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…
Tag: Tennis Coaching
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
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 9…
Tennis Wisdom I have Heard and Read over the Years
Carlos Moya’s (pictured above at Roland Garros 2019) coaching has helped Rafael Nadal in his 4 most recent major titles. I have not done anything like that, but I still think the quotes below are worth considering if one plays or follows tennis. “Great shots win points, but good shots win matches.” – Don Isaacs,…
Emotions in Sports – Bjorn Borg as an Outlier?
I ate out tonight and a soccer recap show was on the big screen. The celebrations and the displays of anger over poor plays were quite volatile to the point of being a bit comical. I know basketball far better than soccer, but again it is easy to think of players celebrating big dunks, making…
Another Conversation with Tim Mayotte: The Kinetic Chain
This past June I was fortunate enough to have a second interview with Tim Mayotte. Mayotte is an incredibly nice person with a lot of well-rounded interests. In that conversation, we discussed multiple things, but when it came to tennis Mayotte explained that the Big 3 in men’s tennis all share certain commonalities in how…
The Self-Similar Nature of Tennis
Tennis can be thought about at a number of levels, but each level is of a similar complexity to the level above or below it. I will look at 3 of these levels. The Level Most People Talk About: Individual Skills One’s technique when hitting the ball, one’s movement on the court, and one’s conditioning…
Second Season: Saint X wins Regional Title with Eyes on the State Tournament
What a Difference 1 Week Makes The 6th Region of Kentucky’s 16 high school tennis regions crowned a familiar champion before regional realignment goes into effect in 2019. Saint Xavier’s tennis team absorbed a tough upset loss on Senior Day 1 week ago. At the same venue, Saint X fended off duPont Manual High School to…
Novak Djokovic’s Coaching Situation: I Like Reuniting with Vajda and a Suggestion
Novak training with God Marian Vajda!!! 🙌🏼 pic.twitter.com/UtoTf1Donw — Ashish (@Ashish_1603) April 8, 2018 Marian Vajda working with Novak Djokovic is a good sign. He is comfortable with Vajda’s approach. Djokovic took a lot of criticism when he split with Todd Martin and worked with Vajda only in Spring 2010. Djokovic then reached the US…
Tennis Abides: Dan Martin on Tennis and Life 