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Your teaching philosphies!
Our end goal as mentors is to ensure skill-sets and disciplines don't break down under pressure? Right? That's the basis of teaching correct? Make it run smooth. So, what is everyone's opinion on how to best access the limbic striatum area of the brain, to achieve unconscious repetition patterns in sports specific "hunting, pouncing, execution, defensive and regrouping" movements? Science is showing this is the NEXT isn't it? Obviously I could make a hell of an argument based on new science great athletes successfully are hijacking evolutionary oldest brain areas, and are able to learn movements unconsciously through repetition. I am a big fan of the Frensch - Runger work which is quite controversial, and not widely accepted in educational - sports coaching methodology circles, however, I feel implicit learning is the way to go, and explicit simply won't work with this generation of players. Based on new research it appears this 1960's paradigm is worth it's weight in gold. As well I gotta say I have sure spent a lot of time reconstructing Henry Gustav Molaison (patient HM), Cleeremans, DeKeyser and the study of DeKaysers Second Language Acquisition (funny how so many great tennis player speak multiple languages so frigging fluently in tennis, and they don't in other sports isn't it). It's such an interesting time in sports development now that their's some quantified scientific developments on how implicit and explicit learning of sequential motor sequences work in relationship to the specified D-2 molecular structure - surface cells binding the substances such as antigens, hormones and neurotransmitters (I guess you could say receptors) to the basal ganglia. Isn't it interesting guys we know now our evolutionary most primary part of our basal ganglia (the limbic striatum) can only activated in implicit learning!!!!!!! I think this kind of research is groundbreaking, don't you? Think what that means, fundamental learning systems common (or even evolutionary chain) in the lion, monkey, sharks ect (primitive vertebrates) are all limbic striatum based! Their's a lot of great Parkinson's research being done now in this area, as it's directly related to motor skills. Perhaps Peter Graf, Yuri Sharapova and Tony Nadal perfectly mapped out the complex principals of dopamine and reinforcement learning! The things that are happening right now in the study of central brain dopaminergic neurons blow my mind , however, it's quite "ongoing." So, how are you replicating these types of new research areas as a coach, and using scientific principals being developed to create the mental game needed to improve skill-sets? Sorry if this was long winded, however, I am darned excited about this work! It's got to be the next, and I am curious how parents like the Polger's (the chess champions) were able to develop this in the 50's and 60's when their was such a lack of scientific and academic papers on these mental make-up fundamentals! Man, this is such a great time to be coaching, as their's so much great groundbreaking research being done on how to properly develop talent! What's kind of interesting to me is how Gladwell and Coyle have found a niche, yet haven't really dug it down to the bare bones, and come up with programs beyond "work 10,000 hours."
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Required reading
By the way, required reading. A bit outdated, but 20 years ahead of it's time!
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The don_budge tennis paradigm...
I never get tired of typing this...Originally posted by hockeyscout View Post
The Book is Bill Tilden. The Model is Richard Gonzales with the Don Budge backhand. Harry Hopman is the Coach and Roger Federer is Living Proof.
Did you know that Tilden wrote a book called "It's All in the Game and Other Tennis Tales"? Probably not. Well there is some genetic link to the game of tennis that is without a doubt considered obsolete by the tennis world but I would suggest reading it to anyone that is a student of the game of tennis. You know what? There is much to be learned from reading classic literature as opposed to reading the modern pulp fiction drivel...Dostoyevsky vs. Grisham. I would never suggest to anyone that Tilden's book is required reading...but I would on the other hand suggest that Ferdinand Celine's "Journey to the End of the Night". People would say I am crazy. But so what?
It's all about connecting the dots from the original to the present. One must be a true student of the game in order to be a true teacher. Tennis is rather unique in this regard...in it's history. Golf is much the same...a little kingdom in the soul of mankind. Somehow I managed to "master" both in one lifetime...along with some other interesting side notes. I wished that I had stuck with music though. I could have been a rock star...or so I believe. I theorize.
I suppose the above post is fascinating to someone. To Swedish youngsters I urge them to get in touch with their inner Vikings which have been not so subtly engineered right out of their very souls. Right here in the land of the Norse Gods they have invented a new word. In Swedish...han means him, hon means her and now the new "invention" is hen. Which can mean him or her. It's sexless...isn't it brilliant? Actually it's dangerous and representative of the social engineering these days. It permeates all education. Even coaching.
It's a New World Order with disciples of Joseph Goebbels leading the charge. George Orwell predicted as much. Double speak...in order to address the complexities of modern life we speak in circles laced with technical jargon...just in order to pretend that there are viable solutions to problems that are way too big to have any.
