Q & A Coaching & Strokes 

Q.  I live in Newfoundland in a small community. It has tennis courts and I love to play tennis. But there isnt much involvment in tennis there. The few people that play dont play very often. I am a good tennis player (age 14) and I want to know how can I find more competition, without having to move? Also can you please list some ways of how to get better at tennis without actually playing tennis. 

A.  Hi . Firstly I would put up a few flyers around town to see if you are really correct about how many people play. You only need one person working there from out of town who also has no tennis partner and your set. Find a wall to hit against this will help a lot. See an article on my sit called “Knocking down the wall”.  Another way to train for tennis is to play strategic board games, Chess and the like, any thing that makes you think of how to win. And then read a lot about tennis, everything you can find and of course keep checking out my sit. Lastly keep fit, get strong and fast. Good luck 

Q.The kids at our school suddenly have no tennis coach today and I have been 

asked to coach them. I don't really have any experience coaching tennis but

play myself. What can you suggest I do with the kids for 1 hour.  They are 

between 8 and 9 year of age and don't really know a lot about tennis yet?

 A.Hi  Not the easiest question. I suppose the main thing is to let them

rally with each other and that depends on court space. set up some targets

and let them try and hit them etc. make rules about safety. warm up , learn

a simple skill. practice the skill. good luck 

Q.I have recently started helping out the Pro with coaching at the local club

and it's fantastic to see all the smiling littlies it's all about having

fun.  The Juniors in general lack no enthusiasm for the game, just keep them

busy, socializing and trying.  But as a confessed late starter to Tennis my

one frustration( as a coach ) is all the talented mostly Teenagers that give

me a blank stare when I say to them you're only putting in 50 or 75% effort

and that's THE major factor stunting the development of your game.  Now I'm

not talking next Hewitts of course but how do you approach these type of

scenarios with your talented kids what either Cruise or just don't get it?

Any tips on motivation or inspiration MOST appreciated!

PS  Of course we're not Tennis Messiahs but I know 1 or 2 would be very

gratefully for a nudge in the right direction, sometime down the road. 

A.Hi Joe, I think it’s the same everywhere. Its all environmental. Kids that try 100% make other kids try 100% the trick is to get the first one.  Somehow you have to convince the kids that trying hard is cool. It’s a struggle but I try to make them realize that they are training for life and not just tennis. I tell the girls that guys like girls who are fit and can play sport with them and I tell guys if you want to get a girl friend/s play good sport. Its all kind of BS but if they get fired up over it so be it. We are talking teenagers here that know a lot more than we give them credit for. Bring in a fit kid from another sport and let them test against them in physical stuff. good luck brad 

Q.I'm studying for my PE A level in the UK.  What factors do you think are different for an individual athletes coach as opposed to a team sport coach? 

Q.  I've just been on your website - great! This is my first letter to anyone on this subject. I have 4 young very athletic kids, 7, 9, 9 and 11, who have just started tennis in March, here in London. We play everyday, and already 2 of them are having good rallies. Rather than learn backhand, they all seemed happier shifting from left to right and back again. The local coach is befuddled that I encourage this.  OK, so not having backhand (yet) is bad for close body shots - so why not learn backhand for both hands too? Another problem is the time it takes to pass racket from hand to hand - in a game where both men's and women's tennis is now so fast across the net. So I have started getting my children doing exercises of holding the racket handle only at the lower end, and caressing the racket from left to right say, using the left then as a lever to help push the right hand backwards for the swing. Perhaps ambi-players in the past have stumbled upon ambiness, and have developed bad habits to begin with, which are always very hard to get rid of.  Another problem is that to learn forehand and backhand for both left and right requires a great deal of practice, way beyond the norm.  In my opinion, optimum ambidextrous tennis, scientifically taught, could possibly lead to a revolution in tennis. I intend to continue with the experiment, especially as my kids love it so much - and even now show potential. I have decided to do some serious research and coaching ambi-tennis.  Questions:

1 - Are there any articles anywhere on ambidextrous tennis?

