Why almost no tennis coaches can actually coach worth a damn.

JohnYandell · Jan 7, 2017

pc,
You are describing a large number of students I see at the clubs I belong to. The factor that we need to understand is the relationship between teacher and student. I am not saying students are paying coaches to be their friends, but a lot of students just enjoy the personal interaction. "Bob" is their guy. Bob has status. Bob hits the ball better than I do. Bob hits me a stream of great, easy to hit balls so I don't really have to worry about carrying my end of exchanges. And I love shiny high end new equipment--sometimes just looking at it or touching it... Actually there is nothing wrong with all this if it works for both parties. The only hard part is listening if the student needs to talk to you about what he is learning and how much he has improved, etc.

JohnYandell · Jan 7, 2017

Suresh,
Yeah she had a great motion but video showed her rotation wasn't full. She modeled Fed--image and feeling-- and picked up 7mph and some discernible weight on her first ball. She has now won 5 ITF doubles titles. Most likely she will be an elite D1 player next year. Since she loves the net, the improvement in her service is extra cool.

kingcheetah · Jan 7, 2017

I agree that many coaches focus on stroking the ego of their players or avoiding relatively short-term fixes that could help a player long term. At the same time, some are realistic, and realize that the majority of their students aren't going to practice, and some changes just aren't going to be achieved/implemented successfully for a long period of time.

JohnYandell · Jan 7, 2017

Hey I got nothing against any tennis pro earning a living--and that means catering to the client. It's only a question of what is offered in terms of mode for players who really want to go up levels.

sureshs · Jan 8, 2017

sureshs said:
I thought about your post yesterday, sickanimaly, and tried to start with palm underneath the ball and then pronate, though it was bitterly cold out here (felt a little uncomfortable in shorts LOL but no point rubbing that in LOL). What happened was I ended up putting a little topspin on the ball. (Which incidentally is illegal in table tennis - the palm must be flat at release.) But the topspin kept the ball where I wanted it! Now I need to synchronize my hitting arm with this toss. Right now it has become like an abbreviated serve without fluid motion due to years of tossing one way interfering with new learning.

Maybe it is a whole new innovation in tennis! Using topspin for controlling the tossed ball like you do for the hit ball!

Tried this again over 3 sets of doubles today. Works! Start with palm flat but pronate and put a little topspin as you toss towards yourself. Toss will not go backward or too much out in front.

Topspin for control of toss! A true innovation with out of the box thinking which will revolutionize club tennis. All this ESR/ISR/backscratch/pronation/knee bend talk is of no use unless toss is reasonable. No use saying toss is the most important part of serve, keep body balanced inside a cylinder, etc. because for those whose body is coordinated, it happens by itself, and for others the words don't have any effect.

v-verb · Jan 8, 2017

In my club there are a fe players I know who take one or more lessons a week at $50 a pop. I've seen no appreciable improvement in their play at all.

One player has a noticeable hitch in their swing - they stop the swing at contact then continue the follow through. Notice it over a year ago - saw the player recently - same hitch after who knows how many lessons in that one year.

Pretty sad i think

sureshs · Jan 8, 2017

v-verb said:
In my club there are a fe players I know who take one or more lessons a week at $50 a pop. I've seen no appreciable improvement in their play at all.

One player has a noticeable hitch in their swing - they stop the swing at contact then continue the follow through. Notice it over a year ago - saw the player recently - same hitch after who knows how many lessons in that one year.

Pretty sad i think

Rather than wasting their time on lessons, these people would be better off playing with a more diverse group of players in that time. Taking lessons from the same coach and playing with the same guys after that is not conducive to improvement. On the other hand, these might be guys who otherwise would/could not play at all, so there is no telling for sure.

TimeToPlaySets · Jan 8, 2017

I agree that switching coaches every few months is a good move.
Otherwise, you just end up in a dead end, drilling the same stuff (that may not even be working)
Eventually, you start to see that coaches can only see certain things, or only have a certain way of explaining something.
Some focus on one thing, others totally focus on another.
After you see it from a few angles, things become more clear, and you get a more high level idea of what you need to address & pursue.

