To describe talent, it is necessary to analyze what tennis talent is all about. It is well known, that a tennis game is the most difficult sport of all sports. For a young player it is important to have a body, able to develop into athletic ability with an accent on speed and agility. To this we should add the need of dynamic and balance, so that the physical execution of a perfect stroke is possible. Based on today’s professional playing level, rhythm and hand-eye coordination is a need to play balls at any speed and spin, Let’s not forget that the body of the player must be fit, as games can last very long. Let’s add the mental game which is necessary as the right decision must be made in the split of a second. We could add desire, discipline and hard work, all ingredients or necessities to become a good tennis player.

Can all these criteria be found in a very young boy or girl which has found fun in playing tennis? I don’t think so. All these parts of tennis talent must be developed.

The most first and basic requirements are a body with athletic possibilities, able and willing to move with some form of agility. If a child reacts to the teacher’s request and retains the practice movements, with the time the individual parts of the stroke technique and their improvements will show the student’s so called talent. As a young tennis player progresses it becomes more and more difficult for the teacher to continue the development shown by the student’s performance if the teacher does not distinguish the natural abilities from the progress made through hard work. If the demand on the child’s talent is not kept up by the teacher, the chance will be missed to reach a level of game through the combination of talent and hard work.

The question how many talented children never had a chance to reach their goal should really be asked. My experience is that the reason was in many cases the very limited tennis teaching. I must be fair, I also met teachers who sent their students to other places, hoping they would get a more adequate training.

The importance of desire, discipline and willingness to work has an enormous importance on the ability of the student. Not many teachers are willing to force these issues. For parents to recognize the reason for their child’s stagnation is sometimes more than they can handle. Recognizing if it is the lack of talent or mediocre teaching is necessary to be able to make the right decision concerning the child’s training and future. Do not forget, a child is very young and unable to recognize the quality of the training. Children decide emotionally . It is important for them to like the teacher and have fun which is the right way to approach the tennis training, but it does not mean that the technical aspect of the teaching program should not remain the most important part of the teaching.

So, talent is not the only criteria for success in tennis, as the tennis game has so many features which influence the progress of the student. Talent is needed. At least some of the different requirements should be there. The other ones have to be developed.

We must be more and more concerned of the constant progress of the tennis game if you consider the advancement made in the last 10 years. We know that in the years to come the tennis game will be more athletic, more powerful with faster balls to be handled. Parents again carry great responsibility if the child loves tennis, enjoys hard work and shows some talent. This is why I always remind the parents of the importance to
demand from the teacher the teaching quality necessary to ensure the positive development for the talented players of the future.

Let me first explain what balance is all about. It is a sensation. Balance has no muscle. Balance has no mass, balance is a “happening”, created by many body muscles which function well organized and used only when needed. It ensures that the needed muscles become active without interference of the unnecessary muscles . A body which has perfect balance control moves effortless with the impression of using very little energy. It is only an impression as energy is always needed. In a dynamic jump in perfect balance, the jump looks like flying effortless through the air as all energy is in the jump.

To achieve that kind of body control, exercises must be executed where at first body muscles must be felt and controlled. This means moving arms and legs under different tensions. They are moving separately. Energy must be able to travel through the body and used where needed without the interference of unnecessary physical action. Explosive running requires strong legs and only arm support which in tennis should be used to prepare a smooth stroke execution. A sudden stop does not need bending of the torso if the run is executed in balance. Stroke execution in balance can maintain a high level of technical skill and fast execution.

I suggest to students to be concerned about their warm up time as it is the right moment to include the development of balance in all their movements. Balance training will develop their feeling of the body, single movements and overall body control.

In the effort to execute perfect stroke executions tennis players use too many muscles.
Some players with a more natural sensation of balance will have an easier time to achieve technical abilities. Players like Martina Hingis with great balance moved effortlessly and reached the most difficult balls in good hitting position. Roger Federer as well as Nicolai Davidenko have an excellent balance sensation and as a result they have excellent footwork and stroke executions under the most difficult conditions. They change directions and have no problem in preparing a perfect stroke in a difficult run. Players with poor body balance are very physical and are forced to make constant adjustments in the execution of strokes under pressure.

