Thank you, Debbie Graham Shaffer, for sharing a great piece on the importance of our athletes turning the adversity and failure that comes with competitive sports into success. For those of you who don’t know Debbie, she is a former #2 junior tennis player in the world, NCAA Individual and Team Champion from Stanford (graduated in 3 years while being undefeated in dual match play), top 10 WTA doubles, top 25 WTA singles, and a high-performance coach. The best part, of course, is she is now a sports mom like the rest of us! I am constantly…
Tips to Stay Hydrated this Summer Staying hydrated during the summer playing season is not easy. We all know it is tough to perform well when dehydrated, but more importantly, it can prevent heat illness and heat exhaustion. In my tennis career, I had to train and compete in all types of heat. I grew up playing tennis in Central California with very dry heat. During practice and matches, we would change sides, and there would be a sprinkling of white salt on my arms and legs. Many of our nationals were in the hot and humid south, where we…
After watching Rafa win his 12th French Open, I revisited Toni Nadal’s TEDx Talk on how he built a champion in Rafa through building his character. It is one of my all-time favorites and a must see for all parents and coaches. Toni rarely speaks of the technical work he did with Rafa but speaks often and openly about his building character as the key to Rafa’s success. As many of us in the tennis world know, throughout Rafa Nadal’s career, his uncle, mentor and former coach, Toni Nadal, has been…
School is back in session, and that means many of our athletes are back on the courts or playing fields. I have two children playing football, one in high school and one in college. I will be honest that having my children play football scares me. (I am the one silently saying her “Hail Mary’s” that no one gets injured during the games.) I am also the coach who is nervous having young players on the tennis courts all day in extreme heat. Unfortunately, we all know that things can go wrong, very wrong. Let’…
We are continuing some pieces on the joys of being a tennis parent. Are you all having fun yet? I will admit to not having the courage that most of you have, in that my children don’t play competitive tennis. Not that watching your son play football doesn’t have its own challenges, but at least I have the company of other parents all rooting for the same team. This week’s article is from Debbie Graham Shaffer. Luckily for us, Debbie will be contributing a lot of articles on her tennis wisdom. Here are just…