Tennis talent …

Posted on December 26, 2013 by Douglas

Tennis talent … over the month of December during the National titles and wildcard playoff Australia’s tennis talent has been on display in Melbourne. Keen judges, Academy coaches, State and Australian decision makers have all had their say on whose emerging as our future champions.

The finalists are earmarked and their skill touted, scholarships and assistance is forth coming and a sense of excitement as Australia continues its journey to raise its world player stocks to top 50 or even top 100.

As in the previous decade these players with talent and potential don’t quite match the hopes that they had or Australian tennis had for them, once again, in professional sport these attributes are only words, it requires other ingredients to make success and dreams a reality!

Investment, not just by the official tennis bodies into mid-teen development and late teen assistance but by the players themselves into avenues of guidance/mentoring, disciplines of everyday life and the feeding of their passion through a knowing and readiness to transform the talent, not just to world class but world best !

Australian players must invest time, money, energy, forward thinking and bigger picture to achieve professional sporting success … the rewards personally, emotionally, nationally, locally, physically and financially will be unbelievable, inspiring, exhilarating, life changing and just plain bloody fantastic.

Seek what you need and it will happen …. not because someone said it will !

Rod Laver in Action 1956 001Stroke Production in the 50's

White City Amusement Park, (1917), Sydney, Australia

White City Amusement Park, (1917), Sydney, Australia

Jack Crawford

Jack Crawford

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Expectations

Posted on October 23, 2013 by Douglas

Expectations … as a professional tennis player discerning between real, practical, hope, dream, make for the planning of performing and life !

Expectations … take some of all of the above and mix them together to find the answer, as it requires all of you to achieve success and calling on all when training or playing is vital to sustain high levels on a consistent basis.

Expectations … is a very personal thing and is based on analysis of who you think you are and then the discipline to keep believing and courage to be honest with yourself at the same time motivating that dream.

Expectations … that you can’t do it all on your own, seek support and mentoring from people that understand and can guide (with you) the pathway and are aware of the bumpy bits along the way. This includes a vision of life and looking ahead – plan, target, strategy, outcome.

Expectations … persevere for the right reasons and love of what you are doing. Confidence comes from this, not compliments … look inside, but deep !

Expectations … you can, you will, you will again, and again …

 

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Target the targets

Posted on August 18, 2013 by Douglas

Post – Wimbledon is a time for players to address the ‘targets’ that have been set earlier in the year and check that they are on track. Many professionals, as they approach the next Grand Slam (US Open), panic if their ‘targets’ have not been achieved and tend to change them to a more immediate one to try and realize their goals ….. good idea ?

A very good player will assess their yearly ‘target’ and focus on the long term achieve ! It may compromise their immediate goals but will keep them on track to the initial ‘targets’ and reaching that goal will progress their ‘dreams’, development and life.

Staying strong to their plan and working hard to catch up to where the player feels they need to be should remain the focus. This applies to the aspiring professional even more so ….. set the ‘target’ and then target the targets.

Some examples of common ‘targets’ are – ranking, hitting levels, fitness, match play, stronger mental preparation, work ethic and whilst these are fine – I feel the better ones revolve around the areas of professionalism, discipline, courage, detail on and off the court, playing to character ….. all these develop the person and allow the best player you can be to come out.

 

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Coaching ….. adding to the ‘craft’

Posted on June 13, 2013 by Douglas

Professional Tennis Coaches around the globe seek to do things better … or at least should !

Taking the form of conferences, engaging with colleagues, self analyzing tournament play, online viewing/reading, player watch, Federation coach development workshops … personal improvement demanded by the coach will reflect on the players/students that they teach/mentor.

Whatever level the coaching is, it will have holistic consequences. Modern methods have had a recent focus to sports science with body use and athleticism a highlight. Understanding how these factors (nutrition, flexibility, strength, speed, endurance, recovery, psychology) influence the technique and play have changed how coaching is delivered and the subtle care with physiology and body protection, especially with the growth during the adolescent years.

As players approach a higher performance level the adding of style methodology and matching this to their character becomes vital to their pathway, enjoyment, passion, potential realization and sustained success.

With Wimbledon upon us our reflection to the beginnings of this magical game 136 years ago, its evolving to the greatest ‘one on one’ sport in the world and the contribution, as professional tennis coaches, we make to millions every day should be enough to keep … adding to our craft !