How can a young player ensure that he moves in balance or learn how to do so, which is very important for his future success. I may repeat myself when I say : to develop balance sensation exercises must be incorporated in the daily training which create the ability to separate arms and legs movements from each other. A hard run to a wide ball should not influence the stroke execution.

TV commentators like to mention the balance of a player as soon as they recognize that difficult balls are reached with ease. Tennis teachers should give more consideration concerning the need to develop the balance in young players. In very young players (age 8 to 11) it is very easy to have balance included in their muscle and movement development. In the future there is no reason why a player should have problems with the balance if their teacher would have given to this requirement the deserving attention, as balance can be trained. It is a body sensation that makes the running, the hitting, the changing of directions much much easier and will save a lot of energy for the 3rd or 5th set.

The experience I made during these years and my ambition to improve the quality of teaching tennis, I knew that only by giving the teacher more time to actually teach, the quality of teaching could be improved. So I embarked into a new adventure by buying a small metal plant and tried through developing a more sophisticated ballmachine to give myself and other teachers the possibility to improve the teaching. The electronic in the 80s could not meet my expectations, although the created product was quite good by the standards of those days.I sold the small plant which today produces the best ballmachine in Europe.

The following years in the US proved to me again the importance of having top hitters available when developing top tennis players. Stefano Capriati used from an early time hitters in the development of his daughter Jennifer, who already at 14 years became a pretty good pro player. I helped Jim Pierce to find top hitters for his work with his daughter Mary. At some time he had to import hitters from Italy, as no good hitters were availabe and willing to work very hard day after day. When I met Richard Williams in 1991 and intended to come to Delray Beach the following year, he told me that he needed good hitters for his two girls. I remember that from the first day Venus and Serena started working on my courts in Delray Beach there were two hitters working for Richard. He planned all the activities with them and for years I was fascinated by seeing the two girls working hard and running for every ball the two hitters were playing across the net. Gerard Gbdey and others, spent over 10 years hitting, making sure that the two girls have to hit top balls all the time. All these top tennis activities proved to me that top hitters are needed at an early stage of the game, and in developing a top player, quality hitters are a must!

As having two hitters on the court is a costly activity, do we have another solution? Not if your goals are high.Top teaching requires concentration and quality balls to teach as close to match conditions as possible. Coaches of top players need top hitters all the time. Do you tink that uncle Tony changed Raffael Nadal’s exaggerated topspin strokes by hitting himself? Hitting could become the next profession on the tennis court, which would unfortunately make working with top junior players more expensive.

As my original thought never died, and hoping that the computer revolution could help me make my dream possible, I started again developing the ultimate replacement of a top hitter. This happened 8 years ago when I met Freddy a young computer fanatic , who too was not willing to give up. How many nights saw the morning without having solved the never expected problems. The tennis game is so demanding, as the most different balls must be available at different speed, spin, height and place on the tennis court. No ball is the same and all these changes must happen in less than a second. That all balls had to come from each side of the court was simple to solve with two machines. This created another problem: which machine should react to the ball hit by the student can only be decided after the player hit the ball to one side of the court of his choice. There is very little time for this decision by the teacher as it must happen at the time the ball crosses the net. Should I tell you about the problems we had to bring motors turning at 2450RPM to exactly 1730 RPM in less than a half second? Or from over 2000 RPM to 870 RPM just to play a drop-shot? Had I known all this before I would have never had the courage to start with this adventure.

As the professional game, will be faster and more athletic in the future there will be no way around in working with good hitters. If the tennis teaching profession does not embrace the computer technology in its teaching, it will lose the contact to the constantly improving professional tennis world, and one day there will be only a few special tennis institutions able to work with students who choose to become professional tennis players. Unfortunately, reality shows that only very few tennis teachers with vision and courage will embrace the technology of the future, to be able to satisfy the demand made by the future competitive junior players.

