"Playing other sports..."

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barringer97

Semi-Pro
So, I have a young one, 7, and everywhere I read people mention that it's important to play other sports (besides Tennis). I believe I saw a chart where if the are under 10, you want it at about 50%, then it gradually moves to the tennis side as they get older. I think, in theory, that it makes sense.

I guess this is a two part question.

1) Is this mainly because we want to avoid burnout or is it to improve your sports ability for tennis down the road (example would be soccer and footwork)

This kind of leads into my second question

2) Does it really matter which sport? My daughter hates soccer, but she really wants to do swimming (swim team).

What are your thoughts on swimming?

It's really hard for me to find another fall sport that she wants to do. She loves softball, so we do that in the spring.

Thanks,
 
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ga tennis

Hall of Fame
My daughter does basketball and soccer. My son does basketball soccer and baseball. Next year my son wont play baseball i dont want baseball to mess up his tennis.
 
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TCF

Guest
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ga tennis

Hall of Fame
ga tennis said:
My daughter does basketball and soccer. My son does basketball soccer and baseball. Next year my son wont play baseball i dont want baseball to mess up his tennis.
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Unless he tells me that he loves baseball and wants to play then we will play baseball too.
 
W

Woolybugger

Rookie
both my kids do swimming and i know many others that do it as well. it builds lots of cardio and core muscles. backstroke helps with the forehand muscles. other than that, it doesn't directly help stroke technique or muscle memory. still, swimming is a great sport and can be done (indoor pool) when it rains.

it's important to be well-rounded, not just a tennis robot.
 
T

Tennis2u

Banned
Woolybugger said:
both my kids do swimming and i know many others that do it as well. it builds lots of cardio and core muscles. backstroke helps with the forehand muscles. other than that, it doesn't directly help stroke technique or muscle memory. still, swimming is a great sport and can be done (indoor pool) when it rains.

it's important to be well-rounded, not just a tennis robot.
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It all depends on how serious you are about one sport or another. If there is hope that your kid is going to go far in one sport but get's hurt doing other sports than it's time to rethink the other sports.
 
T

TCF

Guest
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Tree_All_Day

New User
all sports are good for developing athletes.. you want your kid to like to play sports but LOVES tennis. This way she doesnt feel that she has to play tennis but that she wants to. Its also important to have younger kids to get the concept of team sports, maybe softball? swimming is good as well. If your kid wants to try a sport don't hesitate. Make sure she sees that tennis is equally important to her as all the other sports she plays. then when she is about like 10 years old start nudging her a little and just complimenting her on how good she is at tennis and she will most likely take that path. Dont force her to only play tennis which will lead to lack of motivation and potentially burnout
 
T

Tennishacker

Professional
Swimming for a female is great for developing their shoulders and great for cardio. Many young girls struggle with the serve and overheads due to an under developed shoulder.

Like other poster said, I kept my daughter to two sports at that age. Soccer/tennis.
 
gplracer

gplracer

Hall of Fame
My son just turned 10. He wants to place a short 8 week season of baseball. I would rather he played something with more running, but I have decided to let him play because he wants to do it. We do not want to limit his choices and turn him against tennis.
 
H

hound 109

Semi-Pro
(high quality) Defensive footwork in Basketball translates very well to Tennis.

If soccer bores the heck out of a kid, try hoops.
 
C

chalkflewup

Hall of Fame
Got my kid involved early with Junior Team Tennis and it was such a fun "team" experience for all the kids. Looking back, I can see where that would've been a great home for TAUT. It makes a lot of sense when you think about it.
 
G

ga tennis

Hall of Fame
chalkflewup said:
Got my kid involved early with Junior Team Tennis and it was such a fun "team" experience for all the kids. Looking back, I can see where that would've been a great home for TAUT. It makes a lot of sense when you think about it.
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Chalk do you coach full time?
 
