Great advice i got today

[ga tennis]

Im a prime example of what not to do with social comparisons. I look at some of these kids my daughter losses to and ask myself WTH!!!!! A good friend of mine sent me a message this morning that i really liked. Her message said (Its not a race. Doesnt matter what happens at 11. Ingraining the right fundamentals is key. The tree with the deepest strongest roots is the one that reigns supreme in the forrest,not the one that grows the fastest.) What a GREAT way to look at it. THANKS!!!

[TennisCoachIN]

So very true ^^^^^

My daugther turned 9 last month. She lost this past weekend in the finals to a girl who just slapped the ball low and skiddy at her feet. My daughter executed her shots with good form. Of course, it bugged me for a little bit, but that is the kind of tennis you will often see in 10's.

She understands this is a long term process

[TCF]

I needed that quote BEFORE last weekend GA! It was a definite WTH weekend!

[TCF]

Originally Posted by TennisCoachIN

So very true ^^^^^

My daugther turned 9 last month. She lost this past weekend in the finals to a girl who just slapped the ball low and skiddy at her feet. My daughter executed her shots with good form. Of course, it bugged me for a little bit, but that is the kind of tennis you will often see in 10's.

She understands this is a long term process

Ha!! You and I had the same weekends!! My girl who is 8 lost in the finals to a 12 year old who literally never swung at a ball! She was tall and long armed and blocked everything back. It was on clay so my girl was working her tail off but just could not break through.

And this was the g12s so prepare for a long spell of it.

[ga tennis]

I knew you would like the quote. The person that sent me the quote has the most talented 11 year old i have seen play. TCF you would LOVE to watch this kid play. AMAZING!!!!! When she puts it all together watch out world!!!!

[TCF]

Originally Posted by ga tennis

I knew you would like the quote. The person that sent me the quote has the most talented 11 year old i have seen play. TCF you would LOVE to watch this kid play. AMAZING!!!!! When she puts it all together watch out world!!!!

I would love to see her play. I left that tournament so proud. My girl gave up a foot in height, 30-50 lbs to every opponent. She played one entire set with a bloody nose, never even let me or any adult know it was bleeding as her court was in the middle of a row of courts. All I could see is she kept going to the water fountain and washing it. Never gave up, ended the match with a shirt covered in blood, got to the finals and lost to one of the tallest, long armed, pushing freaks of a girl I have ever laid eyes on!

But she gained a ton of valuable experience.

[ga tennis]

Originally Posted by TCF

I would love to see her play. I left that tournament so proud. My girl gave up a foot in height, 30-50 lbs to every opponent. She played one entire set with a bloody nose, never even let me or any adult know it was bleeding as her court was in the middle of a row of courts. All I could see is she kept going to the water fountain and washing it. Never gave up, ended the match with a shirt covered in blood, got to the finals and lost to one of the tallest, long armed, pushing freaks of a girl I have ever laid eyes on!

But she gained a ton of valuable experience.

AWESOME!!! YOU LEARN MORE FROM LOSSES THAN WINS....

[TCF]

Originally Posted by ga tennis

AWESOME!!! YOU LEARN MORE FROM LOSSES THAN WINS....

Yup, one of her training partners also lost to the same girl. We have already gone to work teaching them how to deal with almost 6 foot tall blocking machines, while playing on clay where your winners are not really winners!

[TennisCoachIN]

Originally Posted by TCF

Ha!! You and I had the same weekends!! My girl who is 8 lost in the finals to a 12 year old who literally never swung at a ball! She was tall and long armed and blocked everything back. It was on clay so my girl was working her tail off but just could not break through.

And this was the g12s so prepare for a long spell of it.

It's going to be a long couple of years of slapping, moonballing, crazy stuff. She just loves to play, am fine with that as long as she continues to hit with good technique.

Have a question for you TCF First though, My oldest daughter just turned 13. She is 5'1 and only 82 pounds. Very petite. She will be lucky to get to
5'4, of course should gain more weight. She is a solid player, however reality sets in when we has to play up a divison when there are no 14's and she sees bigger and stronger players. My question is based on her size if the goal is to play Lower Divison I or II college, what style of play do you recommend for her? Also a good string and tension. She uses AeroPro Drive, but wants to switch to Pure Drive. Her feet are her biggest asset. Thanks in advance for your time.

[Bash and Crash]

Originally Posted by TennisCoachIN

It's going to be a long couple of years of slapping, moonballing, crazy stuff. She just loves to play, am fine with that as long as she continues to hit with good technique.

