Confessions of a tennis Parent

Came across a very good article that most tennis parents should read.I have plans to release a book sometime in the future, Most Shocking Tennis Parent Story's.In the mean time here is the LINK

The Ebbs and Flows of a tennis match

For those that dont know I have been attending the Canterbury ITF supporting a young Liechtenstein Junior Thomas Weirather.Today he beat the third seed 6-3 6-7 7-6, a match that  had almost everything.Thomas started nervously and found himself down 3-1, he was playing a brash Australian .Gaining in confidence Thomas took the set 6-3 as he dictated play with his aggressive baseline game pinning the Aussie into the corners of the court. How many times do you see a strong performance winning the first set and then relaxing at the start of the second set.Juniors you must strive to make the first games of the second like the last game of the first,...many breathe a "sigh"of relief and intensity is not as strong as it was.....You must refocus and get tough! Keep your opponent down and keep the intensity up.Now before Thomas knew it he was down 5-3 in the second.He fought back and had an opportunity to break at 5-5 , it then went to a tiebreak which at 5 all in the tiebreak he appeared to get a very dodgy call by his opponent and went on to lose the second set. Not only did Thomas have to battle the player the referee had stepped in and warned both players for Intimidation. I will write more on this latter .To Thomas's credit he kept calm and a good lesson to all players try not to lose to much energy in disputes whilst they some seem ridiculous decisions( as you have seen watching the Aussie Open even the Top Players crack at times and let the moment get the best of them)Keep the focus on the job at hand.Also Thomas had to watch his opponent have an  injury time out before starting the third set again another distraction you dont need.Thomas started strongly and went two love up and had the Aussie on the ropes ,,again a lapse of intensity and loose shots allowed the Aussie to break and come back to two all.Games went with serve until 4 all and Thomas lost his serve to go down 5-4 to leave his opponent to serve for the match.This could be enough for most players to acknowledge defeat unlike Baghdatis who in the Aussie Open after dropping serve went and smashed 4 racquet's! Thomas kept his composure and broke to love.Games again went with serve and adding too the drama the Aussie had cramps.Surely now the match must be Thomas's all he has to do is move the guy around,,,,easier said than done as the player takes more risks to shorten the points and suddenly it was another tie-break to decide the match. Thomas was down the first two points surely a guy limping around the baseline could not get the victory.Thomas went to 6-2 , nerves set in and two points were lost quicky!, At 6-4 Thomas wins the point the match is over.!He gets his first ITF points , I said to him after the game remember this game that got you on the World ranking list for Juniors not just because of the win but the many lessons  he can take from this match to make him a better and more experienced player.CONGRATULATIONS THOMAS!

Mistaken Identity

If you are a coach and in the Tennis Industry you have to be ready for anything,but this incident is a first! After returning from Holiday's in Australia I was catching up on emails and there in my Inbox was a letter from a major association re my conduct at their recent tournament. I asked for the tournament report which contained a three page summary from the tournament referee on my alleged conduct which stated I abused the referee during a match ,in the report  my name was mentioned throughout, it said I should know better blah blah blah.!!! Now the problem I have with this is simple....I was never at the tournament.I have to ask how can a referee get this so wrong, in fact I know the referee in question ,I have been on the tennis scene a number of years in New Zealand and I do think well known among the tennis fraternity.Also i have never lost my Australian accent and pray to God I never will.I have received written apologies from the association and the referee in question who wrote the report.This is indeed a very case of "the wrong man".New Zealand is a reasonably small place and unfortunately the rumor mill is alive and well.This should not happen.....I cannot fathom how it happened.It remains a huge mystery to me. :)

The Return of the eye!

The eye will be back with forth right comments , the state of tennis in New Zealand is not good, and its no wonder Sasha Jones has defected,  Big story's to come its time to again hit the pathetic and agenda driven administrations .

Words Of Wisdom

Andy Murray had some advice for British Tennis and I think its very relevant to this part of the world. he says Do you know that in Spain, at 18, your funding stops,From there, you get nothing that you cannot earn for yourself" He also went on to say "We're funding guys to ages 27, 28 - while in the most successful tennis nation in the world you're basically on your own. Maybe there's something in that."

The 24-year-old Scot was sent to Spain to develop his game and has become the lone British player of his generation as a result. "When I went to Spain, from the best players to the worst players we were all taught the same way, all given the same drills. They had a structure and they stuck to it.

