Online courses & books?

[nightfire700]

Are there good video/online courses or books specifically targeted for aspiring kids. I see a couple of books listed on the Tennis warehouse website specially targeted for kids but dont know if they are good. Any first hand feedback? I am also interested in online/video courses that we can use. I have been following the videos available on youtube and I am my son (9 yrs old) do watch them together and discuss whats being taught. Its good to engage him and see his thought process and what he thinks of them. The only problem is that lot of you tube videos are incomplete and different coaches have different opinions leading to confusion and discussions between us. Not that I have any complains as it sometimes leads to interesting discussions between us but following one consistent course might be better. Any first hand reviews/feedback?

[high and deep]

someone at my club is training his kids with the tennissmith online program. The kids are all very good players. The father is very dedicated with it and the videos that I have watched seem easy to follow.

[tennisbuck]

tennisplayer.net is a good website. Lots of new articles every month. I wouldn't call it a specific training program though. Either way its still one to check out.

[schang70]

I'm looking for similar resources myself for my 7 year old daughter. I am probably going to try Oscar Wegner's MTM DVDs. I have heard good things about them.

[nightfire700]

Originally Posted by high and deep

someone at my club is training his kids with the tennissmith online program. The kids are all very good players. The father is very dedicated with it and the videos that I have watched seem easy to follow.

Checked tennissmith and a few preview videos there but found them too complicated without need. This is one common threads I am seeing everywhere - over analysis and trying to project each move as an overly complicated piece of science that somehow needs a PhD in biomechanics to understand.

Originally Posted by tennisbuck

tennisplayer.net is a good website. Lots of new articles every month. I wouldn't call it a specific training program though. Either way its still one to check out.

Read a few articles but found $20 per month only for a few new articles a bit too steep for my requirement. Good stuff though and not sure if paid subscription has much more details than whats showcased in samples.

Originally Posted by schang70

I'm looking for similar resources myself for my 7 year old daughter. I am probably going to try Oscar Wegner's MTM DVDs. I have heard good things about them.

I have also been impressed by Oscar Wegner and his focus on keeping things simple, but the way the tennis universe is divided in their opinion on him, I am a bit confused.

I checked tennisoxygen videos on youtube and found them to be very interesting and looked simple to follow without a lot of jargon or science thrown in. I checked FYB and jeffsalzenstein also and liked them as well but seemed like more advanced stuff and not sure if it would be a good thing to start with. I am more keen on stuff that talks about a lot of drills and basic techniques and how to develop them. Will wait for real life feedback from some parents to zero in on one.

[gplracer]

I like the tennisoxygen video on court positioning.

[nightfire700]

Just to update the thread with my further findings, I checked virtual tennis academy and found the video instructions very good. It has good stuff arounds drills and reference points etc to learn the basics. The other one I liked is tennis oxygen which uses pro stroke analysis to teach without a lot of jargon thrown in. I think with these two, I have enough to keep my son busy .

[widmerpool]

nightfire,

Anything worthwhile on the serve.

Getting any traction at all with my 8 y/o on the serve is a pain.

[nightfire700]

Originally Posted by widmerpool

nightfire,

Anything worthwhile on the serve.

Getting any traction at all with my 8 y/o on the serve is a pain.

The 1st serve instruction video on VTA was excellent. I followed it up with the 7 video pro serve analysis playlist on youtube by tennis oxygen. The good thing happened in this sequence is that while the first one gave a clear cut instruction on how to serve with all reference positions etc, the second one brought forward all the subtle difference between the serve of various pros. There were quite a few 'aah-haa' moments where we could see how most pros have subtle differences but the overall technique is fairly similar bringing forward the point that its ok to deviate a bit from the exact sequence as long as the flow is natural and timing is near perfect. Hope it helps your kid as well.