When, in 1975, after having spent some time with Prof. Dr. Kopf at the Technical University in Dortmund, Germany, finding out about what is happening during ball contact in a stroke and announced that the tennis ball touches the string only 3,6 to 4,0 thousandth of a second, it meant very little to the tennis world. Would they have known that our nervous system is 1o times slower, some would have reacted. This is also why a tennis player does not see the ball on the strings. During this research and testing, it became evident, that as much top spin you hit, the ball does not move (rotate) during the time it touches the strings. A rolling of the ball on the strings just does not happen. What causes the topspin? It is very simple to recognize, when you have the possibility to use cameras able to take 8000 pictures in a second. Lamar Hunt , founder of WCT, Dallas TX made it possible. This high speed camera shows that when the ball touches the strings at first, only the small part of the strings on the contact spot reacts, before the string-bed stretches to the back. This second movement of the strings is influenced by the string tension on the racket. During the same time, the ball compresses and looses its shape and flattens quite a bit. The string bed begins to move back, and the ball begins getting its shape back. The string bed moves slightly in front of its original flat position. But as the rubber of the ball does not react as quickly as the strings do, the ball remains on the outside still partly flat but on the string side it shapes slightly like a pear. During the last instant the ball has contact with the strings, the strings touch the pointed side of the ball. This is the only moment when the racket influences the ball rotation during the stroke. Flat stroke: the ball will start pulsating straight out by changing from oval to round for a few times until it remains round. Topspin: The moment of separation the racket is moving front and upwards. Consider, the ball is almost round in the front and pear shaped in the back when it leaves the strings . At this moment , the up motion of the racket strings ( top spin) gives to the totally stagnant ball the intended rotation. The ball rotates and pulsates at the same time. In doing so it creates a negative suction under the ball which the ball overcomes and suddenly it is pulled down in to a down curve, witch changes the flight of the ball into the so called “ top-spin “ curve.

Mr. Fischer, a German tennis club player and engineer was influenced by this study and used it to add in a clever way some additional very fine lose string and plastic pellets to the existing string pattern which in the up movement are propelled against the ball and triple the rotation . He created a monster racket with which every beginner could hit a brutal top spin. Illje Nastase won a tournament the first time he used it. Mr.Fischer asked me to help getting approval for his stringing. I refused, as his strings were destroying the tennis game. Shortly after the ITF committee banned the Fischer-String.

Years ago most string manufacturers tried to make strings with different structure, for a better top spin grip. Some strings were square, others rough and looking like stretched roots. Nothing made hitting top spin any easier. The top spin stroke will depend on the way the ball is hit and will continue to need the technical execution to create the ball rotation.

All this is difficult to understand but as nothing is really easy in tennis we can only through knowing about it, improve how to address the tennis technique and game. At the Global Tennis Institute the teaching is based, for the strokes, on the laws of physics, for the movements on the best use of the body structure, muscle and reactions. All our students know that the moment they feel hitting the ball, or hearing the hitting bang, the ball is gone. This means to them that everything they do before touching the ball is the stroke, so they act accordingly. I can assure you, they will not go and buy the new top spin strings!!!

First: you have to get there, ( agility, foot-work, dynamic). Second: you have to be in a position to execute your best stroke ( balance, technique ). An off balance or streched out body just can not do it. A player who intends to be successful in today’s fast game must have great athletic ability before his racket technique can take over. Have we the teacher in the US recognized the needs to make real changes in our teaching structure to keep up with the athletic demand needed for the future pro tennis? We should consider, that the ability to get there in a good hitting postion is 50% of the game.

Teaching tennis students how to move is tough, as they come to the court to hit balls and do not understand the importance of perfect movements. I eliminated this problem by informing my students in detail about the importance to develop the sensation of balance and learning how to move quickly through foot patterns. I have established a very demanding routine of movements and exercises which are technical demanding and must be executed every day with the same discipline as expected when hitting balls, to develop habits in their movements. It is almost imposssible to do this warm-up exercises and routines in less than 45 minutes. The good old way of running a few laps around the court with some skips and jumps do not meet anymore the demands made by today’s and tomorrow’s tennis.

With the mentioned starting exercises only a part of the physical development of the student can be met. During the teaching of the tennis technique students must be constantly reminded of the correct footwork by having all hitting drills executed in the run all over the court to train as close as possible to reality. It may be difficult at the beginning but young students form moving habits very quickly, as long as they do not get away with their so called personal style. My studends are made aware, that the racket head has to execute a technical movement if the ball is intended to go from point A to point B and that there is no time for personal approach.

The daily fitnesss program should be a continuation of the earlier warm up. Tennis-fitness does not mean only developing strength and power, it must be executed in balance and must include movements to improve agility, develop dynamic and rhythm. Attention should be given to the ability to separate upper body movements from leg dynamics as well as arm movements from body movements. Balance will improve dramatically, through which the body will move easier and will not have to work as hard and not get tired to quickly.

