FTI Tennis Solutions

The role of a coach.....

What is the role of a coach?

Instructor, confidant, technical correction, strategy, big brother, other father, or friend?
After 40 years in this industry, I've seen a lot of changes and innovations. Some good, some not so good.. Racquet technology has come from wood racquets to aluminum to graphite to ceramic to carbon fibre to who knows what in the near future!

The court dimensions have stayed the same, the balls for the most part are still wool and synthetics. The rules are basically the same with a few changes to make the game more palatable to a television audience.. The governing bodies still have no idea of what they're doing and no one continues to listen to the players who have to sacrifice so much for potentially getting so little... But the coach is still there, burning their scalps hours each day, hoping to come across the next" Neo" or the one!

Not so fast spanky!

We have to go through hundreds of students to find a handful who will actually compete at a decent level.. We have to go through hundreds of students to find a few to master the game...

We have to coach for years on end to get that one student with all the neccessary skills, both physical and mental, with enough money behind them to give them a realistic shot at playing professional tennis and we wait an eternity to find one who can sustain a career playing the sport we love...

But still we coach...

Why?

Because it still beats going into an office everyday where we have to perform a task we really don't like, because you must make money to pay for a a house, car, food and dental work... If we're lucky we can take care of a dog or cat properly who give us unsolicited love just for coming home!

And don't get me started on a wife or life partner🤣

So what do I want in the future?

Racquets made of unearthly materials that change from forehand to backhand to volley grips automatically!

A ball that can be pre programmed to change trajectory mid flight just by using your mind.

A tennis net on hydraulics that moves both in height and angle between every point.

Full body suits that move automatically and have zero chance of causing injury.

And tennis commentators who actually know what they're talking about.....

Oh yeah, one last little thing...

Parents who understand that just because they pay for lessons, there's no guarantees in life.

🙂

By the way, I got the life partner thingy right....

Wait! The rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated! The past few months have been "Twilight Zone" life changing, and I've now realized that my tennis fraternity posts have gone missing!

Please understand that as a type two diabetic, my lovely wife has kept me in almost draconian isolation but, I've come out the other side alive and in good spirits, although a few pounds heavier and much closer to my ideal weight allowing me to continue on as the Lord Humongous!

Today, I wish to address the troubling change I've seen in smaller children as they try to learn the game of tennis.

Tennis is, in my opinion, one of the most, if not the most, difficult games to master. Please focus on the word "MASTER"! Anyone can go on to a court and knock a ball somewhere in close proximity to the tennis facility! But trying to hit a little fuzzy ball within the 2,808 square feet of a tennis court....sounds big huh... can be a daunting task! Especially if you narrow that space down to a target area of 4 square feet! But the the most difficult aspect comes down to the small bite-size steps one must take to master the navigation of this other worldly endeavor.....

I had a new class of beginners take to the court about three weeks ago, and after being away from the little angels (devils), I was looking forward to the interaction to help me understand which new socially approved method of teaching I was going to have to incorporate to get the little dudes to get the bug! It didn't take long.....

Never in my 40 years of coaching, has a child become so dejected after attempting to hit his first ball! Not after the first rotation, or bucket, or series of feeds...the very first ball! I was shocked! Real depressing stuff here, it was like I stole his lunch money (have never actually stolen anyone's lunch money that I remember) .... But it was a real sad puppy eyes, depressed, I'm such a failure, moment! I'm not going to get into any theories why this child may have reacted this way since I'd met the mother only a few minutes before, but hey, figuring this stuff out is why I get paid the big bucks!

My coaching instincts made me try and play a little game with him of having him watch the ball as I moved it back and forth in front of him without him moving his head. No worries, the little dude's head didn't spin around 360 degrees, which would have offered a whole new set of problems, but he was unable to follow the ball with his eyes and not move his head. And to be honest, I've seen quite a few young kids unable to follow the ball with eyes only. But over the years, after speaking with medical specialists and other coaches, the general theory is that since we're moving forward so rapidly with technology, and kids are not generally going out and playing amongst nature and falling out off trees and such, the muscles of the eye and their peripheral vision and/or the ability to hone that aspect of their vision has been greatly affected. What to do?

Play catch with your children as soon as you can. My own daughter was swatting balloons with a plastic racquet as soon as she could walk. We continued to throw things at her (she knew they were coming) from real tennis balls to throwing an American football as she got older to help develop the rotator ligaments and tendons. Let them climb trees and take them into unfamiliar environments to help develop their sense of direction and balance. Teach them to tumble and play other sports requiring different forms of movement!

It's not an easy game, but spending quality time with the little ones and keeping them away from the video games will do a lot for them in life and help them become more aware of their environment! There will always be time for video games when you're a little older...Anyone know when the new PS5 will be available?

What's on my mind? Vacation in 3 days foremost, but before I go and tune out for a couple of weeks here's my tip of the day inspired by my latest students from the warm confines of Montreal(sometimes)!

