Parental education
February 21, 2021
A very young tennis pro taught a junior group today with three four year olds. The twins arrived five minutes early with their dad as I was setting up targets and the junior net. This is when I learned that assumptions are dangerous. How naive of me to think the dad would wait until the […]
Resilience
February 7, 2021
A tennis student battled hard with her partner today. After starting slowly and losing the first set, they came back from 3-5 in the second to capture the match. Sometimes a gritty win means more than a pretty win. Way to go Lara and Shawn!
In it to win it
February 1, 2021
Chanda Rubin was commentating tonight on the Naomi Osaka match vs. Alize Cornet of France. Osaka was hitting on all cylinders and streaked to a 5-2 lead in the first set. Rubin said that she was really ‘plugged in’ from the start and it was quite a sight to behold. I wonder what being plugged […]
Mental Skills at Randy Ross Tennis Center
January 14, 2021
Mental Toughness Training with Steffie Hi, I’m Steffie Skarwecki, Sport Psychologist, Tennis Professional and certified Mental Toughness Trainer. In my experience with tennis players of all levels and ages, I have found a common theme: players know very little about the mental side of tennis and even less about how to train for mental toughness. […]
Emotional mastery
January 3, 2021
The Head football coach for Ohio State made a revealing comment on tv last night. He said, ‘You have to play with emotion…but not let emotion play with you.’ How many tennis players do you encounter who let their emotions play with them?
Appreciation
November 22, 2020
It is a pretty safe bet that 99 percent of us will never be elite level tennis players, golfers, or fly fishermen. Given that, maybe it’s wise to embrace each moment trying to improve a bit each day.
No detours
November 18, 2020
Two top male tennis players were early in the match today at The Nitto ATP finals. The commentator mentioned how important it was for one player to play solidly early because he has a history of taking a detour to ‘nega town’. How are you at avoiding that change of direction after losing your serve […]
Special
November 14, 2020
Jannik Sinner has burst onto the men’s tennis tour like a fireworks display on The Fourth of July. He seems to possess every tool in the book…and then some. Today, after racing to net to play an uncanny winner against his incredulous opponent, the announcer proclaimed, ‘he’s something special…makes the difficult look easy like the […]
Focus
September 27, 2020
The commentators on the broadcast today between The Buffalo Bills and The LA Rams said that quarterback Josh Allen of The Bills had to step up and prove he’s the guy…the one who can come through in the clutch. They said he must learn to ‘flush the negative plays’ to develop as a player. It […]
Awareness
January 18, 2020
Lloyd Harris is playing in the singles finals in Adelaide. He’s a new player on the scene from South Africa. The commentators gave him a nice compliment early in his match vs. Rublev of Russia. ”He’s one who hardly ever lets big chunks of a match go by without making a change if things are […]
Choice
December 17, 2019
You play tennis 3-4 days a week in the prime league season. Besides that, you drill twice a week in the winter and you expect a lot from yourself. In competition, errors linger in your mind and negatively influence subsequent points and often games. In your time away from the court, you realize that your […]
Resilience
August 29, 2019
Brad Gilbert was commenting today at The US Open. He referenced a player having a tough patch by saying…’he is in a spot of bother.’ It made me consider the spots of bother that come streaming into my life each day. Do I catastrophize them (all too often) or realize they are inevitable…can I take […]
Revolutionary new tennis product
July 1, 2019
As a tennis coach, I receive match feedback each week from players of all levels. The report that came in today was disconcerting to say the least. In a recent 3.5 women’s doubles match, a player deemed it ‘fine and dandy’ to scream (louder than Sharapova) on each hit. But…it wasn’t on the strike of […]
Tennis momentum
June 20, 2019
Yesterday, a very young cowboy had a tennis drill group that was attended by Susan, Suzie, Susan, and Susan. Susan P. mentioned that her and her partner were starting slowly in their matches and losing the first set routinely. I suggested they change their routine. Find a team who is competitive and play the best […]
Possibility
April 29, 2019
‘Performance equals potential minus interference.’ Tim Gallwey ** Megam M. reported in drills on Friday that she played her best tennis when she had put a number of Christmas bells in her hair. She said the constant jingling eliminated the white noise, the over analyzing, and the critical monkey voice that had previously interfered with […]
Sick
March 23, 2019
Naomi Osaka is rightfully the number 1 ranked player in the world following back to back major wins at Flushing Meadows and Melbourne. Today in Miami, she was beaten by Su-Wei Hsieh of Taiwan. I’m hear to tell you that Hsieh is the most entertaining player in women’s tennis and more fun to watch than […]
The basics
March 10, 2019
A dog’s life is pretty simple. Two meals a day, chasing squirrels while the sun shines, and watching your favorite players compete at The BNP Paribas Open. Who could ask for more?
Variety
March 9, 2019
Bjorn Frantangelo was matched against Novak Djokovic tonight at The BNP Paribas Open. The underdog was up a break in the first set before Novak turned it around winning 7-6, 6-2. Jim Currier was announcing the match and made a comment club players might want to try incorporating into their games. He said that Frantangelo […]
Confidence in sports
February 23, 2019
Dustin Johnson is not just the best golfer on the planet, he is an amazing athlete. He’s atop the leaderboard again in Mexico City leading Rory McIlroy by four shots heading into the final round. The panel of commentators were describing his technical prowess and how he is so far above other players in many […]
Persistence
February 15, 2019
During a televised women’s singles match this week, a commentator praised a player for ‘digging in her heels’ and playing error free tennis. What would ‘digging in your heels’ mean for you? ** refusing to go too big too early in a point ** shrugging off a double fault and making four first serves in […]
What You’re Saying