Have a question for you TCF First though, My oldest daughter just turned 13. She is 5'1 and only 82 pounds. Very petite. She will be lucky to get to
5'4, of course should gain more weight. She is a solid player, however reality sets in when we has to play up a divison when there are no 14's and she sees bigger and stronger players. My question is based on her size if the goal is to play Lower Divison I or II college, what style of play do you recommend for her? Also a good string and tension. She uses AeroPro Drive, but wants to switch to Pure Drive. Her feet are her biggest asset. Thanks in advance for your time.

You may want to pattern her game after Henin, think she was around 5'5", all around game, great for dubs, and nice topspin game to grind out when necessary. I like Henin as example because even though she was shorter she had big serve, big game, and big heart..."It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog."

[klu375]

Originally Posted by TCF

I would love to see her play. I left that tournament so proud. My girl gave up a foot in height, 30-50 lbs to every opponent. She played one entire set with a bloody nose, never even let me or any adult know it was bleeding as her court was in the middle of a row of courts. All I could see is she kept going to the water fountain and washing it. Never gave up, ended the match with a shirt covered in blood, got to the finals and lost to one of the tallest, long armed, pushing freaks of a girl I have ever laid eyes on!

But she gained a ton of valuable experience.

I believe playing while bleeding is against the rules - blood on court is considered a bio-hazard. I once stopped my daughter's match when she was seriously bleeding and took a lot of flack for it from her afterwards - they put a tight bandage on her knee and she could not move.

[Bash and Crash]

Originally Posted by ga tennis

Im a prime example of what not to do with social comparisons. I look at some of these kids my daughter losses to and ask myself WTH!!!!! A good friend of mine sent me a message this morning that i really liked. Her message said (Its not a race. Doesnt matter what happens at 11. Ingraining the right fundamentals is key. The tree with the deepest strongest roots is the one that reigns supreme in the forrest,not the one that grows the fastest.) What a GREAT way to look at it. THANKS!!!

Good stuff, I tell parents, you want them to win now and lose later, or lose some now and win a lot later. Let their games build and build, layer upon layer, she will be so strong when she 14+. The dink and dunkers, moonballers, etc., just disappear as they get older.

[TennisCoachIN]

Originally Posted by Bash and Crash

You may want to pattern her game after Henin, think she was around 5'5", all around game, great for dubs, and nice topspin game to grind out when necessary. I like Henin as example because even though she was shorter she had big serve, big game, and big heart..."It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog."

Thanks great advice

[Chemist]

Originally Posted by TCF

I would love to see her play. I left that tournament so proud. My girl gave up a foot in height, 30-50 lbs to every opponent. She played one entire set with a bloody nose, never even let me or any adult know it was bleeding as her court was in the middle of a row of courts. All I could see is she kept going to the water fountain and washing it. Never gave up, ended the match with a shirt covered in blood, got to the finals and lost to one of the tallest, long armed, pushing freaks of a girl I have ever laid eyes on!

But she gained a ton of valuable experience.

Refs would usually suspend the match and allow 3 mins injury time to treat nose bleeding. My son used to have this problem when he was 10-11. I asked him to keep a few cotton balls in his tennis bag. But I am really impressed how well your 8 yr old handled this adversity! I hope the USTA PD folks would take notice - I believe she is the type of the kids that they should be nurturing and developing.

[hhollines]

Originally Posted by TennisCoachIN

It's going to be a long couple of years of slapping, moonballing, crazy stuff. She just loves to play, am fine with that as long as she continues to hit with good technique.

Have a question for you TCF First though, My oldest daughter just turned 13. She is 5'1 and only 82 pounds. Very petite. She will be lucky to get to
5'4, of course should gain more weight. She is a solid player, however reality sets in when we has to play up a divison when there are no 14's and she sees bigger and stronger players. My question is based on her size if the goal is to play Lower Divison I or II college, what style of play do you recommend for her? Also a good string and tension. She uses AeroPro Drive, but wants to switch to Pure Drive. Her feet are her biggest asset. Thanks in advance for your time.

Great question and this is what bugs me about many coaches and tennis programs. They fail to customize toward the individual's personality, mental make-up, size, weight, etc. Erani, for example, could not play like Serena regardless if she tried. Many tease Caroline W. but maybe she has maximized her ability and good for her (she did reach #1 in the world). My point is you start to build the game around what they can do successfully and their personality and adjust as they grow and change (physically and mentally).