Balance, what is it and how do you work on your balance? Well you could do Yoga, that's cool! Or you could join a gymnastics class and learn body control and tumbling but that could cost you a trip to the emergency room!
But how often do you address balance in tennis?

Everytime you hit a backhand, a forehand, a volley or a serve, I hope you're balanced if not, a ricochet off the frame or a twisted ankle or worse can be the result, LIKE A WIFF! Hehe!
Here's the key in everyday life. When walking I'm sure most of you can walk in a straight line without bumping into obstacles, well most of you at least, but how often do you attempt to walk unnaturally?.
Walk unnaturally? What do you mean?

When walking, it's easy to walk in straight lines making the occasional 45 degree turn and continuing on ahead(most of us),but how often do you walk backwards for 10 steps, and sideways left foot leading for 10 steps and then right foot leading sideways for 10 steps and then doing the old jazz step "the carioca step"? If you dont know or ever heard of the carioca step, imagine a baseball player throwing a ball in from the outfield while moving forward without ever skipping a beat!

YouTube it...its a real thing! Honest!
The more often you can walk unnaturally, the better your balance on the court will become because of the muscle memory thingy.

So, walk like a goofball in public! Like your life depended on it! You may get stared at and little kids will be shielded from viewing you, and some people may think you're a little "off" but hey, you won't whiff on the court and fall and embarrass yourself anymore !

That's a good thing!

Watch the ball! Keep your eyes focused! Concentrate! Watch the ball like a hawk! Just a few of the comments tennis coaches use to convey the importance of the most misunderstood aspect of the game of tennis.

Can you actually see the ball make contact with the racquet?

Science knows that that the hand is quicker than the eye, so, can a ball moving at 60 mph only slightly increasing in size perception as it approaches be easy to watch to contact?

Yes and no.

I have always loved this picture specifically because of the background of the shirt being black in color, the contrast of the ball being caught perfectly in the soon to be strike zone conveys the idea that the player is watching the ball so intently, she couldn't possibly miss the ball. She didn't but here's the point, no pun intended, maybe, the player is watching the ball intensely, but more importantly she's concentrating and focusing most during the last few milliseconds the ball is travelling towards her.

Most club players watch the ball as it leaves the opponents racquet but fail to watch it the last meter or so before contact, inadvertently looking up and looking for the net and or where their opponent may have moved to using mostly their peripheral vision, all in a matter of milliseconds! The human brain is an amazing machine when you think about it!

So, what's the solution?

Next time you go out to hit a few balls, try to not look up as you're hitting the ball. It's harder than it sounds but give it a try! Many players of a high standard do this subconsciously, you can too!

But only if you focus!

Till next time sparky!

Hey folks! Good morning!
Finally getting around to talking about all things tennis!

Been busy launching the new website, check us out at ftitennis.net and let me know how we're doing!

Had a great lesson this morning with a gentleman from Peru, and one of the points of interest today was wishing to hit the ball harder with more power! (Heck, who doesn't want to add another 20 mph or so to their groundstrokes or serve?

Not so fast sparky! A few laws of physics to contend with first!

Without getting too deep into the particulars, here's some great points....well, I think so at least....

If you have a car that has 100 horse power, with proper gearing, you can achieve a ground speed at sea level of about a 100 mph...

Driving in Denver doesn't count...

In order to double your speed, you need to increase your horsepower by about 4.5 times to about 450 horsepower. Following?

Ok, think the fantastic and (in my case unaffordable) Bugatti Veyron which can top 215 mph with an estimated 1000+ horsepower and a million dollar price tag. Just doubling your horsepower is not going to get it done....laws of physics.

Now, consider the average tennis player can swing his racquet about 70 mph through the extension of the full arch of the swing, the ball speed will be based on how well you strike the ball, wind, string tension and type of racquet configuration, and a small part the type surface. The ball speed achieved will be somewhere in the 50 to 60 mph range.

Now in order to double your ball speed, you're going to have to increase your swing by 4.5 times to about 350 to 400 mph!

Not gonna happen champ, that is not without a trip to the emergency room for a limb re-attachment.

So what do you do?

Stop trying to hit the ball twice as hard because all you're going to achieve is hitting it twice as far out! Take pride in the quality of the ball strike and develope a consisitent swing pattern in order to make less mistakes and win more points. Nothing worse than getting a ball placed right in your wheel house and seeing that down the line passing shot sail 120 feet past the court and knocking the grounds keeper or worse the girl or guy your trying to impress on the old skull!

Stay safe guys, and play smart!

Stay tuned for more cool stuff...

About Lou | Mysite A short Biography on some of the many accomplishments in Lou's career spanning a period of 37 years as a U.S.P.T.A certified tennis ninstructor and coach. www.ftitennis.net

Just launched the new website, please pay a visit to www.ftitennis.net

Yes Chad, size 15. Now do some work before I have to kick your ass!

6 inches can be a very splendid thing! Former Wake Forest University head coach Chad Skorupka laying down the law!

The "LOOK" you get when you play a low percentage shot.....

There are those who have big serves, then there are those who have bigger, "lefty' serves! Haydn Lewis bringing the heat!