I saw this movie a long time ago..."Altered States" starring William Hurt as a curious anthropologist. He too was trying to get in touch with his "inner warrior". Mushrooms and potions mixed with the incoherent ramblings of Shamans. It's a shortcut...I know. Not for the feint of heart. Only for those seeking the path of least resistance. But it worked from the beginning of time. Before cell phones...there was Carl Jung's "Collective Unconscious". In the end it is all one "Journey to Ixtlan".
Not that I don't buy into your post or the modern paradigm of life and coaching tennis...it is just that it is so laborious. Boring. I guess I am skeptical. May I propose "Tennis for the Bloody Fun of It" ala Roy Emerson and Rod Laver. Plus what does this research mumbo jumbo have to do with teaching a student anything. Ninety percent of teaching is getting the student engaged...with their own bodies, their own minds, and their own hearts and souls. By hook or by crook. By whatever means necessary...Machiavelli style. Oh...That Little Prince! I just love that guy.
I know that the Western world has taken the path of technology...I try to stay informed but when it comes right down to the nitty gritty...I take the path less chosen in this regard. Really...at some point you just have to say...fuck it.
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I can only assume (given the post) we are talking about a child who exhibits some potential/eagerness to play....
Teach them proper fundamentals, and to utilize their time wisely. Developing a good work ethic, concentration on the task, etc. is important even at an early age. Yes, fun is important, but a good coach can set the tone and make these both possible..
My advice for parents with a child with some potential? Control your enthusiasm and expectations..It's a long road from 10 to college.Last edited by 10splayer; 03-06-2014, 08:54 AM.Comment
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Don't overlook Katie Lomb, the late great Hungarian expert in acquiring languages other than one's own and KATO LOMB-- POLYGLOT: HOW I LEARN LANGUAGES. The whole book used to be available for free online and perhaps still is. But should your spelling be "the Polgars" and "Yuri Sharap?"Originally posted by hockeyscout View Post
That aside, your excitement will be more than great if you can inflict it slowly and sparingly (and most likely through indirection). I tend to go with Ellsworth Vines when he says that tennis instruction is too detailed, but I already know you understand much on this point from your idea about costumes.
Hey, I don't think the 1960's paradigm goes back far enough. How about this basically anonymous one from 1791, taken by the blacksmiths: "By hammer and hand, all arts do stand."Last edited by bottle; 03-06-2014, 02:02 PM.Comment
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Great stuff!
This is great stuff guys! Superb stuff! I will read Tilden.
You know, I believe in patience in athletic development obviously, however, the most important thing I have learned is to be respectful of father time!
Ten years is a SHORT period of time.
- It's 3000 days of practice
- 10,000 hours (if you go by that rule) totals 465 complete 24 hour day.
I always tell the young one, athletics is a tough route to go because you only have so many hours and days to first, and most importantly, eat properly, and then from there set up your functional mechanics - spirit and develop a winning game, and it passes by fast, and if you're not urgent in getting better with every ball you hit ... well ... as I put it, "If you don't want to be number 1 today, then okay, that's a choice, and someone else will be number one, and it won't be you." At the end of the day an athlete (or any of us in any field - business, fatherhood, whatever) really has to ask himself, was I number one today in what I did. If the answer is yes, then progress will come over the long haul."
It's great being a coach or businessman because you can peak at 30, 40, 50, 60 or 70's, isn't it?
Athletics goes by fast, just like kids go by fast. The wife and I just had a baby girl two days ago, and she's a twin of my first one, and it got me thinking today of how quickly life passed by over the past eight years with the first one! This first one sure became very independent quickly!
My dad once told me when I was young (14 or so I think) something interesting about woman. I saw a pretty girl. Dad told me: "Man up! Stop looking and go get her. If you don't get with her, some other guy will get with her. Is it going to be you or him? It should be you, don't you think?"
I learned. And one day I saw my Svitlana. 6'2". Blonde. Athletic. Strong. Spirited. Tough. The whole package. One day god decided, I must create the perfect Slavic woman, and he did! Yup, she was the one, and I wasn't going to let any other man be her # 1
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Love it
Originally posted by don_budge View PostI never get tired of typing this...
I suppose the above post is fascinating to someone. To Swedish youngsters I urge them to get in touch with their inner Vikings which have been not so subtly engineered right out of their very souls. Right here in the land of the Norse Gods they have invented a new word. In Swedish...han means him, hon means her and now the new "invention" is hen. Which can mean him or her. It's sexless...isn't it brilliant? Actually it's dangerous and representative of the social engineering these days. It permeates all education. Even coaching.
I know that the Western world has taken the path of technology...I try to stay informed but when it comes right down to the nitty gritty...I take the path less chosen in this regard. Really...at some point you just have to say...fuck it.Comment
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Politics makes strange bed fellows. The truth is that the amount of obsessive dedication required even to make 5.0 ntrp, is frowned upon by most. You can read all the books, subscribe to sites like this, watch tennis channel all day long, practice for hours a day, play many tournament matches, study yourself and your opponents, without making that grade or close/enough/near to it for most who try to. And most say, "Fuck it."
