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    Throwing a football...

    Well this is obviously not news to you guys ... so I'll take it as a "tried and true" approach and start playing more catch as opposed to just hitting balls (conveniently aligns with college football season). And per the post a few up about specialization, I tend to agree. My daughter plays...
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    Throwing a football...

    Is it because of the flick of the wrist necessary to generate the spiral? Same principal holds true in golf ... if you want to generate massive clubhead speed, it's all about waiting until the last moment to 'pull the trigger' and break your wrist to bring the clubhead through. Watching Serena's...
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    Throwing a football...

    I'd be afraid to suggest that to my daughter. She could do some damage (but it would be quite a sight on court for other players) :)
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    Throwing a football...

    Happened to catch some of Serena's quarterfinal match the other day, and Chris Evert was commenting on how critical it is for parents of daughters to teach them how to throw "correctly", and that the hours that Serena spent learning how to throw a tight spiral is a key component of her fluid...
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    Junior players on red clay vs. har-tru

    Is Har-Tru even remotely similar to red clay in terms of how it actually plays? Having heard non-stop comments during clay season about how juniors need to grow up on the surface in order to develop an all around game, I've had my junior playing on har-tru most of this year. While it's...
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    Racquets for girls

    what a difference Per some other recommendations on here, I moved my 8 year old daughter up to a 26" babolat aero gt (she's 4'8). She was able to hit regular compression way more smoothly, and accurately. Her serves were much better as well. I had no idea there would be such a difference...
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    Group vs. Individual lessons

    Those were just a few examples. She played soccer as well, but any sport can provide the opportunity to learn something that applies across the board (softball ... team mentality; golf ... individual effort and perseverance. etc.). So long as she's not inside on a beautiful day playing on an...
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    Group vs. Individual lessons

    And this is one of the problems that I have as a (relatively) new tennis parent. I watch my little one play, and think wow! potential. Then before you know it, her schedule is packed with lessons ... group and private ... and it starts to be a little less fun for her. And once it loses the "fun"...
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    Group vs. Individual lessons

    Thanks for the feedback. Ideally we would continue with both, but we're hoping that giving her the summer relatively free ... she'll have fun playing in a more unstructured way, and then she would potentially get more out of individual lessons when (if) she wants to do more with it. Hoping if...
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    Group vs. Individual lessons

    Which do you feel is more beneficial for an under 9 player - group or individual - if you had to choose? We decided to give our little one the "summer off" from individual lessons - and are going to have her continue with hour long small group lessons (less than 5 kids) once a week instead...
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    Ten and Under Tennis (TAUT) USTA's new endeavor?

    good advice, I hadn't thought about that. Not to hijack this post, but did you go head heavy? what weight racquet? b/c I let her use my Babolat pure drive 27" (~11oz) and it was too heavy. I suppose this all goes to TAUT at some level ... knowing when to wean kids away from mini tennis. Kids...
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    Ten and Under Tennis (TAUT) USTA's new endeavor?

    agreed. I do struggle with the racquet though. she's doing fine with the 25" and I'm always afraid something heavier is going to hurt her arm. height-wise she's ready, but seems like a year or so would allow her to have better strength to use one. Back in the day most of us learned how to play...
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    Ten and Under Tennis (TAUT) USTA's new endeavor?

    My daughter is 8 and has been playing for a few years ... has played both QS (orange/green ball) and regulation. While she wouldn't be competitive with a good 11/12 year old simply because of physical size, she loves to compete and play with regular ball when we play. I am beginning to feel that...
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    Finding informal matches

    I'm finding one of the most difficult things to do is to arrange for playing/practice for my young one outside of private or group lessons. I've read article after article about how American tennis is failing at the grass-roots level ... and while I don't believe that completely, I would think...
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    USTA cuts in Carson?