2 - Is there anyone I can talk to?

A.  I'm still thinking but I think your 20 years early. If you could live in a perfect tennis/athletic world we would be able to do everything from both sides. Having been on the receiving end of a serious thrashing from a guy called Zan Guerry back in the late 80s I can tell you being Ambidextrous is very useful. The fact that most mere mortals cant get there head around it or don't have the discipline to pursue is (or the encouragement to pursue it) is no reason to bag the idea. If you look at circus performers you will realize being ambidextrous is the norm. Perhaps even the word is wrong or inappropriate, in my opinion you are simply choosing the correct shot for the situation based on your viable options. These people played either both handed both sides or could play left or right handed. Hans Gildemeister  Monica Seles Zan Guerry  luke Jensen, They say even Connors had two forehands. I think only Luke or Zane could serve both hands. All of these players were very good pro players. I would chart their progress carefully and make assessments. Hand dominance normally kicks in around 4 or 5 years so you’re well past that.  Make sure the kids rackets are the correct weight and size as this can also confuse hand preference. As for other literature on this subject, I would be very surprised if you find any thing, people just don't touch this stuff, its to hard. Send on any info and Ill do an article on it, better still you do an article on it and if it passes the big man (me) Ill put it on the web.  good luck and thanks for your real life mail, it was very interesting. cheers Brad 

Q.  Hey,  I am a player who plays on the junior national tour and I tour around Australia to compete in tournaments and for the last month I have been training full time training which mean I go to school via correspondence and I'm loving it I love the game. I am just wondering if you could give me some tips. When I play against a person I have never played against I get very ANGRY when I loose because I make really stupid shots but I now know how to correct those shots but how could I work on forgetting about that one bad shot and moving on! Do you have any I ideas how I can become mentally stronger? Thank you

A.  All these articles deal in some way with your question. One thing coaches don't say very often is to be a good tennis player you have to read and study the game and other games in order to heighten your awareness of strategy, competition and composure. So read up and try to put these strategies in place, there is no easy way . Good luck brad

http://www.thetenniscoach.com.au/tips_perform.html http://www.thetenniscoach.com.au/tips_stress_tolerance.html http://www.thetenniscoach.com.au/CONCENTRATION%20IN%20TENNIS.htm http://www.thetenniscoach.com.au/routines.htm 

Q. For a seventh form Physical Education assignment we have to analyse our own tennis serve on video against a professionals serve. After analysing the follow through in my serve and a few professionals i have found that during my follow through i only take one step forward and at a slow pace. I found that in the professionals follow through they tend to run forward after their serve because they generate so much power. Also in my follow through with the swing of my racket i stop following through once my racket hits my other hand on the other side of my body. Is this the correct technique or should i be doing something else? And is my foot work in the follow through correct or should i be leaping forward like all the professionals do?  Any advice would be very helpful to my assignment and would be much appreciated. Thanks a lot.

A.  Hi , I would not get to tied up in knots over your serve. The pros do most things in a BIG way just to be competitive.  Your serve sounds fine, if you stretch out your follow through it tends to help consistency by keeping the shot fluid. The pros get lifted of the ground from coiled body elasticity but even a novice can learn to throw the ball a little further in front so you have maxed out weight transfer.If your keen on some good serve stuff check out this site its a killer. cheers brad     http://wings.avkids.com/Tennis/Project/serve-01.html

Q.  I am twelve, I come from a tennis mad background, and I am being privately coached by my father  until I am good enough to start entering competitions and such like. My only problem is my backhand no matter what I try nothing seems to work. Don’t put it down to bad coaching because my dad is a British coach! Unfortunately it's just me! I am currently on a double handed backhand, starting with my thumb on my hip,  hitting at a 45 degree contact point and following through over my shoulder, this seems to be working, but something is still wrong. Any suggestions? Thank for your time please get back soon.