I believe you build the game around the make-up of your kid and then look to maximize whatever style that is. There are so many different styles that have been successful . . . just look at Erani to Radwanska. I love Serena but her game is built around perhaps the best serve in the history of women's tennis . . . take that serve away and her winning % would drop significantly.

And what if your daughter develops a unique style that is unlike anyone else? (hell, if you would have sent Nadal to a traditional coach they would have ruined him; same with Bjorn Borg, etc.). There's no simple answer . . . I just make sure every tournament and trip we take serves a purpose whether it be form, technique, mental, physical, emotional, etc., and that purpose is never primarily driven by points (however, that will change in the 16s but until then, it's about everything that touches her game).

[Chemist]

Originally Posted by Bash and Crash

You may want to pattern her game after Henin, think she was around 5'5", all around game, great for dubs, and nice topspin game to grind out when necessary. I like Henin as example because even though she was shorter she had big serve, big game, and big heart..."It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog."

I have also asked my son to play like Henin!

[klu375]

Originally Posted by TennisCoachIN

Have a question for you TCF First though, My oldest daughter just turned 13. She is 5'1 and only 82 pounds. Very petite. She will be lucky to get to
5'4, of course should gain more weight. She is a solid player, however reality sets in when we has to play up a divison when there are no 14's and she sees bigger and stronger players. My question is based on her size if the goal is to play Lower Divison I or II college, what style of play do you recommend for her? Also a good string and tension. She uses AeroPro Drive, but wants to switch to Pure Drive. Her feet are her biggest asset. Thanks in advance for your time.

I can tell you how fast slightly built shorter girl can win matches against bigger and stronger opponents. Obviously power and serving will be the biggest challenges. Make tennis match a running contest instead of hitting contest. Make sure she is very good at changing direction of the ball - she needs to own both crosscourt and down the line shots from both wings. Practice two on one drills as much as possible. Make her take the ball early and move to the ball instead of waiting for the ball to come to her. Serve must have a proper form as serve is big disadvantage. Teach her slice serve to open the court promptly to put opponent on the run. She needs to be comfortable moving inside the court to finish points at first opportunity.
There are a lot of girls 5'4" and under on strong D1 teams so do not set unnecessary limits for her.

[TCF]

TenniscoachIN....I think you got great advice from everyone. Looking to play like Henin, another shorter player, is a good idea. But as others said, do not totally pigeon hole her to any one type. Taylor her game towards not only her size, her strengths and weaknesses, but also the style of game which she enjoys the most. A kid playing the way they enjoy will go further in the long run.

My kid is only 4'8" so she attacks right now. She attacks every ball she can instead of playing by the back fence or hitting balls above her shoulders like most little ones do. As she ages we can adjust to her growing size and personality.

[TCF]

Originally Posted by Chemist

Refs would usually suspend the match and allow 3 mins injury time to treat nose bleeding. My son used to have this problem when he was 10-11. I asked him to keep a few cotton balls in his tennis bag. But I am really impressed how well your 8 yr old handled this adversity! I hope the USTA PD folks would take notice - I believe she is the type of the kids that they should be nurturing and developing.

Yeah, we discussed with her afterwards to take a timeout. Due to them playing on a middle court in a long line of courts, no adults could see what was going on. When she came over with a shirt spattered in blood I was pretty surprised.

[BMC9670]

Originally Posted by TCF

Ha!! You and I had the same weekends!! My girl who is 8 lost in the finals to a 12 year old who literally never swung at a ball! She was tall and long armed and blocked everything back. It was on clay so my girl was working her tail off but just could not break through.

And this was the g12s so prepare for a long spell of it.

Originally Posted by TCF

I would love to see her play. I left that tournament so proud. My girl gave up a foot in height, 30-50 lbs to every opponent. She played one entire set with a bloody nose, never even let me or any adult know it was bleeding as her court was in the middle of a row of courts. All I could see is she kept going to the water fountain and washing it. Never gave up, ended the match with a shirt covered in blood, got to the finals and lost to one of the tallest, long armed, pushing freaks of a girl I have ever laid eyes on!

But she gained a ton of valuable experience.

Hmm...

Opponent was older...
Opponent was taller...
Opponent was bigger
Opponent had long arms...
Opponent was a pusher...
Opponent was a freak...
Oh, and your player couldn't break through because of the clay and was injured...

Careful TCF... sounds an awful lot like all of the excuses you used to get on Brad about after a loss.