As I strongly believe that tennis requires a very special athletic body and movements, I insist,that in all daily teaching programs enough time is spent on warm-up at the beginning and fitness to end the day.

It is a thought which developed over the many years spent at junior tennis tournaments where again and again I was asked from active tennis parents why their child after receiving many years of good training developed the habit of losing in the first rounds at most tournaments. I felt that the question was asked much too late, as many years were wasted on mediocre tennis teaching. This can be avoided! A second opinion at an early time may help avoiding frustration.

How much value can a second opinion have about the quality of the children’s tennis program without having a standard to measure what should be expected from a child of a certain age which will change as time goes on as the tennis game has its dynamic progression.

I’m aware that the idea of having a second opinion can be a little complicated as children mostly have an attachment to their teacher and it may create an atmosphere of mistrust or insecurity. This is not necessary as in any important decision a second opinion is recognized as a valuable tool to avoid mistakes. The tennis profession does not have teaching standards which other teaching professions are based on due to years of academic studying.The tennis teaching is still based on personal approach.

Knowing how difficult it is to become a top junior tennis player and for top tennis teachers to handle this responsibility I ask myself why academic institutions don’t offer a athletic programs with majoring in tennis to establish an academic tennis profession, so that teaching standards can be defined on which tennis parents can depend on. I mention this as teaching the tennis technique is the easiest part of teaching tennis. All the “rest” of the requirements is the most difficult part of the tennis curriculum and needs more than a tennis racket and experience as experience cannot be taught. Teaching requires knowledge where experience can be wisely used.

Does this mean that there are no good teachers in the US? Definitely not! There are many excellent dedicated teachers, but not as many as I wish we had. This is where a second opinion could be of great value. Considering all this, a second opinion does not have to be a one time thing. I remember when John and Andy Roddick were in their early years of development, their mother, Mrs. Blanche Roddick was constantly checking and changing their teachers until she was satisfied.

It is easier for parents with own tennis experience to guide their children’s development if they recognize that today’s game is highly advanced compared to their time and that the body of their children may have their genes but the influence and quality they receive in their training will decide their future success. It is a fact that these parents do look for second opinions until they are satisfied .

In approaching a second opinion, I advise to have questions prepared for which answers are expected. The better the questions the more information you can expect. Ask about footwork, movement ability, rhythm, technical respond in different strokes and the most important, which plan is suggested for improvement and further development of your child. Don’t be impressed by the attention your child is receiving , be more concerned of the answer you are getting to the questions you ask. Without them you will receive
“generality” which is meaningless.

Please keep in mind, that a good teacher knows what a racquet has to do to accelerate a ball with spin, speed and height from point A to point B on the court in the process of making a successful tennis player. These basics are the easiest part of the game, as the real action lies in the dynamic movement of the player and the ability to cover the court.

In getting a second opinion, parents should focus on receiving the most important answers to your child’s ability to move , to react to the ball, to change directions and try to execute a stroke in a balanced position. A good teacher will let you know in a second opinion where the qualities and the weaknesses are apparent. Don’t be afraid to inform the teacher of your child that you intend to have a second opinion which may help him to evaluate his own approach. Should he not be receptive to the idea and received information and the expected results are not reached , don’t be afraid to change. After all it is your child’s time and your money.

The early stage of the game is simple as it can be learned in small groups of three to four children. But as soon as a decision is made to be more serious about it, parents should be aware that an additional investment is needed.

I would advise to make small steps until your child shows more interest than just to like playing tennis. As junior competitions begin at an early age, you have to start planning during these years 10-12. At first look at the opportunities you have and evaluate which situation is the best for you. Do not sign long term arrangements as you don’t know if you made the right choice. By finding a second student at your child’s age, the cost for the tennis program can be kept down. I don’t advise single lessons as they are much to expensive and don’t bring the results you expect. Don’t forget that years, many years are needed to develop a player. I would stay away from single lessons until the single lesson is used to address small details which need very personal attention.

