Always respect the game, the opponent and the people watching and set the example in the face of frustration. People later in life will never remember the wins and losses. But they will always remember how you acted and how you handled yourself. Once you have the right perspective, the tennis will come easy because the foundation is built on rock. Everything is perspective. It is not what happens, it is how you handle it. Read Joe's testimonial here.

Once I teach you how to use your greatest weapon, your mind, and how to refocus and be a mental giant, that mind set will lead to flow, and then zone, the optimal state of mind every athlete wants to experience. Once there is no more conflict, everything is working with you. Your optimal performance is a result of mental mastery. Now you are unstoppable and the opponent is at your mercy. That is what I teach, so you can reach your full potential. It is the entire package that you must have to be a champion.

Modern Tennis instruction maximizes your instinct, intuition, athleticism, spirit and feel. The reason for this is the fact that Modern Tennis principles are based on physics and biomechanics. Physics determine everything that goes on with the tennis ball. Biomechanics have to do with human movement. The bottom line is that few people know how to teach Modern Tennis and, if taught properly, the result is that you never stop growing in your development.

The client may say, “I’m having trouble with my backhand,” or “my serve is not accurate.” That is presented to the instructor, and the instructors must change the way they teach to meet the need of each individual. The reason for this is that each individual has a different level of feel for their strokes. With that understood, the instructor must make an accurate assessment of the client’s feel to determine where to start the process of fixing the client’s strokes. The starting point is crucial because if you start trying to fix a particular stroke from the wrong starting point, there will be hitches behind the starting point that will ultimately destroy the feel, timing, rhythm and the relaxing follow-through, which is a by-product of good racquet head speed.

The lessons you have been taking brought you to those frustrating results. Discernment, which is the ability to see deeply within things, is lacking with a majority of the pros. They simply don’t have the gift, which leads to an inaccurate assessment of what is truly going on with your strokes, your game, your fitness, your mental toughness, movement and a variety of other things that must be assessed correctly for you to reach optimal results. Students have a tendency to blame themselves, thinking the instructor must know what he or she is doing - after all he/she is a pro, right? WRONG! Most teaching pros today are riddled with misconceptions, do not have the gift of teaching, and lack discernment.

These pros lack the ability to look deeply into what is at play. So it is no mystery why your game is suffering, not to mention our industry as a whole, because of the rigid, over-choreographed techniques. Did you know that in 1970, 40 million Americans were playing tennis, but by the year 2000 only 16 million were still participating? Why? Incorrect instruction, which leads to not playing well – who wants to continue with something that makes them feel bad or makes them unable to enjoy their time with the sport? If you are taught the wrong way, how can you feel comfortable? You can’t! So that is why people have left – to find something else far more enjoyable. People are victims of ignorance, and that is the real problem. The entire structure needs to change, and it has for some teachers out there.

Read the testimonials here.

Relax for Control and Power

Don’t Be Fooled By The Trophies

Training Your Internal Senses

Breathing to Improve Your Game

All articles linked to above are courtesy of Tennis Life Magazine