"Go to our national center and you've got 10 different nationalities all coaching a different way. If we don't get the results straight away, we panic and change direction.

"There is no confidence in our technique, no sense of sticking to an idea, no identity, no consistency in the way we teach tennis, so naturally there is no British style."

THE EYES SPIN

We also have to look more closely at how ITF points are accumulated more attention on Head to Head results is a very true indication of how a junior is travelling on the ITF circuits and what tournaments these wins and losses come in. At the end of the day what s the point of picking up points in closed local circuits if you cant cut it in the top grade,its fact many of the worlds top juniors hardly bother with ITF's once they reach 17.Most top college coaches are interested in Head to head who you have beaten who you have lost to , it pays to look more at the player rather than some inflated ranking next to their name.


I support this tough stance by the Spanish Federation and it seems to be working looking at all their players in the top 100.Believe me you are not making money playing the futures circuit.

CLASSIC!

South Canterbury Tennis Academy News

SCTA Academy Members excel in South Canterbury Spring Open Junior Tournament.

The South Canterbury Spring Open kicked off today in very blustery conditions that tested players throughout the day.Academy players involved in our coaching programs fared well .The 10 boys Jack Sands who attends our coaching in Geraldine was beaten by the top seed Harrison Darling in the semi finals but went on to win the third place play off  against Sam Bubb 9-3.He also recorded a 9-1 win over Matt Ellis in the Quarter finals.Josh Eckhold from our Monday performance Squad won his first round encounter before losing also to Darling second round.He went on to reach the consolation plate final.Great work boys! In the 10 girls Taylor Cvitanich also from Monday Performance squad had a great win in the quarter finals defeating Ella Smith 9-5.Smith had earlier knocked out the top seed Mid Canterbury player Caroline Murdoch.Taylor plays her semi tomorrow.In the 12 boys Taylor's brother Bradreached the quarter finals only to fall to the number two seed James Wild.Ben Deeley the third seed had a great straight sets win over Southern Lakes player Bjorn Pollock 6-3 6-3.He faces the top seed in tomorrows semi final.Both Brad and Ben are Academy Members

A special mention to 8 year old Thararubphet Homkrun who has reached the final of the 12 girls.Nay Nay(name) a shortened version of her full name is very promising considering her age (8).The boys 14 has seen Academy players Tom Russell and Jack Deeleyreach the semi finals of the boys singles.Both were in great form today.Tom the top seed will meet Sam Benny whilst Jack has his work cut out against the second seed from Auckland Connor Van Dalsum.Jack was the tournament 3 rd seed.Luke Elsen a perforamnce squad member was lacking a little fitness from his recent oversee's trip and was a little short of some match play he lost to the Number two seed.Josh Reddecliffe did not handle the blustery conditions too well and full credit to his opposition who did.Josh is also an Academy member.Rebecca Gill lost a competitive match with 3rd seed Zoe Smith from Southland. Rebecca showed good form and will only get better with more match play. Rebbecca is also an Academy member.In the 16 boys number 2 seed Tom Deeley will only get better from his semi final loss to 3rd seed Daiki Naka.Lacking some hard match play also the loss will make Tom even keener for his next tournament outing, Tom is of course an Academy member.Great to see former Timaru Boys High student George Tarbotton playing locally again.George will be joining our Monday performance squad. All players are involved in doubles also and Luke Elsen and Jack Deeley combined well with Jack making some great volleys set up by Lukes solid back court play.It was great to see Juniors from North Otago partcipate and receive valuable tournament experience.Caleb Ludermann had a great first up 3 set win in the 14 boys singles leaving his opponent on the court in dispair as he contempleted what went wrong.Rebecca Dellaway is into the semi's and will expect a tough match from 3rd seed Zoe Smith.Albert Hailes top seed for the 16 boys survived a semi final scare losing the second set to Cougan Stoop. The academy and Director/ Head Coach provide the coaching for North Otago this season and they are all ready showing the benefits from having the experience of Dries at the Helm.Play continues tomorrow.For a more visual Display go to the Academy Web site.LINK

Session Highlights North Otago Performance Squad

Hello Stranger!

Back again with a post ! So busy with my Academy side my Blog as been a little bare.Well I am going to post a video from our North Otago Programs of a simple Movement drill and time trial. Why dont you juniors try these out and post in the comment section your times.! Make sure you let me know your age when posting your time.