5263 · Jan 8, 2017

TimeToPlaySets said:
These rec league coaches don't drill lasting foundational concepts, .

I think you are right and most coaches are just not that good.....but isn't that true of most everything? Also there is a lot of conflicting and debated tennis issues out there, so most don't know what is best even if they want to and normally just teach what they were taught or how they were told to teach.

mcs1970 · Jan 8, 2017

I personally think there are good and bad coaches in a similar percentage as good and bad in any other endeavor. I've had experience with good coaches. I've had a friend whose coach stopped coaching a 8 year old after a few lessons and stated that he didn't feel he was the correct coach for a kid that young. I don't believe all coaches are poor or money grubbers. At the same time, I'm sure there are coaches who will continue to take the money as long as you are willing to give them that. Short of a group lesson setting (and gc is correct even there there might be good coaches) I don't know how any coach who works 1 on 1 with you just won't care. My personal take is that coaching matters only if you are willing to play different players yourself, practice by yourself, read up things by yourself, and then take an hour of coaching that week to work on specific things. Else just that hour of coaching is not going to do any good to you or the coach.

The other thing with coaching or life in general is that the advice you give is what works for you. Very few of us can separate that what works for us might not be what works for someone else. Also very few of us can separate that what works for someone else might be perfectly fine to leave alone and not tinker with, just because we don't agree with it. Most of the times that's why you get conflicting advice from different coaches. It's not because they don't know as much as the fact that they are trying to teach what works best as per their opinion and not taking each individual's uniqueness factor into account.

MisterP · Jan 9, 2017

If we're talking about the larger issue of varying skill levels in tennis coaching, I think finding someone who you click with is equally important as their ability. But in this case I think you have a huge imbalance in athletic ability and ambition. There's no coach on earth who can overcome that. You have to mitigate your expectations in order to realize any improvement.

MisterP · Jan 9, 2017

TimeToPlaySets said:
Do you even understand the DK effect?

I know I suck at tennis. I'm discussing how impossible it is to get good instruction since there are so few real coaches.

Citing DK is appropos when someone thinks they are better than they actually are. Glad to clear that up for you.

I fully understand Dunning-Kruger, and it's clear to everyone here that you have a massively inflated sense of what you are capable of if given the right coach and "$40,000" per year for lessons.

Given your athletic limitations, I'd say the fact that you are playing at the 3.5 level is probably impressive.

kingcheetah · Jan 9, 2017

Iknowstuff said:
Its funny how hundreds of thousands kids play basketball and no one ever tells them that average height is to short for basketball.
Even today its considered absolute taboo and no one will take you serious if you say that basketball is for very tall people and short and average guys just waste their time.

But you can get away with average or below average height much more easily until you reach the highest level, which few of those hundreds of thousands of kids will. Most high school "big men" are going to be between 6'3" and 6'5", depending on the school. That's a guard in the NBA or college.

DavidGibson · Jan 9, 2017

navigator said:
Ok, I'll bite. His point was not that feeding balls is *always* useless. His point was that in teaching certain techniques in tennis you gotta do more than just feed balls and talk - you've gotta actually *show* the player with video or hands-on training *how* to execute the stroke. Once the proper technique has been established then some ball feeding is in order. His sentence that "Words and movement don't really mix" was about *learning* the stroke, not drilling it in or improving it through repetition. For some reason that was immediately obvious to me...

Actually he said just the opposite of what you think he said. Of course you have to "show" the player with "hands on training" . This is exactly my point. This is the only way you will ever learn anything. He is saying something entirely different. He is talking about a whole "new" teaching philosophy. I don't think it has any validity whatsoever. You learn, you practice and you practice and you practice and then you learn some more and you practice practice and practice some more and on and on and on. And all of it on court with tennis rackets and tennis balls.
You can have the last reply because these discussions tend to turn philosophical and counter productive.

fuzz nation · Jan 10, 2017

heninfan99 said:
he could be a master of subtle trollery

Ding-Ding-Ding-Ding-Ding-Ding-Ding-Ding-Ding!!!