A

andfor

Legend
Agree with playing different sports for all the reasons stated. Very much disagree about avoiding a sport (unless it's physically dangerous) because it involves different mechanics. That thought process outdated and old fashioned. As long as the kid is playing different sports and enjoying their experiences does not matter what they do. Some are better than others if you're trying to get them in something that will translate on the tennis court, soccer better than bowling, basketball better than kayak, etc.

Swimming is great, softball is very good for hand-eye.
 
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C

chalkflewup

Hall of Fame
ga tennis said:
Chalk do you coach full time?
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Only in my dreams! My tennis addiction to learn and teach started 10-12 years ago with my own kids. I took them as far as I could before passing the torch. I continue to study the game and I do work with a few kids from time to time, but I don't think I'm worthy of that distinction.
 
T

TCF

Guest
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TCF

Guest
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TCF

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ga tennis

Hall of Fame
TCF said:
Well baseball is a great team sport. I loved Little League, hanging in the dugout, which gives the chance to chat that other sports do not. Heading to Dairy Queen post game. All good stuff.

Little kids should no doubt play baseball and softball. Just not my choice when they become tennis fanatics later on.
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I agree. Baseball is just for now. When he is 8 we wont be doing baseball,unless he wants to.Im gonna keep him so busy in tennis that he wont even think about baseball. TCF do you guys have a ball machine that has the ability to raise up 15 feet in the air and serve? Are you using dartfish?
 
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TCF

Guest
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ga tennis

Hall of Fame
TCF said:
No we only have the standard Playmates machines. We send the kids who want video analysis down to either a coach who does it in West Palm or to Macci's.
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You need to get COACHES EYE app.It is awesome!! Video is one of the best training methods. I cant belive coaches dont use video daily.
 
G

ga tennis

Hall of Fame
chalkflewup said:
Coach's eye is great. Some of the golf apps are awesome too (V1 Golf and iSwing).
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Its so important to make sure you understand what type learner your student is. Some are auditory,some are visual,and some are kinesthetic.It is important to train all three early on so as the child grows he or she can utilize all types just as effectively.
 
atatu

atatu

Legend
Don Budge played a ton of baseball (switch hitter) and he attributed it to his great backhand. I personally hate baseball and my kids don't play, but I know a few guys who were pitchers and now have great serves as tennis players.
 
G

ga tennis

Hall of Fame
atatu said:
Don Budge played a ton of baseball (switch hitter) and he attributed it to his great backhand. I personally hate baseball and my kids don't play, but I know a few guys who were pitchers and now have great serves as tennis players.
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Yea but when Budge played all the strokes were linear.Now the technique is so much more full body involvement that the swing in baseball is completely different than it is in tennis.I think now that the swing in baseball will hurt the tennis stroke.
 
B

barringer97

Semi-Pro
TCF said:
Sorry but baseball and softball are different swing patterns. But it depends on what the goals are. Just a balanced kid? Go for it and have fun.

But if the goal was big time tennis? Mixing baseball and tennis past age 12 would be dumb. I have known lots of D-1 tennis guys over the years, do not know of even one who played baseball in high school. I am sure there are some though, but to me it is a bad idea.
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I was a good baseball player, but had to pass on it because it was the same season (high school) as tennis.
 
MarTennis

MarTennis

Semi-Pro
Swimming...

barringer97 said:
So, I have a young one, 7, and everywhere I read people mention that it's important to play other sports (besides Tennis). I believe I saw a chart where if the are under 10, you want it at about 50%, then it gradually moves to the tennis side as they get older. I think, in theory, that it makes sense.

I guess this is a two part question.

1) Is this mainly because we want to avoid burnout or is it to improve your sports ability for tennis down the road (example would be soccer and footwork)

This kind of leads into my second question

2) Does it really matter which sport? My daughter hates soccer, but she really wants to do swimming (swim team).

What are your thoughts on swimming?

It's really hard for me to find another fall sport that she wants to do. She loves softball, so we do that in the spring.

Thanks,
Click to expand...