Bjorn Borg - Wimbledon

 

 

Bjorn Borg - Wimbledon

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Now for clay !

Posted on April 1, 2013 by Douglas

With the fanfare of the American season coming to an end, great tennis and crowds, the Pro Tour moves from hard court to clay ….. new footwear, new clothes, new conditioning and new mindset !

Clay takes on the style and subtle skills of a player wishing to be successful, with court craft and point building the focus. Without changing the character of their game and power of the modern foundation, good players add variety and creativity to their formula of ‘play’.

This takes the shape of more use of variety of spin, drop shots and acute angles, and I believe this season, more volleys. Together with conditioning based on aerobic capacity, the smart players allow this to build up over a few weeks and not put stress on their bodies too early. At the same time their game and mind expands in a natural environmental way.

A trap for young pro’s heading to Europe is the thinking that they have to play an entirely different way ….. beware the consequences and seek experienced mentoring (Aussies take note).

Speaking of ‘down under’ the Autumn in Australia is also clay covered in activity with the Victorian Claycourt Championships underway, followed by two ITF Junior events in Melbourne, along with the National 16’s (both on the new clay at the National Tennis Centre, Melbourne Park). The National 12’s and 14’s will be on clay in Ipswich, Qld plus a host of OJT tournaments around Victoria during the school holidays.

Vintage Tennis is excited about the clay tennis that is to come over this next period where the brain and imagination are on show to their best ….. and yes, the best at it, will prevail !

Clay court

Clay court (Img src: atptennisblog.blogspot.com)

 

 

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World’s best show us how

Posted on March 30, 2013 by Douglas

In time past, professional tennis players hit the ball that we could only imagine how to do … well in our modern era, players through the necessity of dealing with the speed of the game, have simplified their stroke play and although we, as social/competition exponents, may not match the 120 – 140 kph shots we can certainly emulate the swing pattern !

Players work on efficiency (time capacity) and a technique that won’t break down under pressure. Modern players with evolving technology in racquets and natural skeletal movement understanding need to not complicate the process, thus the follow the ball flight in their backswing, catching/stopping the ball at impact, follow the ball down the court in the swing and continue over the shoulder to complete the overspin/topspin … all in a natural body rotation and from an open or semi-open stance.

Movement is the second most important ingredient in tennis and again modern players have given us an insight to the efficiency and common sense of lateral steps and body weight … with racquet and body working together, all in a non stop dance with the ball approach.

Marvel at these gifted and extraordinary athletes …. but also mimic and create a greater understanding of tennis at the very elite level.

Hoad Rose Rosewall - footwork

Hoad Rose Rosewall – footwork

 

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Aussies at ‘play’

Posted on January 25, 2013 by Douglas

Escorting groups of young tennis enthusiasts to the Australian Open (many their first experience) I was frequently asked “where can we watch our players play“.  Explaining to 11 year old’s, that only two got past the 1st round in singles and none past the 3rd round , a bemused look came over their faces …. stats show 0 from 20 in the qualifying event and 2       from 16 past the 1st round in the main draw.

“Oh where not very good at tennis” was the inquisitive reply, as a ‘tennis’ professional for over 35 years, this made me cringe a little … “what about our juniors” was the next question, again I could only talk about the great potential of two …. stats show from the ITF lead in event at Traralgon, 1 from 22 boys got past the qualies and 5 from 17 girls the same. Main draw … 3 from 14 boys got past the 1st round (although 1 did win the event !) and only 1 from 18 girls got past the 2nd round. The Australian Open junior event which followed the numbers were similar (although 2 boys are in the semi finals today … zero girls past the 2nd round).

Silence from our group, then the perfect reply … “maybe it will be one of us that play here and win, one day” !   I loved that answer and the Australian spirit … yes maybe it will !

The responsibility of all that are involved in Australian Tennis and it’s rightful place in the world must take this attitude displayed and create an environment of ‘ladder to the top’ for all the players that put their hand up ! ….. we are great up to the point of the above (16 years of age and under) … then we stop the ladder for all but a few to climb … keep the ladder their and maybe put in another one, so that one day and soon, our 11 year old’s can see Australian’s play … every day !