...although I might disagree with the "subtle" part...

JohnYandell · Jan 10, 2017

David,
I think you have also misunderstood. It happens on court but it is a matter of the mode of input and the feedback as well as the ball hitting. Sometimes players intuitively process input but most students need additional input to verbal tips. What's new is putting that input together in a systematic way--but also the basis of the input in research.

DavidGibson · Jan 10, 2017

Ok John

MarTennis · May 3, 2017

TimeToPlaySets said:
I had 4 different coaches look at my serve, in 2016, and not one person mentioned that I should not be directly facing the net. The internet finally told me I should stand more sideways, for more shoulder rotation. That is basic basic stuff, and no one spotted such a massive glare. Instead I was given useless new-age tripe like "Just envision the ball going over the net, and it will go over the net" or just repeating "hit up on the ball". Nothing about feet, contact point, balance, moving towards the target, weight shift, Conti grip, etc.

Theory: Who takes tennis lessons? People who are not at work! Who is that? Little kids and housewives. Both tend to suck at tennis at the most basic level, and coaches are mostly just babysitting and keeping them entertained (and coming back for more paid lessons) rather than building a real tennis player. If you actually try to make the lesson repetitive muscle memory work (which expert physical skills require), then they stop coming, and no more money.

So, I think they just repeatedly teach one or two basic things like how to hold the racket and "brush up on the ball" and predominantly coach people at the 2.0 and 2.5, maybe 3.0 level for their entire careers. These rec league coaches don't drill lasting foundational concepts, b/c that sucks and is not fun. Instead, they just teach a few hack band-aids to get the person able to hit the ball over the net. They probably never ever coach serving or volleys. Just groundstrokes and silly little games with the group lesson. That's all.

I think the entire goal of the majority of tennis coaching is getting the housewife/child to just hit the ball over the net. Anyone who is serious must get coaching from somewhere else, like their college coaches, private coaches, or IMG types of places. The only real "expert" coaching I have seen is online, where these coaches work at very costly academies where they routinely deal with skilled players.

Most working adults do not take lessons. Very few invest time and money in actually getting better via practice, feeds, drills. Instead, they just play and invest money into court time and useless USTA fees so they can keep score of their flawed games. Play does not make you better, practice does. When a coach gets a serious 3.5 or 4.0 male adult student, I think they don't even know what to do with them. By 3.5, they know how to "brush up" and how to hold the racket. So, that's about the limit of the rec club coach ability anyway, since that's all he ever teaches. I think they do not know how to teach that level, since they teach 2.0 level babysitting most of their careers.

I like the passion but reps with good coaching has an edge. Caveat, good technique gained as a child followed by massive reps as a teen beats over coaching in the teens.

Sent from my Z955A using Tapatalk

TimeToPlaySets · May 3, 2017

And where do you think good technique as a child comes from? That's right, coaching.

chikoo · May 3, 2017

for the recreational person youtube is the best instructor. Watch videos, an repeat

TimeToPlaySets · May 3, 2017

Watch the NY Yankees on Youtube.
You will magically become great at baseball.

samarai · May 3, 2017

unfortunately for most of these coaches u get a recre player in his late 30 and 40's. Out of shape, has very little athletic ability, and can only see u for one hour a week. Has aspirations to reach 4.0 so he can rally with friends. There are lots of ways to to get to 4.-4.5 and usually the quickest routes dont have the nicest strokes. lots of guys at my courts are 4.0 that has pancake serves and slices and dices every shot but they dont miss. There is no coach in the world can break alll of the kinks down and make u a world class player. he can only mold u so much.

chikoo · May 3, 2017

TimeToPlaySets said:
Watch the NY Yankees on Youtube.
You will magically become great at baseball.

you will become a great recreational player for sure given that you have brains to understand what you see and how you will apply it to your game

5263 · May 3, 2017

TimeToPlaySets said:
And where do you think good technique as a child comes from? That's right, coaching.