    Had to comment on their not being any American's in the quarters of the Australian Open.... am I the only one that considers players that have spent the majority of their childhood and all of their adult lives in the US to be the product of American tennis? They can play under the flag of the...
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    Importance of height (or not so much)

    Interesting article which touches on both height and physicality (in the womens game): http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/tennis/womens-tennis-rapidly-changing-focus/story-fn794248-1226249833651
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    Importance of height (or not so much)

    That's a very good point. And therein lies the rub; I'm starting to see just how much of a time / money investment it can be to raise a jr. player to anything beyond a hobby. It's affordable now, but I've read where that investment can become surreal (not to mention stressful to the child...
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    Importance of height (or not so much)

    Well this certainly took an interesting twist. Thanks though, for your feedback. Sounds like height is a factor for elite level, but no worries until mid-teens and, well, several years of highly successful competition. I figure if I'm already thinking about this to the point of posting to a...
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    Importance of height (or not so much)

    And it may not be relevant at all. I happened to see it brought up in the other thread on Grace Min and was curious. My oldest son played football and was a decent high school QB ... but certainly not a D1 physical talent. My youngest is taller now, but she may end up like her siblings. Maybe...
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    Importance of height (or not so much)

    Curious if anybody has any thoughts regarding height as a factor in playing beyond juniors. It seems that there are quite a few juniors who are exceptional athletes and all-around players (Grace Min, Lauren Davis), but who struggle a bit to overcome the wingspan and power of the 5'9" plus women...
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    tennis is getting soft..

    She definitely hustles. The problem was that when she played older girls (10 to 12) with green or regular ... that she would quickly abandon form in favor of chasing down balls and making contact. She had some success against players that age that weren't as strong, but obviously was out of her...
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    tennis is getting soft..

    As the father of a 10u girl (she's 8) who started playing on the cusp of the QS push a few years back ... I felt compelled to chime in that I've become somewhat of a convert. She's able to play and rally against older girls with green or regular - but learning spin and mechanics with orange has...
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    Balance of lessons and playing time

    (I'd posted this in a separate thread, but am thinking this forum is more appropriate.) Bottom line is that week to week I'm not sure what she's going to be working on - sometimes serve, sometimes topspin, sometimes rally ... but all seemingly isolated lessons. There doesn't seem to be an...
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    Junior lesson progression

    8 month update to this question ... still no "plan" for her private lessons. Week to week I'm not sure what she's going to be working on - sometimes serve, sometimes topspin, sometimes rally ... but all seemingly isolated lessons. She's begun taking group lessons with slightly older kids, using...
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    Balance of lessons and playing time

    Makes sense. She's still a few years away from competition - she's a tall 7, around 4'7, and takes individual lessons with orange ball - but takes group classes with regular / green. However, that's the setting that she enjoys, and she's starting to sour a little bit on the individual lessons. I...
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    Balance of lessons and playing time

    I have a young junior (under 10) who has been taking weekly lessons for quite some time; while she is certainly far from mastering really any of the mechanics, the basics have been reinforced. And so I'm just curious at what point any other parents have switched from consistent weekly individual...
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    Jr. Tennis 8 & under

    Lol, well I wish it would warm up here so we could do anything outside for more than 10 minutes, let alone four hours. Thanks again
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    Jr. Tennis 8 & under

    Ha! Thanks in advance for not being too hard on me. I sort of rambled on and on there. I really do enjoy reading the posts on this site, and have already gotten good advice from 'TennisCoachFla' on another junior topic. I just have a hard time thinking that my child would be that one in...
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    Jr. Tennis 8 & under

    As a father, I've found tennis a tremendously enjoyable sport to play with my daughter. The Quickstart format provided a fantastic mechanism for us to spend an afternoon getting some exercise and having fun. She's still having quite a bit of fun, but it's fascinating to see how some place an...
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    Junior lesson progression

    Sounds like we're on the right track. She started out taking group lessons (quickstart style), and moved quickly through those. At the point the quickstart wasn't as fun / challenging, she started taking private lessons 30 min. per week - it's only been a few months now. Her "coach" is great...
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