Where to begin when setting goals with your athlete? In my last article, I suggested starting with past goals and asking tough questions to make sure the prior goals were appropriate, attainable, and successful. It is important to evaluate last year’s success before setting goals for the upcoming years. Goals should be written in the athlete’s own words, in the first person (I will), in their handwriting, and kept in a place where they will see them often. A proper set of goals is a road map to where the athlete wants to go, all the…
I was recently invited to be part of a USTA Foundation Fantasy Camp at the USTA Campus in Orlando, Florida. It was an incredible weekend with many great speakers and coaches, including Chris Evert, Sloane Stephens, Nick Bollettieri, Jim Courier, Jimmy Arias, and Brian Godfried. One of my favorite events was having breakfast with Gil Reyes, Andre Agassi’s (and many other top players’) long-time trainer. All professional athletes have trainers and physios to guide their training specifically for their sport. Very few of these trainers become well-known out of their sport. Gil Reyes made his…
As parents and coaches in youth athletics, we are bombarded with articles, information, and research on how this generation is playing too much. Too much time practicing, competing, and training. We are all hesitant to be the ones to lead a new trend, so I thought I would take a different angle and talk about the importance of the rest day. Do what you want for six days a week, but your athlete MUST have one rest day per week. Let’s just concentrate on that piece of it. Sounds simple, doesn’t it?! Some of us fall prey to…
This article is written by an extraordinary member of our coaching community, here in San Diego, Ron Marquez. Ironically, Ron and I met for the first time when he was a ballperson for one of my matches in the late 80s. I cringe to think of what I muttered under my breath between points. We reconnected when two of my favorite students were fortunate enough to play on Ron’s high school team. Ron Marquez was the girls and boy’s tennis coach at Cathedral Catholic High School for 20 years, Assistant AD at Cathedral, and is now working for…
1. College Coaches Want to See the Player Compete College coaches want to see that you are competing and improving. The simple fact is that college tennis is tougher than junior tennis. Coaches need to know you can rise to the level of play and adjust to the collegiate environment. College coaches don’t want the players who run and hide from competition. Let me repeat, coaches don’t want players who run and hide from competition. If you are avoiding competition to protect your UTR or ranking, you are focusing on the wrong things. We hear constant stories of…