Coaching is quite important to kids, but don't underestimate how much the kids learn from each other without even talking about it. This is probably one of the biggest reasons we see pockets of talent sprout. If a solid coach can get a couple of good hitters out there setting the example, many things can fall into place.

GuyClinch · May 3, 2017

Coaching is quite important to kids, but don't underestimate how much the kids learn from each other without even talking about it. This is probably one of the biggest reasons we see pockets of talent sprout. If a solid coach can get a couple of good hitters out there setting the example, many things can fall into place.

This. I played alot of hoops as a kid - and there is very little skill coaching going on. There is some but not alot. The talented kids do pick it up eventually - after they get beat by a particular move - they learn in themselves. They see a guy on TV and they go out and replicate his move.

For example all the kids in the slam dunk contest can execute Jordan's moves - in fact they are seen as too easy.

OP is trying to paint tennis as some unique sport. It's not. You can go up level without lots of training - and you can get pretty good without a coach. Don't get me wrong - coaching can totally be worth - but good players have come and gone that got good mostly by playing tennis.

GuyClinch · May 3, 2017

unfortunately for most of these coaches u get a recre player in his late 30 and 40's. Out of shape, has very little athletic ability, and can only see u for one hour a week. Has aspirations to reach 4.0 so he can rally with friends. There are lots of ways to to get to 4.-4.5 and usually the quickest routes dont have the nicest strokes. lots of guys at my courts are 4.0 that has pancake serves and slices and dices every shot but they dont miss. There is no coach in the world can break alll of the kinks down and make u a world class player. he can only mold u so much

Same here. Many 4.0s are gamers - not great form on video but pretty successful on the courts. The type of guys that the posters believe they would 'crush' but end up being so much harder to play in actual matches.

Match play is so important to understanding rec tennis. Some of the posters here have zero match play experience and so are really clueless about rec tennis.

Most of the 4.5s though - they have pretty good looking form and are above average athlete wise. Maybe not a 5 star recruit on rivals - but they can run - they can drop step - they can split step, etc.

SystemicAnomaly · May 3, 2017

chikoo said:
for the recreational person youtube is the best instructor. Watch videos, an repeat

Some players learn very well this way. Other youtube-taught players get it horribly wrong as we have witnessed in these forums.

movdqa · May 4, 2017

GuyClinch said:
Same here. Many 4.0s are gamers - not great form on video but pretty successful on the courts. The type of guys that the posters believe they would 'crush' but end up being so much harder to play in actual matches.

Match play is so important to understanding rec tennis. Some of the posters here have zero match play experience and so are really clueless about rec tennis.

Most of the 4.5s though - they have pretty good looking form and are above average athlete wise. Maybe not a 5 star recruit on rivals - but they can run - they can drop step - they can split step, etc.

I have a coworker that was a self-admitted 3.5 pusher two years ago and he told me that he is a 4.0 today. I hit with him for about an hour a few years ago and he was a retriever, got the ball back high and in the general area of where you weren't but didn't have any weapons. He is overweight but can hit a lot of balls in sequence before getting tired out. He plays 3-4 times a week and he's listened to several of my suggestions including working with a trainer to improve fitness.

I think that he has had some lessons in that time as well. It would be interesting to hit with him again. He's invited me to hit with his group but it's an hour out if the traffic isn't bad. So I do believe that the non-athletic older player can get to 4.0.

tennis_balla · May 4, 2017

What people here have to realize is some players take lessons and they really don't have any intention of improving. I know that may sound crazy to some of the self proclaimed know-it-alls here but that's exactly how it is.
These people have disposable income, want to talk with a coach one on one about the latest pro tennis happenings, want to get a good workout and hit with a quality player or want to get fed balls for an hour and hit shots they normally wouldn't in quantity with their regular hitting partners. Some take a hitting lesson to play a match against the coach to try and beat him.

