Ah! The grand ol question I’ve received more times than I care to remember. Not only from juniors, but from adults as well! Players across all levels struggle against pushers. I get it. They’re terribly boring to play against. They give you no rhythm. They make for long and exhausting matches that test not only your physical fitness, but your mental fitness as well. Well say no more to those horrible nightmares! It’s time for the pushers reign to end. Here are 5 strategies to beat those frustrating opponents. #1 Increase your consistency and fitness. If you hate playing against pushers, odds a ..read more

“What new technology does is create new opportunities to do a job that customers want done.” – Tim O’Reilly Over the last few months, I’ve had a few of the players I work with compete in events I was unable to attend. Not to worry. Swing Vision saved the day. Using Swing Vision, the families recorded the matches on their iPhone, uploaded it via wifi with the press of a button, and I was able to watch the match, analyze it, and provide my thoughts BEFORE the player’s next match. This is incredible and a game changer for families. Here’s why: High performance junior tennis has two major issues ..read more

This blog reveals the fastest, most efficient way to improve your UTR dramatically! Nothing we want comes easy though so prepare yourself, because this is not a blog to help you trick the system without focusing on self improvement. You can’t game the system. You might be able to sneak it up a few decimal points by running away from all the lower UTR opponents you’ll face, but that will end up limiting your ability to improve in the long run.  The more you play, practice, and learn, the faster you’ll improve. So if you’ve been withdrawing from consolation matches or tournaments because yo ..read more

“When people have too many choices, they make bad.” Thom Browne This is where a lot of players get in trouble….. You’ve started to learn the drop shot, the slice, the serve and volley, and all these fun shots and you can’t wait to implement them. I get it. That’s what makes tennis fun! You’re not playing one position doing the same thing over and over again like in some other sports. You have freedom of choice. Freedom of strategy. And you can surprise your opponent at anytime.  But sometimes you can surprise yourself by randomly going for a drop shot on an important point, when it’s actu ..read more

“What is done cannot be undone, but at least one can keep it from happening again.” - Anne Frank It’s important to look back and reflect on the lessons we learned. Instead of trying to forget our mistakes, it’s best to learn from them so we can increase the probability that they don’t occur again. There’s no better time than the end of the year. Here are the four most important things I will do my best to keep in mind moving forward: 1. Pay attention to what kids do, not what they say Kids are kids and we have a tendency to forget that. We ask them questions such as “what are your goals” and ..read more

“Working hard for something we don’t care about is called stress. Working hard for something we love is called passion.” Simon Sinek When you stop to think about it, it’s incredibly difficult. The balance we ask kids to find, while going through the biggest hormonal change in their life, is tough. Most parents and coaches (yes, not all) try to preach about not worrying about today’s results. They ask the kids to focus on getting better and not care if they win or lose. “Just give 100% of your energy and focus and make the most out of today” is some version of what they say. It’s the right idea ..read more

“To practice a discipline is to be a lifelong learning. You never arrive; you spend your life mastering disciplines. Thus, a corporation cannot be “excellent” in the sense of having arrived at a permanent excellence; it is always in the state of practicing the disciplines of learning, of getting better or worse.” - Peter M. Senge, The Fifth Discpline Why does Rafa continue to want to put his body through so much pain after he’s won everything? Why does Lebron James continue to show up at practice after being in the conversation as the greatest ever? Why does Tom Brady continue to play football ..read more

If you’re like me, your passion for tennis includes playing in competition. That type of passion goes beyond learning how to hit a ball and having the perfect technique. It’s about stepping on the court, across from an opponent, enjoying the chess match that a tennis match can be, and figuring out how to give yourself the best chance to win. To do this well, a player needs to have match play skills. These skills are: - how to use your strengths and hide your weaknesses - how to position yourself - what adjustments to make in your strategy and when - developing the routines in between points su ..read more

The process is the process. There’s no way around it. If you try to do things a different way, you’re relying on hope. And hope is not part of the development process. If someone’s tournament schedule isn’t handled appropriately, they won’t be prepared to play well. And if they don’t know what constitutes an appropriate tournament schedule, they’ll incorrectly have high expectations going into an event. They’ll be all excited as they’re playing their first tournament in a while. They’ve practiced a lot. They think they’re ready to compete! And then boom! They experience nerves under pressure f ..read more

Whatever happened to the American confidence of “we’re the best at everything?” Unafraid of any competition. Willing to outwork any opponent. What happened to the mentality that created a global dominance in sports? We’re complaining about too many international players on collegiate teams? And to fix the issue, we want to find a way to limit how many international players can play? This is a joke. This is a weak mindset. And it’s this mindset that is ruining this entitled generation, and will ruin the next. This participation trophy weak minded mentality that can’t take any criticism. And whe ..read more