TheCanadian
Semi-Pro
What would you advise in the case of a kid who wants to play at a national/international level? I've read that Federer played 15 hours/week when he was 14.
What would you advise in the case of a kid who wants to play at a national/international level? I've read that Federer played 15 hours/week when he was 14.
Try this: http://catennis.squarespace.com/mos...should-you-practice-the-10000-hours-rule.html
basically, play the kid's age in hours a week. If he's 7, play 7; if he's 8, play 8.
What would you advise in the case of a kid who wants to play at a national/international level? I've read that Federer played 15 hours/week when he was 14.
Try this: http://catennis.squarespace.com/mos...should-you-practice-the-10000-hours-rule.html
basically, play the kid's age in hours a week. If he's 7, play 7; if he's 8, play 8.
My 11yo daughter is crazy about tennis at the moment. She'll play whenever she's got a court and a partner. Her pediatrician advised us not to let her do too much. She says she has a lot of kids coming into her office with sports injuries, some of them pretty serious. Too much stress on growing bodies. She advised my daughter not to play through pain and not to play for more than a couple of hours a day at the most. As TennisCoachFla said above, the intensity of the workout is probably as significant as time put in in terms of stress on the body.
Totally agree. Repetitive tennis strokes, impact from high speed ball rallying, feet and ankles pounding on concrete, etc have significant effects on their growing bodies and bones. Overtraining and overcompeting might give great results today but .....may lead to injuries, wear and tear and untimely osteoarthritis. I heard of top juniors in our section stopped competing because of stress fracture of the arm, spine or shoulder injury. Growth plate injury of ankles appeared to be common too. Ultimately, parents are the ones that need to monitor hours juniors logged in practice/ play matches. No parents want their children's bodies to worn out before time (I hope).
That seems like a good rule. I'm 15 and play about 15 hours a week in school, and spend 5 hours a week in the gym.
Man, I'd be so good if I could just play 44 hours a week and work out 15 hrs a week. I'd be hurting, and just begging for my full-time job back and my nice daily routine.
But I'd be pretty fit.
And broke.
My player spends 4 hours a week on the court, 1 hour on fitness. He's not going pro. Will play in college, Ivies or equivalent. 4 star. Most juniors, particularly at academies, spend too much time on court. His 4 hours are all out. When he plays tornaments and goes to final, add another 7 hours of play for the week.
Our academy has players doing 20 hours of on court as well as 5 hours of speed and strength training m-f and then 3 hours of match play on sat.
Me and my brother hit the courts for at least 3 hours a day when its not snowing/raining. This is recent, and we haven't played that much since we have other interests too and school of course. However like last summer and the one before that we use to play 6 to 7 hours a day. We had breakfast went to play, came home for lunch, went to play again then came home for dinner and relaxed so when we first started 3 years ago, 35+ hours now its more like 20 hours weather permitting of course
I play about 20 hrs a week
My name is Mitch Bridge, and I have been coaching national-level juniors for over 20 years. If you are trying to train a future top level professional player, that player will need to be working on his game a minimum of 4 hours daily. The following areas of training need to be included in his/her regimen: one-on-one or two-on-one instruction, match or sets play, live ball training, strength training, speed and agility training, flexibility, massage/muscle work, serve/return, video/pro tennis viewing and analysis, and cardio training, with some relaxation exercises.
With this vast amount of potential training, it is easy to fill up available time to perfect your game. When you play less than 4 hours you have to skip too many of these variables to develop well enough to be a top player. This game is extremely demanding, and great players are completely entrenched in it. Also, using Federer, the most gifted player of all, is never a good measure for us humans.
Having said the above, every player has different demands on his/her time, and you need to do the best with the time and resources that you have. Some players can do a lot with 2 to 2 1/2 hours per day. With this schedule you can't take days off too often, and heavy monitored tournament play is a must.
one of these daily hours should be in a private or semi-private with a world-class coach.
We know that the best coaches tend to be parents, as long as they know what they're doing.
One anecdote, I grew up with Andrew Sznajder (46 in the world at one point); his dad was his unique coach. A mediocre player and not somebody who knew all that much about tennis. However, he would spend hours a day feeding Andrew tennis balls and establishing drills. What kids need is not tennis lessons but to hit lots of tennis balls (i.e., practice time and matches). It makes me sick to see parents spend a fortune on lessons by unethical, money-grubbing coaches.
Myself, I practice 3 hours a day, 5 days a week. 15 hours a week. This works well with tournaments on weekends and all the school work during the week. The key is to go all out at practice. I know kids that get more out of an hour of practice than a kid who practices for 3 hours. The intensity is what matters, not the time (to a certain extent, obviously you can't only practice an hour a day and be 5 star material).
In response to money-grubbing coaches, you need to do your homework on any professional that your kid is going to do extensive work with, be it a doctor, tutor, or coach. Richard Williams did a phenomenal job with his girls, but without Rick Macci's experience, training and knowledge, they wouldn't be where they are today. Good parental help is fantastic, and if that parent is a world-class coach then that is a great asset.
The work being put in needs to equal the goal. If you want to play D2, D3 or NAIA tennis, then being an after school player for 2-3 hours over several years will probably suffice with the right amount of tournament participation, coaching, etc. If you want a good D1 scholarship to a quality program you better jump in with both feet.
In response to money-grubbing coaches, you need to do your homework on any professional that your kid is going to do extensive work with, be it a doctor, tutor, or coach. Richard Williams did a phenomenal job with his girls, but without Rick Macci's experience, training and knowledge, they wouldn't be where they are today. Good parental help is fantastic, and if that parent is a world-class coach then that is a great asset.
The work being put in needs to equal the goal. If you want to play D2, D3 or NAIA tennis, then being an after school player for 2-3 hours over several years will probably suffice with the right amount of tournament participation, coaching, etc. If you want a good D1 scholarship to a quality program you better jump in with both feet.
Actually his post above for high level players is accurate. Top tier D1 or pro potential players put in 4-6 hours/day everyday that they aren't playing tournaments from around 13-14 on and for several years. From earlier ages to 14, they are doing the 2-4 hours after school as well, with a lot of tournament play. It is sustainable for the top players, and is how they get to the top. Well managed of course is essential. Problem is some parents don't invest in the better coaches and the player does end up injured. And as tennis5 said, easier done in the good climates of CA and FLA versus indoor country.
The post above this mentioning a couple hours after school is typically appropriate for those shooting for D2, D3 or rec player.
Sounds accurate to me.
The academy programs run 4-6 hours during Mon-Fri, there are breaks in there of course and they are doing much more than just tennis. So training is prob more like 4.
Actually his post above for high level players is accurate. Top tier D1 or pro potential players put in 4-6 hours/day everyday that they aren't playing tournaments from around 13-14 on and for several years. From earlier ages to 14, they are doing the 2-4 hours after school as well, with a lot of tournament play. It is sustainable for the top players, and is how they get to the top. Well managed of course is essential. Problem is some parents don't invest in the better coaches and the player does end up injured. And as tennis5 said, easier done in the good climates of CA and FLA versus indoor country.
The post above this mentioning a couple hours after school is typically appropriate for those shooting for D2, D3 or rec player.
Sounds accurate to me.
...but he spent at least twice that amount of time each week working on his height.