...is great. Badminton, basketball and American football. Teach her to throw like a boy and run routes like a wide receiver. Then you will have an athlete ready to compete in tennis.:)
 
C

chalkflewup

Hall of Fame
ga tennis said:
Are you using dartfish?
Click to expand...

Amazing tool especially if you chart a match and then sync the chart with the video. This allows you to group and categorize points, strokes, errors, winners etc... and then view them all at once. It also allows you to shrink a match down to about 15-20 minutes once you trim all the fat.
 
T

TCF

Guest
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gplracer

gplracer

Hall of Fame
I figured since my son only just turned 10 he is still in the "get to be an all round athlete" stage where it is good to pick up coordination skills from other sports. He has played tennis since 4 and played a lot of tennis since 7. I do not want to contribute to burning him out by not letting him experience other sports. So far he has been very fortunate in tennis being able to play a demonstration at a pro event and participating in RTC's. Tennis has been majorly positive and fun for him. I will do all I can to continue that trend. If it means a detour every once in a while for something else then we will do it. Hopefully he will continue to like tennis but that is up to him.
 
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ahuimanu

ahuimanu

Rookie
gplracer said:
I figured since my son only just turned 10 he is still in the "get to be an all round athlete" stage where it is good to pick up coordination skills from other sports. He has played tennis since 4 and played a lot of tennis since 7. I do not want to contribute to burning him out by not letting him experience other sports. So far he has been very fortunate in tennis being able to play a demonstration at a pro event and participating in RTC's. Tennis has been majorly positive and fun for him. I will do all I can to continue that trend. If it means a detour every once in a while for something else then we will do it. Hopefully he will continue to like tennis but that is up to him.
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Been around the game off and on for 30 years or so and worked with a lot of high potential juniors who had played "other" sports. Interesting, the kid who probably made the most of his potential came from a martial arts background (judo). He actually started playing the game relatively late (14) but was already a champion in another discipline. The kid eventually got a tennis scholarship to a D1 school and is doing well academically. He's not the most physically gifted tennis wise but big time tough mentally. Bottomline, I'm not sure there is a "magic" formula for preparing a young tennis player. Some of the true talents I've come across fizzle out in college or the pros.
 
L

lstewart

Semi-Pro
I played men's college tennis long ago and it was very clear those on the team that had played other sports, and those that had played tennis only. When we would do anything other than tennis, the all around athletes would look like athletes. Those that had just played tennis would suddenly look very unathletic, be it throwing, kicking, catching, shooting a basketball, etc. They were often good tennis players, but it was clear they did not have a well rounded athletic development base. I've got a 16 year old 11th grade son who plays serious tournament tennis year round. He also plays high school basketball, and I think it is an excellent second sport. He played baseball and football earlier, and unfortunately had a pretty serious back injury as a quarterback. Kids need to play sports they enjoy, but I am a big believer in having them play more than one sport.
 
F

floridatennisdude

Hall of Fame
I thought I had a pretty good sports upbringing...

Soccer from age 5-11
Racquetball from 5-9
Baseball from 6-12
Swim team from 7-9
Golf from 8-13
Tennis from 8-high school
Basketball from 9-high school
Football 7th grade
Track 8th grade
Couple years of Tai Kwon Do

Tennis and basketball were the only sports I stuck with. My parents had a nice theory that they'd let me try any sport. I would gravitate towards the ones that I had passion for. My dad was forced to play baseball by his father and he had hated it. He wasn't going to force me into something I didn't have heart for.

At the same time, I wasn't allowed to quit anything mid season. That was probably the best lesson I learned through sports. See it through to the end no matter how pissed you get about a bad game or two. I really hated track practice.
 
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lstewart

Semi-Pro
Floridatennisdude, I also played pretty much every sport available to me at the time as I was growing up. I've learned the hard way that it can be tough getting your kids to play the sports you want them to play. I had visions of my older son being a tennis star. Started working with him when he was small, but he ended up being a college golfer. So of course my plan was then to turn my younger son into a star golfer. Yep.... now he is the tournament tennis player. Just got to let them be involved in picking their sports.
 
