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I asked a question like this a few months prior in Bottle's 'A New Year's Serve' thread when the topic of the Talent Code came up.
In a section of the book, author Daniel Coyle examines the unprecedented success enjoyed by Brazil in international soccer. He acknowledges the value of the country's love for the sport and the sheer number of children that play it, but marks a significant hidden contribution to the sport of Futsal. The sport is played with a smaller, heavier ball than a soccer ball and on a much smaller field, often indoors.
Now, to my eye, the parallels to tennis are apparent. Just as Coyle attributes the heavy Futsal ball and smaller playing area to more time with the ball at players' feet and additional repetitions, clay court tennis provides longer rallies and greater point construction, which would be precision passing in soccer to complete the analogy. Coyle continues, the skills learned in Futsal transferred to the soccer field. The extra repetition and close confines developed deft feet and rhythm in passing previously unseen. So it comes as no surprise that clay-courters have historically been the innovators of the sport. As many have said, the transition from clay to hard-court is far easier than the reverse. While it took time, the high spin levels and novel technique with across the body finishes has made its way to the fore.
Of course, clay-court play is not the final solution - and neither is futsal. I would doubt playing with a small, heavy ball has taught the Brazilians to put curve on a penalty kick, and clay court play has undervalued the serve.
Now I ask the creative minds of the TennisPlayer forums to think up a comparable game such as Futsal for tennis, besides clay court play. To be widespread in the United States, the game would need to be played on a hard court. Some adaption to the game that teaches the player valuable skills in a natural, fun way. A different ball? A smaller or larger court? A higher net? A different racket or strings? Different rules? Some combination? Anything, something interesting.
In a section of the book, author Daniel Coyle examines the unprecedented success enjoyed by Brazil in international soccer. He acknowledges the value of the country's love for the sport and the sheer number of children that play it, but marks a significant hidden contribution to the sport of Futsal. The sport is played with a smaller, heavier ball than a soccer ball and on a much smaller field, often indoors.
Now, to my eye, the parallels to tennis are apparent. Just as Coyle attributes the heavy Futsal ball and smaller playing area to more time with the ball at players' feet and additional repetitions, clay court tennis provides longer rallies and greater point construction, which would be precision passing in soccer to complete the analogy. Coyle continues, the skills learned in Futsal transferred to the soccer field. The extra repetition and close confines developed deft feet and rhythm in passing previously unseen. So it comes as no surprise that clay-courters have historically been the innovators of the sport. As many have said, the transition from clay to hard-court is far easier than the reverse. While it took time, the high spin levels and novel technique with across the body finishes has made its way to the fore.
Of course, clay-court play is not the final solution - and neither is futsal. I would doubt playing with a small, heavy ball has taught the Brazilians to put curve on a penalty kick, and clay court play has undervalued the serve.
Now I ask the creative minds of the TennisPlayer forums to think up a comparable game such as Futsal for tennis, besides clay court play. To be widespread in the United States, the game would need to be played on a hard court. Some adaption to the game that teaches the player valuable skills in a natural, fun way. A different ball? A smaller or larger court? A higher net? A different racket or strings? Different rules? Some combination? Anything, something interesting.
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