I've had the last one. Had a weekly lesson with a guy who worked for Sparco (they make seatbelts and steering wheels etc for racing) and would show up each time wanting to play games and try and beat me.
Not every lesson is about improvement, and it's up to both parties to discuss beforehand what the approach will be.

I do however agree there are a number of ridiculously bad coaches who shouldn't be coaching but that's the free market and let the customers decide. If they're happy so be it. It's not money out of your own pocket so I never understood why people get their panties in a bunch or try and play the white knight. There are far worse plumbers, car mechanics etc where people get screwed daily, tennis coaching is small fry.

movdqa · May 4, 2017

tennis_balla said:
What people here have to realize is some players take lessons and they really don't have any intention of improving. I know that may sound crazy to some of the self proclaimed know-it-alls here but that's exactly how it is.
These people have disposable income, want to talk with a coach one on one about the latest pro tennis happenings, want to get a good workout and hit with a quality player or want to get fed balls for an hour and hit shots they normally wouldn't in quantity with their regular hitting partners. Some take a hitting lesson to play a match against the coach to try and beat him.

I've had the last one. Had a weekly lesson with a guy who worked for Sparco (they make seatbelts and steering wheels etc for racing) and would show up each time wanting to play games and try and beat me.
Not every lesson is about improvement, and it's up to both parties to discuss beforehand what the approach will be.

I do however agree there are a number of ridiculously bad coaches who shouldn't be coaching but that's the free market and let the customers decide. If they're happy so be it. It's not money out of your own pocket so I never understood why people get their panties in a bunch or try and play the white knight. There are far worse plumbers, car mechanics etc where people get screwed daily, tennis coaching is small fry.

I work in an engineering building and most of the people here have at least an MS degree. So these are folks that know how to develop themselves, make a plan, count the cost, etc. So when they ask you a question, assuming that you're an expert, you have to think that there's at least a 50% chance that they're going to follow through on a recommendation to improve. The folks here have the disposable income. What they often don't have is time - so they would have to understand that they would need to be efficient at it.

tennis_balla · May 4, 2017

movdqa said:
I work in an engineering building and most of the people here have at least an MS degree. So these are folks that know how to develop themselves, make a plan, count the cost, etc. So when they ask you a question, assuming that you're an expert, you have to think that there's at least a 50% chance that they're going to follow through on a recommendation to improve. The folks here have the disposable income. What they often don't have is time - so they would have to understand that they would need to be efficient at it.

Time is difficult to come by these days for sure. Probably the biggest contributing factor of why people don't improve.

TimeToPlaySets · May 4, 2017

Basketball? LOL. you don't need any mechanic precision whatsoever. Totally different game. In tennis, if your wrist is 3 degrees off, the ball goes out. That is why most sports Don't have full time coaching staff PER PLAYER.

SinjinCooper · May 4, 2017

TimeToPlaySets said:
Basketball? LOL. you don't need any mechanic precision whatsoever. Totally different game. In tennis, if your wrist is 3 degrees off, the ball goes out. That is why most sports Don't have full time coaching staff PER PLAYER.

Let Steph Curry hit 1,000 serves. You shoot 1,000 NBA threes. Report back on who gets the higher percentage in.

No precision whatsoever. SMH. You really are simpler than a box full of hair.

TimeToPlaySets · May 4, 2017

Sure, Curry may get more of his 2.0 frying pan dink serves in. What's your point?

If you're too stupid to understand that basketball does not require correct strict optimized mechanics required for high level play, I can't help you. I'm sure most pro basketball players have never hired a personal coach to refine mechanics. Not one pro tennis player can claim that. Think about that, you clueless fool.

chikoo · May 4, 2017

SystemicAnomaly said:
Some players learn very well this way. Other youtube-taught players get it horribly wrong as we have witnessed in these forums.

Proves Darwin was right

Threads like these, while in the right spirit, shows clearly why sometimes watching others might not be the right move for everybody.