M

Mitch Bridge

Rookie
TCF said:
Sorry but baseball and softball are different swing patterns. But it depends on what the goals are. Just a balanced kid? Go for it and have fun.

But if the goal was big time tennis? Mixing baseball and tennis past age 12 would be dumb. I have known lots of D-1 tennis guys over the years, do not know of even one who played baseball in high school. I am sure there are some though, but to me it is a bad idea.
Click to expand...

Baseball and softball are terrific cross-over sports to help develop a tennis player. Throwing develops the serve better then serving practice, catching is the volley technique, batting has an equivalent kinectic chain and hitting zone, moving back to catch a fly ball in the outfield has the same footwork as an overhead and the hand-eye is more difficult than tennis. The problem with baseball is that it is very time consuming, and there aren't any high school baseball players that make it in tennis because it is a 24/7 proposition.
 
F

floridatennisdude

Hall of Fame
Mitch Bridge said:
Baseball and softball are terrific cross-over sports to help develop a tennis player. Throwing develops the serve better then serving practice, catching is the volley technique, batting has an equivalent kinectic chain and hitting zone, moving back to catch a fly ball in the outfield has the same footwork as an overhead and the hand-eye is more difficult than tennis. The problem with baseball is that it is very time consuming, and there aren't any high school baseball players that make it in tennis because it is a 24/7 proposition.
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I think TCFs point was that the 2 can't be mixed well after age 12. No doubt that the fundamentals can transfer over between little league and TAUT.

I had a couple softball girls come out for tennis on a HS team I coached. Their swings were very flat and backhands were just awful. Serving was ok, but volleying and footwork were bad...especially recovering after a shot. However, what they were great at was being teammates.

I encouraged both girls to make softball their primary sport and not to spend too much time on tennis. It just wasn't going to be their thing. One went on to college softball, so that was a good move. In general, I think it's good that they learned the game so they know the rules and basics. Maybe they'll be league 3.5 or 4.0s in a decade or two.
 
W

widmerpool

Rookie
ga tennis said:
You need to get COACHES EYE app.It is awesome!! Video is one of the best training methods. I cant belive coaches dont use video daily.
Click to expand...

Has it helped?

I have a hard time believing the quality would be good enough off my iPhone.

I have a GoPro camera. The slow-mo is amazing. Just some effort involved in getting it edited.
 
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SVP

SVP

Semi-Pro
ga tennis said:
Unless he tells me that he loves baseball and wants to play then we will play baseball too.
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What if your son says "dad, I love baseball, I love the team feeling it gives me, unlike tennis." What if he says "dad, I don't want to play tennis anymore, it takes away from my baseball skills." Like posters on this thread have indicated.
Are you prepared to let him quit tennis so he can concentrate on baseball?
 
C

chalkflewup

Hall of Fame
SVP said:
What if your son says "dad, I love baseball, I love the team feeling it gives me, unlike tennis." What if he says "dad, I don't want to play tennis anymore, it takes away from my baseball skills." Like posters on this thread have indicated.
Are you prepared to let him quit tennis so he can concentrate on baseball?
Click to expand...

This happened in my house with one of my kids and tennis was immediately dropped from the schedule. Never looked back.
 
T

TennisEko

Banned
It all depends on what the goals are....

If you want to develop a world class tennis player. I do not think there is time for other sports. Figure in 3-4 hours of trainig/ match play per day.

You can do less tennis and add other sports instead of tennis....dont expect to develop world class....college class at most..
 
S

Soianka

Hall of Fame
TennisEko said:
It all depends on what the goals are....

If you want to develop a world class tennis player. I do not think there is time for other sports. Figure in 3-4 hours of trainig/ match play per day.

You can do less tennis and add other sports instead of tennis....dont expect to develop world class....college class at most..
Click to expand...

There was a study on top players, and it showed that most of them played tennis for less time each day than 3-4 hours a day when they were under 14.

I believe it also showed that many/most? of the top players had significant exposure to other sports.
 
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