Well done, John Yandell!

[makhan67]

I think we all take your work for granted. As a coach I know for sure it takes lots of knowledge, indepth analysis, and time to put one's thoughts and the associated videos together.

I am here in Brunei with my daughter, Sarah. After Melaka/Malaysia ITF we flew in on March 10 and training here at the Brunei Darussalam National Tennis Center. The tournament starts March 17. We found out an internet cafe in the down town and had some time to read through your article on Backhand volley. You pointed out the basic elements present in both FH and backhand volleys, the similarities, and dissimilarities, and the videos tell the entire story.

Maybe one day the tennis playing community -- players, coaches, and parents -- will appreciate your services to the game.

John, you are wonderful! Be assured, that there are people on the other side of the globe, close to the equator, who appreciate your work. You are student of the game and I am your student. We are proud of you.

Keep it up and pray for us that we do well in the Brunei ITF.

With loving regards,

Mahboob Khan with Sarah Mahboob Khan, International tennis player

[johnyandell]

Damn ! That kind of feedback could keep me going for another 10 years.

And by the way if you haven't read Mahboob's article on strategy do yourself a favor,

[makhan67]

Little Feedback from our Trip!

First week of January, 2008, we were in Doha/Qatar where both ATP and ITF 18U Juniors were going on, same venue, same dates. Sarah ran into this red hot Turkish girl in the first round and lost in straight sets. This Turkish girl went all the way to the final where she lost a close match to Oman's Fatma Al-Nabhani, ITF 170 in the world.

After Qatar, we were in Abu Dhabi. This time also, Sarah lost in the first round to an Austrian girl in straight sets. On paper Sarah was supposed to win because Sarah was seeded.

Desperately looking for a win we planned to play an ITF World Junior Championships event in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia .. truly Asia .. at Melaka which is about 150 km away from Kuala Lumpur. Sarah was drawn against an Malaysian girl. Sarah lost first set 5/7 (she had a chance to lead 5/3 but missed an easy insideout forehand), and was down 0/3 in the second set but then she reeled nine games in a row making only 3 unforced errors; won the second set 6/3, and was 3/0 up in the third and had a break point to clear 4/0 ahead, but at this stage disaster struck. At break point she missed an easy sitter .. a swinging BH volley .. the Malaysian girl became consistent, Sarah became erratic, and it was 3-all in no time, and then 3/4 down in the third. Sarah recovers to break for 4-all, but at this stage played her service game quite casual, down 4/5, and then 4/6. This loss was truly heart-breaking. We stayed in Kuala Lumpur for 3 nights trained at Jalan Duta National Tennis Center, and then proceeded to Brunei on March 10. We have trained quite well, for the first time Sarah is striking the ball unbelievably well; the main draw matches start on Monday, March 17th; the draw will be on Sunday, 16th.

We are only hoping that the Brunei event will bring some luck for us and we will return home with some international ranking points. Only time will tell.

I thought I should share this with you so that you understand the story of a parent who is also a coach. Perhaps this might bring a good omen for Sarah.

At times I feel that there should be some sort of international tennis foundation to console and support those players (and parents) with minimal resources but are eager to make a world of difference.

Mahboob Khan with Sarah Mahboob, Brunei Darussalam

[makhan67]

Some people cheat even in Practice!

Well, I have been on the Junior circuit since 93. In the ITF World Junior events, the initial rounds are without chair umpires. There is just one revolving umpires who walks around and observe matches. It is impossible for him to see each and every match, each and every shot. Many players, in tight situations, on crucial points, cheat! BTW, I know the difference between "missjudgment" and "cheating".

However, add insult to injury, this girl from a developed tennis nation who is accompanied by her dracula-looking father, cheats even in practice. We had several practice sessions together; when she and Sarah play tiebreaks, she calls majority of line balls out when the score is 4-5, 5-all, 5-6, 6-5 in the tiebreaker. I also observed that when she misses a ball, her father groans quite loudly, and gets mad when she loses a tiebreak in practice. I think because of this fear she has developed a mechanism to win by all means even if she has to cheat. There is no cure! It is not fair to those who go by the book.

[brett701]

I agree, you have done an amazing job. I have been way too busy absorbing the information that you have collected/created for us. This is beyond the highest quality information i have found anywhere. On top of that their is a great deal of it. And on top of that, there is an exceptionally high percentage of intelligent tennis minds on this forum. Great work.

Oh and i forgot to mention. Your tennis teaching by osmosis is proven to be the very best way to learn. Humans are great at replicating other humans. Anthony Robbins and many other great psychology minds know this for a fact. I can find out exactly where if you are interested.