Sirius Black · May 4, 2017

TimeToPlaySets said:
Basketball? LOL. you don't need any mechanic precision whatsoever. Totally different game. In tennis, if your wrist is 3 degrees off, the ball goes out. That is why most sports Don't have full time coaching staff PER PLAYER.

I assume you've never shot a basketball?

GuyClinch · May 4, 2017

If you're too stupid to understand that basketball does not require correct strict optimized mechanics required for high level play, I can't help you. I'm sure most pro basketball players have never hired a personal coach to refine mechanics. Not one pro tennis player can claim that. Think about that, you clueless fool.

Athletes can pick up better mechanics then you in far less time with or without professional training. That's why they are talented athletes. <g> Get over it.

TimeToPlaySets · May 4, 2017

Post even one video of top athlete playing tennis with 5.0 mechanics with no coaching. That's right, it don't exist.

tennis_balla · May 4, 2017

TimeToPlaySets said:
Post even one video of top athlete playing tennis with 5.0 mechanics with no coaching. That's right, it don't exist.

First you claim coaching is useless and now you're saying no one can get to 5.0 without coaching?? Doesn't make sense.

Also, athletes who have been playing sports since they were kids are better adept at picking up other sports quickly because they have much better motor skills, body control and also just as, if not more important, better understanding of their body movements. Some sports are better at this than others, but tennis is so multi-dimensional that good tennis players, which is anything above 5.0, pick up other sports more easily than someone playing bowling for example.

chikoo · May 4, 2017

tennis_balla said:
First you claim coaching is useless and now you're saying no one can get to 5.0 without coaching?? Doesn't make sense.

Also, athletes who have been playing sports since they were kids are better adept at picking up other sports quickly because they have much better motor skills, body control and also just as, if not more important, better understanding of their body movements. Some sports are better at this than others, but tennis is so multi-dimensional that good tennis players, which is anything above 5.0, pick up other sports more easily than someone playing bowling for example.

a coach for these talented kids is more of a guide than somebody who is going to teach them how to hold a tennis racquet.

GuyClinch · May 4, 2017

tennis_balla said:
Also, athletes who have been playing sports since they were kids are better adept at picking up other sports quickly because they have much better motor skills, body control and also just as, if not more important, better understanding of their body movements. Some sports are better at this than others, but tennis is so multi-dimensional that good tennis players, which is anything above 5.0, pick up other sports more easily than someone playing bowling for example.

Good tennis players tend to be pretty good all around athletes. By the same token guys who are pretty good all around athletes pick up tennis pretty fast. And sport with some hand eye coordination and footwork - is a good start.

Finally it's rare to find any of the hand eye athletes - golf, hockey, baseball - who have never even swung a tennis racquet. So this 'show me' stuff is a waste of time.

We already showed Gordon Hayward but OP moved the goal posts.. Now its 'beyond 5.0' and has to be 'video' and they have to have 'no training'. <g>

I

LeeD · May 4, 2017

IF, IF, IF, OP were close to the top 20% tile of good athletic humans, he would turn more than fully sideways by his 1st year of tennis to hit his serves.
Do you throw a ball facing your target?

tennis_balla · May 5, 2017

chikoo said:
a coach for these talented kids is more of a guide than somebody who is going to teach them how to hold a tennis racquet.

That depends where the player is in their development. In the beginning the coach has to take more control to establish proper fundamentals. The higher the level the more the coach guides as you called it however sometimes has to step in and change or fix problems. Development is never ending, be it technical, physical or mental. Just take a look at Fed, Nadal or Djoker videos 10 yrs ago and today and you'll notice quite a few changes. Djoker for example changed his serve, as did Nadal.

GuyClinch · May 5, 2017

Basketball teams will hire shooting coaches. NFL teams have QB coaches. So sure skill training happens but generally speaking the guys are so good it's more tweaking then coaching. Again elite athletes not only get more done without coaching - they benefit more from good coaching.