Here is a way to make a plan: Go to junior tennis tournaments close to where you live. Look for another child and parents with the same desire and see if lessons can be arranged together, or talk to a teacher of your choice if he has a student who harmonizes with your child’s tennis. I did not mention academies, because their teaching method cannot be influenced by you and it is very difficult to make a personal plan for your child as they have to give consideration and equal treatment to all of their students. There are some teachers who work with small groups which are better for concentrating on single players’ needs. For establishing a plan don’t forget to address the daily time schedule necessary to develop a player. If you are still not 100% convinced, three hours a day is not a bad start. But if you want to give your child a real chance, home schooling is a must to allow your tennis plan all the time it needs. Don’t be negative about home schooling, there are home schooling programs which are very good and demanding. I had students who went to an Ivy League College with a home schooling degree, but decided after one year to give tennis a better chance and became professional tennis players. It all depends how serious parents are about the activities of their children.

All this is not easy on parents but it can be done. Most professional players would have never made it without an enormous help from their families.

I mentioned earlier the “opportunity factor” which cannot be disregarded, as it is the foundation of the development of a tennis player. Florida residents have a small advantage with the weather, and there are many tennis schools, academies and tennis teachers active on many tennis courts. Looks like the best opportunity to give your child a chance. Yes and No! Consider how difficult it is to become a professional player and how much knowledge the teacher needs to be able to give your child the quality you want and need. Be choosy, discuss with the intended teacher the plan, the cost and who will be responsible for the program. If this is settled and you feel satisfied, you need a calculator to give yourself an idea of the financial investment you will face not just for 1 year but for the next 4 to 5 years.

An after school program for the first 1 or 2 years ( 2,5 hours a day, max. 3 children) will be in the range of $ 14,000.- a year. A full day program again in a small group will come close to $ 30,000.- for the full 12 months. Don’t be impressed by the schedule academies use for a normal school year which is around 10 months. In tennis you do not have the luxury of a 2 months vacation. The 10,000 hours needed to reach the top is not a joke or exaggeration. It is a proven fact that there are no short cuts. In my many years in the pro and teaching world I never experienced a short cut. The tennis sport requires dedication and willingness to work very hard and a certain amount of money to make it possible.

Does this sound negative? I hope not! It is the reality which we have to accept.

I mention the chance of finding a sponsor. The assumption exists, that if you show “something” on the tennis court, a sponsor could be found easily. Again reality is different. To convince a sponsor to support a young tennis player, the player has to show a very promising quality which has to be above expectation. The day you have reached your goal, agents and sponsors will knock on your door. Be satisfied if the USTA will help you cover some of your travel expenses. There is a very positive side in the effort to reach the goal as many exciting moments occur. Traveling in different countries (added expenses) is a wonderful experience for young people. Meeting new people all the time can be interesting and adds understanding for many different ways of life. After all, tennis playing can be an excellent profession with which you can make quite a bit of money if you become successful. Should this be disregarded? Maybe at the beginning of your planning, but not totally. By the time you decide to embrace the challenge, the cost will become a factor which will need some consideration but should not stop you if it is in your means. Tennis is one of the few sports where an early stage investment must be considered. As by all investments knowledge and supervision is necessary, tennis is governed by the same rules. Good luck!

[tags]top tennis players, tennis programs, tennis expenses, commitment, coaching[/tags]

First I am addressing the natural ability of “the player, the student”. Don’t mention talent, as no one is born with a special tennis talent. Too many components must be controlled to become a top player. The ability to reach the top is based on solid love for moving, having a body able to develop athletic skills and willingness to work hard at all times. In some children there are hidden advantages like height and a strong body, very important in some sports like basketball or football. In tennis a child’s body should be more related to agility, desire to move and simply play with the ball. With good teaching , speed, dynamic and well balanced movement can be developed in a child’s body. In today’s advanced tennis technique balance is a requirement which influences the quality of top tennis. Most teachers do not know how to handle or develop balance in a player’s body which can be trained like any other part of tennis with special exercises. So in your observation as a parent do not disregard the importance of moving in balance. It may be difficult to address balance, as in my many years active in competitive junior tennis I have never seen exercises to be included in the daily training to improve the balance of players’ movements. The athletic ability of your child is easy to evaluate just by observing if your child enjoys moving.

