It is often assumed that great success in youth will translate into the same success in later years. Though I couldn’t help noticing that Gael Monfils won 3 junior slam titles in a row yet at senior level the closest he has come to winning one is reaching the semi finals of Roland Garros. Huge success at junior level had no effect on …
Movement is the platform for power
Last night I applied the concept that Power comes from movement, movement does not come from power. Something I have noticed repeatedly is that power in tennis and all sport comes through good movement but the reverse it not true. Good movement does not come through great power. What do I mean? I’ve been exploring the best way to build …
Margins
How well you play has a lot to do with how well you stay within your own margins and how well you push your opponent beyond theirs. they idea is that with any shot there is a way you can play it reliably. That is your comfortable level. As you increase the difficulty through adding power, aiming to tougher targets, …
The right kind of Tennis
This occurred to me at lunch. I write for tennis but it applies to anything we wish to master. As we face tougher opponents the natural change to occur is from exerting our game with ease to working harder and harder for an opportunity to apply our game. As we face tougher competition we naturally face more complete players willing …
Want to win: Pick your battles
Sport reflects the competition inherent in life and picking your battles is the lesson we learn from watching Tennis. From Stanislas Wawrinkas recent success at the Australian Open to Novak Djokovics dominance over Rafael Nadal, through to Rafaels and Roger Federers ongoing rivalry. Each of these battles has been a series of campaigns with each combatant having periods of dominance …
Strategy: Did you lose or were you beaten
All top competitors hate to lose but they can accept being beaten. That’s how I see the general reaction from players like Serena, Federer, Rafa and others. If they feel they could have played better and might have won they are annoyed with themselves because they let themselves lose. If however they gave everything. That’s the best they could have …
Relaxing under pressure: Trust
Building on my article Relaxing under pressure I can explain the benefit of my focus on trust. Do you believe in yourself under pressure? If you don’t it will show, both to you and your opponent. Trust in yourself will intimidate your opponent and keep them caged, holding them back. They will fear your response and thus check themselves. My ability to …
Relaxing under pressure: Accuracy
Building on my article Relaxing under pressure I can explain the benefit of my focus on accuracy. I’ve been working through an online course on Tai Chi. It’s fantastic because it puts into simple words the concepts I am trying to bring to my game. At the moment it is about “finding neutral”. That means simply resetting my posture, stance and mindset …
Relaxing under pressure: Consistency
Building on my article Relaxing under pressure I can explain the benefit of my focus on consistency. Last year I tried too hard which led to injuries, first in my wrist then foot. I have since learnt that better technique and recovery would have avoided it all. So that’s what I’ve been doing. The problem has then become a lack of play. …
Relaxing under pressure
It’s just as important to build your mind as it is your technical skills and your body. A common trait in high level players is to be relaxed under pressure. This is something they work on. The purpose here is to develop your rally ball. That is your ability to return any shot well without going for anything. It’s where …
Excellent Vic braden interview from Online Tennis Instruction
Vic Braden has been around tennis for a long time. He has some fascinating and useful insights. Florian Meier of Online Tennis Instruction shared some excellent interviews that are really worth listening to part 1 Points I noted were: attacking the net. the reducing recovery time: Used to have 4 seconds between points now have 2.2 in mens and 2.5 in womens. Leads …
Development Matters in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)
The early years foundation stage (EYFS) framework provides a basis for the school curriculum. It’s what the school system hopes to build on. So getting the best out of it ensures the best start for school and so on. Development Matters in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is a PDF explaining the key aspects of the EYFS. I believe sport is an education and sport is preparation …
Treatment Options for Rotator Cuff Injuries by Tennis Conditioning
If you want to know how to prevent injuries to your shoulder it’s worth understanding how it works. The Rotator Cuff is basically your shoulder joint. It’s more complicated than that but we’re talking about moving the bones around your shoulder joint using the muscles, ligaments and tendons that connect to these bones. The talk is Treatment Options for Rotator Cuff Injuries …
The Tennis business model: How do lower ranked players survive financially?
I’ve been wondering about the business model of the tour. The big problem for tennis seems to be the travelling required. I really think it is holding back the tour, not really helping it. I came across this tweet Sarah Borwell @sarahborwellAnother article about the money situation on the Tour. Its becoming a major problem. Impossible to break into the…fb.me/3vYaCUk1G30 …
Do You Have Entrepreneurial DNA? A Test To Help You Decide
So I found Do You Have Entrepreneurial DNA? A Test To Help You Decide while readingYour weird behavior is the key to finding your career niche. Business and sport go hand in hand. I’m not the first to think that. What was interesting was the list of traits that predict future success. Check them out and see what you think. They’re …
5 reasons why you don’t need to teach math
I’ve talked before how I feel Tennis is an education. So I like it when I read someone else explain the similar idea. Life is its own education. The article 5 reasons why you don’t need to teach math is provocative and I like that. Challenging the very root of learning but at the same time expressing everything my best teachers taught …
13 Ways to Keep Your Debt from Holding You Back
To compete you must take risks and the way you go about this will define what you achieve. However the problem with taking risks is that you must recover because all risks generate their own debt and while some times this debt is small, many times its big and other times it’s hidden. We see on the tennis court that …
How online gamers are solving science’s biggest problems
The guardian article How online gamers are solving science’s biggest problems considers a fascinating new approach bringing the gaming experience to solving real world problems. The results are already impressive but this is just the start. In the same way Facebook, Twitter and others brought the power of connectedness to communication through the power of the interweb. It is only natural that …
Classroom Game Design: Paul Andersen at TEDxBozeman
A fascinating talk treading the path I want to see. Applying the concepts of good games to learning design and teaching in the classroom. Paul is even handed in his discussion presenting what worked and what didn’t but remembering that he must learn and evolve as much as his students. He provides the playground and games but they need to …
Stanislas Wawrinka Coaching setup
Coach: Magnus Norman joined last april after the Australian Open. Prior to this he was coached from age eight until June 2010 by Dimitri Zavialoff then Peter Lundgren (former coach of Marat Safin and Federer) until September 2011 Magnus Norman won one ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title at the 2000 Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome, a few weeks before he …