Some one like Yandell can come along show an elite athlete something - and provided he was correct they can incorporate that fairly quickly into their game. The 'rec' player OTOH might have trouble turning sideways or using the split step.

Some people are athletic - some are not. Most rec players are a mixed bag.. Which is partly why tennis is so fun.

chikoo · May 5, 2017

tennis_balla said:
That depends where the player is in their development. In the beginning the coach has to take more control to establish proper fundamentals. The higher the level the more the coach guides as you called it however sometimes has to step in and change or fix problems. Development is never ending, be it technical, physical or mental. Just take a look at Fed, Nadal or Djoker videos 10 yrs ago and today and you'll notice quite a few changes. Djoker for example changed his serve, as did Nadal.

my point is these talented kids do not require the breakdown of every action the way some of the posters on TT happen to carry out on the various strokes.

tennis_balla · May 5, 2017

chikoo said:
my point is these talented kids do not require the breakdown of every action the way some of the posters on TT happen to carry out on the various strokes.

You're correct and has to do with the way kids think. They just don't care. Talented or not kids learn differently than adults. They have more fun, they have less expectations and experiment more without consequences. That's a huge difference. When I started snowboarding 4 years ago, so many things went though my mind in the beginning such as getting injured, the dangers of other people on the slopes and so on. Stuff like that doesn't enter the mind of kids, or at least definitely not as often. They just strap in and go for it without over thinking. That sort of mentality frees up the learning process. And they certainly don't spend hours on internet forums talking about ISR/ESP, is snapping is the correct term to use when teaching the serve and what angle their racket should be in the unit turn on the forehand, if a modified eastern or semi western grip is better, how much lead tape they should apply to their rackets and how old school 90's Head rackets feel so much better than current generation and they can't play with anything other than a pro stock frame.

chikoo · May 5, 2017

tennis_balla said:
You're correct and has to do with the way kids think. They just don't care. Talented or not kids learn differently than adults. They have more fun, they have less expectations and experiment more without consequences. That's a huge difference. When I started snowboarding 4 years ago, so many things went though my mind in the beginning such as getting injured, the dangers of other people on the slopes and so on. Stuff like that doesn't enter the mind of kids, or at least definitely not as often. They just strap in and go for it without over thinking. That sort of mentality frees up the learning process. And they certainly don't spend hours on internet forums talking about ISR/ESP, is snapping is the correct term to use when teaching the serve and what angle their racket should be in the unit turn on the forehand, if a modified eastern or semi western grip is better, how much lead tape they should apply to their rackets and how old school 90's Head rackets feel so much better than current generation and they can't play with anything other than a pro stock frame.

yup. They are not anal analysts like some of the posters here try to be watching the youtube videos, determining angle precise to half a minute.

tennis_balla · May 5, 2017

chikoo said:
yup. They are not anal analysts like some of the posters here try to be watching the youtube videos, determining angle precise to half a minute.

A great thing to watch is when coaches come on court during during a WTA match and are mic'ed up. Just listen to the coaches. Some talk more than others but its all simple instruction. Nothing complicated. The level doesn't matter, the instruction stays the same.

chikoo · May 5, 2017

tennis_balla said:
A great thing to watch is when coaches come on court during during a WTA match and are mic'ed up. Just listen to the coaches. Some talk more than others but its all simple instruction. Nothing complicated. The level doesn't matter, the instruction stays the same.

yup!

Ash_Smith · May 5, 2017

tennis_balla said:
A great thing to watch is when coaches come on court during during a WTA match and are mic'ed up. Just listen to the coaches. Some talk more than others but its all simple instruction. Nothing complicated. The level doesn't matter, the instruction stays the same.

Although I have heard some who go way over the top! Yes they keep what they say simple in terms of the phrasing, but they go way over the top with how many instructions they give!

Why almost no tennis coaches can actually coach worth a damn.

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Hall of Fame

Legend

Bionic Poster

Hall of Fame

Legend

Hall of Fame

Hall of Fame

Hall of Fame

Hall of Fame

Hall of Fame

Legend

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