 

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Generations – past and present

Posted on December 26, 2012 by Douglas

Australian Open marks the beginning of the new tennis year and with this comes the ‘talk’ of the hopefuls of Australia’s tennis future.

The recently completed “December Showdown’ put on display some of the tennis that we can expect from the next generation. The result was a little surprising, with the players you expect to step up didn’t and the evenness of competition, although tight, showed that ‘stand outs’ just didn’t eventuate. Players of similar fitness, speed, skills and unfortunately styles battled for a ‘wildcard’ and the major stepping stone to enhancing careers and greater expectations.

The lessons of the past and generations that have succeeded and generations that have fallen seem to be ignored by this current crop. Whilst not being critical of their energy and passion, questions must be raised about a group of aspiring professionals and equipped with different physical attributes would ‘play’ the same.

The ‘character’ (inner person) is missing from a game that continues, as history reminds, to be for all and many and varied. Play exercised to match the aggressive, or the passive, or the calm, or the volatile, or the planner, or the natural, or the creative, or the courageous ….. in other words ‘be yourself ‘ in order to succeed and turn dreams into reality.

Australia  has another new generation to follow the current one and these 16 year old’s have something very different and future modernism to their game / character. Vintage Tennis over 35 years has witnessed many fallen generations, this next one, we hope, has the fortitude and single bloody mindedness to be one of the successful generations.

A thought to some of the past and present generations (current players aged 20 years to 28 years) – seek mentoring to guide a life that is there but needs to change …..too much talent, too much waste.

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Professionalism at ‘play’

Posted on October 18, 2012 by Douglas

Sharing recently (facebook/twitter), the lastest ‘finals wrap up’ from the ATP – Shanghai and the WTA – Linz tournaments there were two distinct examples of ‘professionalism’.

In Shanghai, Andy Murray was attempting to close out the match in the second set tie-break against Djokovic – to Murray just a continuation of his form from the US Open, but for his opponent this represented the ‘state of play’  leading into the end of year Masters and the Australian Open 2013 (January). Novak made the statement (saving 5 x match points) that the bigger picture and overall ‘state of play‘ in world tennis has him as the outstanding player in any circumstance – thus not allowing Murray any psychological advantage, in fact, quite the opposite.

Definitely heightened professionalism demonstrated.

The second example in the WTA – Linz, Victoria Azarenka (love the way she plays) leading 5-0 in the second set on her way to a straight sets victory, admitted to thinking it was all over, relaxed and put herself in cruise mode – her opponent came back and rattled off the next 4 x games, not a problem Vika regathered and won the set and the title. However this mindset sends a message to her contemporaries that maybe the world N0.1 likes to ease over the line ( ala Usain Bolt) !

This is not the ‘norm’ for her but demonstrates how professionalism at 95% can cause a hope in opponents that does not need to be there.

We have seen recently (Australian Story – ABC) a story of a man that once learnt about professionalism (1963-1964) went on to be the ‘benchmark‘ in the Open era.

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Olympic lessons !

Posted on August 11, 2012 by Douglas

Tennis returns to ‘normality’ this week as players gear up and prepare for the US Open. This Grand Slam event is referred to as ‘The Open‘ for the reason that the progressive winners must not only be talented and have ‘form’ but must be in the peak of fitness.

A number of the top players have been involved in the Olympics and have expended physical and emotional energy, whilst others have been playing lessor tournaments trying to keep match fit and striving to get their game ready.

The Olympics demonstrated that the athletes that were the best prepared in every detail achieved or near achieved their desired result and those that went in hoping instead of believing and trusting in what they have toiled for came up short with devastating consequences.

Detail in preparation is exactly what professionalism means and takes years of determined effort, energy, emotional discipline to get to the point where they can say …” I am ready ” to deliver the dream that they hold tight and cherish.

The US Open will produce the quality player and a few surprises from those that exercise this professional attitude, the detail, the performances that set them on the pathway that they have set for themselves, as it did for the Olympic medalists.

Vintage Tennis will be embarking, during this month, on spreading the message / lessons so markedly learnt from the Olympics to young Australian tennis aspirants wishing to be educated in preparation and training for ATP, WTA and ITF Pro Tours through its engine tennis program … see website for a profile and brief.

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