A.  Hi, don't take it to tough. Try to keep an open mind and remember to not only listen to your coach but listen to yourself and your body and don't be afraid to make mistakes.  The freedom to experiment is the key.  It could mean a 2mm change to a grip or a slightly later contact than the norm. If you look at the top players they all have their little quirks. Enjoy and develop and discover and look forward to the day you play your best tennis. Let me know how it goes and don't hesitate to drop me a line. cheers Brad

Q. I've recently taken on the challenge of coaching a local high school girls team. I've got 14 girls of varying levels (never-played, played but you really can't tell and decent). Do you have any suggestions for me on how to run an effective practice with this many girls and this many levels. The school can not afford to pay an assistant so I'm afraid I'm on my own. I've considering breaking them up in to 2 groups and having them practice at separate times, but I'd rather not do that if I don¹t have to. Any advice you have is appreciated!

A.  Hi. It’s tough to give you details in an email but here goes. Group A beginners. Group B intermediate. Group C decent.  A can play with Bs. Bs can play with Cs but Cs cant play with As unless Bs are also involved. Rotate 1 drill court with you and lots of balls. Court next to you practice on different elements either worked on last week (revision) or tie it in with the drills on court 1 and you can keep an eye on them as well. 3rd court (4th court numbers on the day?) set and point play, either normal tennis for group B & C and abbreviated tennis (eg feed out of hand no serve) for group A. Last 10 minutes finish with another sport like dodge or chain chase (if you catch some one you must hold hands and run after the next person until the chain becomes really long and difficult to move) this will bring the group back together and built a bit of unity and give the less talented players a chance to shine and to leave the class with a bit of vibe. Hope that will do you. My fingers are dropping off! cheers Brad  

Q.   I am a beginning PE teacher and would like to know when the best time to start the back swing when hitting a return shot in tennis is.

A) when the ball is hit by the opponent.

B) When the ball is over the player's mid court.

C) When the ball strikes the ground.

D) None of the above...explain why.

Thanks so much for your help

A.  Hi . It depends on the speed of the approaching ball. As a general rule you could say the first trunk rotation should be completed before the ball bounces. If the racket is held back (facing the back fence) too long you will lose power and rhythm.  I think coaches tend to get carried away with "mega early" prep but I think it comes from teaching really young kids who just don't get the "early" preparation thing, so you end up exaggerating just to get the point across. The shots flow is the key, if its maintained and doesn't look hurried or abbreviated to account for the lack of time then its probably ok. good luck brad

Q.   Dear Tennis Coach What type of footwork do you teach on the serve? Do you teach players to cross over and land with their right foot or do you teach thrust footwork where the player hops up, lands on the left foot and kicks the right foot back? 

Q.  Hey this is … I'm currently doing my HSC in NSW and I have to teach a tennis serve use the three stages of leaning and other aspects of learning a skill. I was hoping you might have some tips or instructions on how to best teach this skill. So if you could help that would be great the problem is i kind of need the help pretty soon. thanks heaps 

A. Step one: verbal explanation. visual explanation. key points; racket path, relationship of left hand (ball toss) to right hand (take back), , weight transfer, racket acceleration. the flow of power from big muscles out through little ones. Focus on ball

Step two: Physically practice the shot. Test and coordinate movements as one. "feel-it don't steer it". critical analysis of form not result.

Step three: Automate through perfect practice. goal/target orientation continue to refine technique.

Q.  Hi I am a provincial player playing for my district I would like to know I was always taught on my swing to finish off my swing basically over my shoulder I use a semi western grip but when I watch the pros there swing finishes in front of them is that because they use a heavy western grip.

A.  Hi... It depends on the individual and the circumstances they find them selves that dictates there follow through. Either way is ok if the focus of the shot was acceleration through the line of the ball (and not across it). It's handy to have a place to go to finish i.e. over your shoulder. It allows you to commit to the shot under pressure, so your doing the right thing. ciao brad