Assuming that your child likes to run, likes to play tennis and be physically active, there is no reason why you should not further explore the competitive part of tennis if the next requirement (aspect) is available:

Opportunity! The second influence and need in the effort to develop a tennis player. Parents in New Jersey have a difficult time to arrange for a top tennis teaching program. The long winter months cut the program in half, as not enough indoor courts are available for the needed teaching- and playing hours. A mother of a 12 year old girl who played at a National Junior Tournament in Delray Beach , FL and lost 6/0, 6/0 in the first round in the main draw as well as in the consolation recognized, although being the number 2 in Nebraska, that she did not have the Opportunity to reach a top level of play, like other players in Florida, California, Georgia etc. She was right, as parents must recognize early if a realistic opportunity exists. Relocation for parents is a very big step but sometimes necessary. The Roddick family relocated from Nebraska first to Texas and then to Florida when it intended to give to the boys a chance in tennis. In most junior tournaments you meet parents who relocated to Florida known as the place to be if you want to be a future top tennis player. A good first step in creating the Opportunity but not enough to reach the intended goal.

Florida is known as the state with the most tennis academies and tennis schools. Big enterprises and big names are offering their services. Every year new are added and become active. Does this mean that serious teaching and coaching to help to reach your goal will be easily available? Definitely not! The general teaching of almost all tennis academies and tennis schools in Florida is the way teachers taught 30 years ago, far behind the progress professional tennis has made in the last 20 years.
Today’s students cannot be prepared for tomorrow’s game by hitting balls which are played to them from the basket, as balls coming from the basket are without dynamic, they are dead balls. This is not enough to develop speed and ball control needed in today’s game. The students must be challenged during every moment they spend on the court where the opportunity is to improve their game. My suggestion is: don’t be impressed by names or big organizations, look for the situation where the student’s technique is well addressed, including all small but important details.

Before making the final decision which school, academy or teacher will work with your child, consideration should be given to the third aspect of the challenge: It is the most demanding for parents and students. A very extensive study came to the conclusion that to be successful and reach the very top of every activity, the 10 000 hours working rule must be applied. A shocking number? I don’t think so.

Malcolm Gladwell describes in his book “The Story Of Success” what made it possible that some people succeed and others don’t. In all fields the top individuals worked very hard to reach their summit. In all fields, computer world, the arts, sports like ice hockey, basketball etc., they all worked over 10 000 hours to reach the top. Bill Gates and his friends started in 1968 with support of the school and parents a computer club, an extraordinary opportunity as computers at that time were very rare. Bill Gates had logged over 10 000 hours of programming by the time he finished High School . Two years later he left Harvard and founded Microsoft with his friend. The pianists and violinists in the Academy of Music in Berlin, Germany who reached the top and became a concert soloists had all practiced over 10 000 hours. The ones with less practice hours became music teachers or played in orchestras. The Beatles played for years 8 to 12 hours a day and traveled between Liverpool, England and Hamburg, Germany to play 7 days a week. They easily reached the magic 10 000 hours before they took the first trip to the US.
Should we include the tennis sport into this cycle of 10 000 hours? Definitely yes!

I remember when Tomy Haas was a young boy in Europe, and by working very hard, became at the age of 13 years the No. 1 at the 14 age group in Europe, thanks to his father’s help and many hours spent on the tennis court. By the time he became a pro the 10 000 hours rule was met. I can confirm that Venus and Serena Williams which I met 1991 in Greenleaf, Florida, already had serious goals and worked accordingly. When they moved a year later to Delray Beach, they started a very disciplined program every day, mornings and afternoons. By the time they reached the pro level at an early age, they had spent at least 10 000 hours on the court with excellent hitters. Tennis is a time consuming sport and should be approached knowing that many many hours of hard work are part of the effort to reach the top. Short cuts do not exist. Wild cards for tournaments may help to prove a player’s ability, but if there is no ability behind, the opportunity of this advantage is wasted.

My suggestion to parents is: If you have a child enjoying moving and playing and accepting hard physical activities, give to the child the opportunity by finding the right place to work the magic 10 000 hours. Then make sure that the hours are well used and not wasted on old fashioned teaching and generalities. Demand a program from the responsible person who you can and will address if you are not satisfied . If you feel insecure, go for a second opinion, it will help you to feel better about your own decisions. Be aware that no one is doing you a favor, as you are paying for the quality and service you received. So, you have the right to know.

It looks like a big and long “Struggle” to “Embrace”, but at the end, if it’s done right it is fun and challenging.

[tags]tennis parents, tennis plan, junior tennis, tennis expenses[/tags]