Session 1 in the 10s and 12s age group Test 1 was a sideways movement time trial using the service box.They had 30 secs to touch the singles sideline and the center service line as many times in that allotted time.Josh and Katelyn were top with 22 touches.In the Second test forward and backward movement from the service line to net again 30 secs with as many touches in the allotted time.Keedah was top score with 15.The last test was an endurance from Court 2 doubles sideline to the furtherest doubles sideline on court 3.All players made 10 touches during the 1 minute allotted time frame.The 16s and 14s age groups saw Albert with 27 touches in Test 1 ,James and Josh with 21 touches for test 2 and the 3rd the endurance it was all to much for the group and they lost count!How do you compare?

Kids Tennis Game

I thought I would share you this warm up or wind down game for younger juniors.I call this game lost sheep ,its a court awareness game teaching the juniors the names of the lines of the tennis court.As you can see watching the video as many kids get "lost" in their search for the correct line, hence the name
LOST SHEEP.

Novak does it again.

Novak Djokovic proved again he is the best tennis player in the World by defeating a gallant Rafael Nadal.The Djoker was always talented now he has been able to focus and control his skills.Mentally he matched it with Nadal and in the end he broke the Spaniard by repelling a Nadal comeback taking the 4th set and the match 6-1.Nadal now knows what Federer felt like when Nadal stopped him successive grandslam finals.Nadal is competitive and it will be interesting to see how Nadal sets out to combat and defeat this new and improved player. In yesterday's post I summed up pretty well the danger for Nadal and his serve was going to be a key part.Here is a section of his post match interview.

Q. That long game in the second set, I think game three, how deflating was that on your serve to not come out of that when you put the overhead in the net?


RAFAEL NADAL: I keep fighting. I fighted a lot to come back in the second. I was ready to accept the challenges and to accept the problems. The problem is, I told you, I didn’t have free points. The serve didn’t help me. I didn’t start the points with an advantage tonight with my serve. That’s a lot. So I don’t think I need an ace or a winner serve, because I think I have enough good forehand later to have the control of the point. But a lot of times I started the point in the worst position than him when I was serving. So that’s tough.


Nadal will be striving to improve his game , and the serve is going to be a key, if he is to ever beat Novak again.Can Novak maintain his focus ,Im tipping him to continue his dominance, he has raised the bar , its up to the rest and Nadal to raise theirs also.

Stosur comes of age!

What a win for Aussie Sam Stosur today over Serena Williams in the US Open Ladies singles final.Who tipped that? certainly not me and before I write more I have to say I am eating a large slice of Humble pie , well make it the whole pie!I never thought Stosur would lift the silver ware at a grandslam, her game today was outstanding she had to play at her best to win and she did , she surpassed her best she was incredible.As I have written previous I do not think Stosur's backhand was Grandslam material today it was brilliant and a key to her win.When she had to defend she used her slice backhand,executing the short dropshot and angle forcing Serena to come in and then passing her with her forehand.She served extremely well today and was aggressive on Serena's second serve.Congratulations Sam Stosur you proved your critics wrong including me! A huge boost for tennis in Australia.

I am looking forward to the Men's Final Between Nadal and Djokovic.One would say on previous encounters this year Djokovic is favorite.Nadal must be strong mentally he can not afford to let the Djokovic game get to him, he must go in with a game plan.If he hits to short the Djoker will make him pay, can he afford to run around his backhand for his favorite forehand?  he has tried this and Djoker has nailed him to the open court.Nadal has to serve well , he is always going to have to scrap more on his service games as unlike Djokovic there wont be as many free points on his service game, Novak has the bigger serve.Nadal to tame his Demons (Djokovic) and I am tipping him to take the title yet again.

I followed with interest the Junior singles,The Girls won by Grace Min USA who in fact was unseeded , I feel sorry for the second seed who Min beat first round.Min is only 5'4 and did not drop a set the whole tournament.As I said before ITF points and ranking are no clear indication where you really sit amongst your peers.Min has been playing more Challenger Woman's tourney's than junior events recently.Madison Keys from the USA and 12th seed bombed out early after good results in the Open section, an indication how far she was going to go in the girls event was a struggling first round win over Fanning from New Zealand.The boys was won by British Junior Oliver Golding who was the 13th seed over top seed Jiri Vesley CZE.The brits junior program is looking good with some great talent both Boys and Girls!

The Serve

In the blur of the serve,there can seem to be a variety of techniques used, but the worlds best players,the essential components are the same.


Here is a link to a fantastic article by the New York Post.
CLICK HERE