Prelude: A few years ago I played chess with my brother, I lost the match when his sole surviving pawn and king marched down the board to doom my lonely king. On multiple occasions, I was one move from winning if he overlooked a trap. After the match, I noted, “That was a close match.”…
Tag: Tennis Coaching
Tennis Coaching: Mike Agassi’s Plan & Making the Tennis Ball Behave
Mike Agassi wanted Andre to hit 1000000 tennis balls annually to train a future world #1. Andre Agassi spent 101 weeks ranked #1. Being able to control the ball and put it where your opponent does not want it has always been a good strategy for success in tennis. Today’s elite tennis training rightly focuses…
Quick Hits: Kentucky State High School Championships
I made the picturesque* drive from Louisville to Lexington to help coach my school’s entrants in the KHSAA state singles and doubles tournaments hosted by the University of Kentucky. UK has enjoyed a lot of success recently in NCAA tennis losing to the eventual NCAA champions each of the past 3 seasons in the 2022…
Roland Garros 2024: How to Coach Rafa ahead of His Final French Open?
How to Prepare the Ultimate Overdog on Clay for One Last Stand as an Underdog? This was not an easy topic even before Nadal drew the 2024 Masters Rome champion and #4 seed Alexander “Sascha” Zverev. Rafa appeared likely to hit a unique 15-Love in Paris when he won his 14th French Open title in…
Lexington Challenger 2023: Part 1 – Excellent Players Find Ways to Stay Close
This is the first of at least two posts on my experiences as a spectator at the 2023 Lexington Challenger. Listen to my thoughts on how both finalists stayed in sets despite being outplayed for the first 8 games. Steve Johnson defeated Arthur Cazaux 7-6(5), 6-4 to take the 2023 Lexington Challenger. Both men weathered…
My Most Complicated Match in Tennis Coaching: 2022 Kentucky High School Doubles State Championship
Listen to my Podcast About the Most Complicated Match I’ve been a part of as a Coach
Coaching During the Era of COVID-19
Precautions First, tennis is considered to be a low risk of transmission with COVID-19 which makes coaching easier. Still, my school and team have been rightfully insistent about players and coaches wearing masks when not playing and maintaining distancing. We check temperatures, limit court rotations for possible contact tracing, and have all players and coaches…
Reviewing the Bryan Brothers 4-Part Doubles Series
In the coming months, I am going to review the Bryan Brothers 4-Part Doubles Series. I am doing this in part because as a Kentucky High School tennis coach 2 of the 5 matches in a dual are doubles matches. Therefore, 2/3rds of a team victory can come from sweeping doubles. I will also note…
A Tennis Lesson from Homer Hickam or What Makes a Great Shot in Tennis
Homer Hickam’s 1998 memoir Rocket Boys was the basis of the 1999 film October Sky. I enjoyed both immensely, but as usually happens films leave out key events in the interests of runtime. One such exchange between Homer Hickam and Quentin Wilson was left out of the film, but it made an impression on me…
Playing Smarter Doubles is a Process
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmnnG9fXV-I Federer and Wawrinka had to play as a team to win this match despite both being vastly (VASTLY) superior at moving, striking the ball, and playing singles For most of my tennis life, I have preferred singles by a wide margin to doubles. That gap is closing as I have gotten older and coached…
Tennis Abides: Dan Martin on Tennis and Life 