They come to know they just can't serve well enough no matter what they try, return well enough either, be able to grind it out and run down defense, or blast out offense. For almost all of us who have tried, it's a losing game to improve to that level. Most never obtain the knowledge of strings and equipment they truly need. MOst never have the mentor they need who has done it himself. (Becker/Edberg, dueling volley expert coaches, hired by Joke/Fed.) EVen these genetic freak top guys know, they will never volley well enough.
For myself, I studied Sampras in slow motion for years, more than anyone, starting in 1989. I know more about his motion than most on earth, and have never come close to it. I can't turn that far sideways. I can't bend my knees down that far. I can't externally rotate my shoulders that much. I can't time the leg drive upwards, while lagging and delaying my frame drop. I can't snap the whip that viciously, and stop my shoulder, while snapping my forearm and wrist simultaneously. I can't relax while trying to do all that. My timing never achieved anything close to his. I could not handle a 389 gram frame, that was strung at (first 59lbs, then 73lbs). I could not look at myself on video anymore. It was just too disturbing to see how far away I was. But the truth is, sometimes I do turn enough. Sometimes I do lag the frame drop in time with my legs upward forces. Sometimes I do arch my back enough. Sometimes I do crank out 120 mph by accident. But it is an accident and I only do it once in 100 tries. No amount of study or patience, or work or practice has helped me. Yet, I still believe. I still delude myself. I still enjoy that one shot over all the failed ones.
If Sampras had my belly, he would not be able to serve either!Last edited by GeoffWilliams; 03-06-2014, 08:59 PM.Comment
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It's 1:00 AM and this is perfect reading material to wear me out and put me to sleep.Originally posted by hockeyscout View Post
And that was just trying to read the summary at the end! It looks really interesting, but I'm going to have to try to read it when I am fully conscious and able to concentrate. But for now it is just right. I'm ready for bed!
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Don Budge grew up in Oakland,Originally posted by don_budge View PostSo your stated teaching philosophy is...what?
Don budge courts: Bushrod park, oakland ca.
(1.0 star rating 7/24/2012 (not given by me, but by a neighbor.)
are you kidding me? i live on 59th street right near here, and two men were just shot during a machine gun blowout. so so so many stories out there regarding this neighborhood and this park. definitely read outside of the internet before riding (sic) off this 1 star rating. here are some articles to start you off. drugs fights guns gangs)
I play at the courts named after him often, better known as Bushrod courts. The last time I was there, three young teenage oakland thugs (pants hanging down around their ankles, like prison punks do), came onto our court, and started to take our tennis balls.
Don budge would not want his name on this court if he could see what it has become nowadays. It's a drug/gang/basketball/thug/shooting park, with lots of dead leaves in the corner, piling up next to the basketball fence. It's typical to see plastic bags, swirling slowly up wards and down wards, up wards and down wards, in slow clock wise circles, in that leaf corner, going nowhere, just like amercian tennis. (Donald Young)
Even though his name is on top of the fence, people still call it bushrod, not Don Budge courts. Look at the old videos, and see why. The game evolves fast. My teaching philosophY? I just named it. Delude thyself, as no one else will.Last edited by GeoffWilliams; 03-07-2014, 08:42 AM.Comment
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hOLY bejeesus, those plastic bags.Comment
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Swirling and swirling, up wards and down wards, always turning slowly and swirling slowly clock wise, grocery see through cheap plastic bags, above the pile of dead and dry colored maple leaves in the north west corner of the tennis courts on the third far end court, adjacent to the pick up basketball game courts. with no one noticing but me.
I am the plastic bag in the corner. So is american tennis. Remember Chang's mother, after a practice with some top pro, coming up to him, and reaching under his shorts, pulling his underwear upwards, and saying rudely, "You don't want to get a rash, do you?" I wonder if Donald Young's mother ever did something like that? Seeing his eyes, while she told him how to practice his serve, tells me,
"Hell yes."
No one but the politically correct ever cared that 14 yr. olds wanted to play pro tennis. That's the time the crazily obsessed tennis parents really needed to step in and turn that rule around, instead of letting the Capriati affect rule us all.
Now american players are all just: dancing bags, over piles of dead maple leaves.
I'd say we should have driven these kids half to death if they wanted it bad enough. I'd say, mercy in training begets nice guy losses. I'd say, obsess crazily or lose too often. I'd say, spend money on the best strings, stringing master, and mentor you can possibly afford. I'd say cross train for foot work, not for weights or strenth, and for the track, not for who can squat the most, for the hill sprints, not for who can bench the most. Get up at 5 am and go to the sand dunes, and sprint up and down with a lead weight on the ankles bare foot.
ASk any top player how hard they trained as kids/juniors and they will all have similar stories.Last edited by GeoffWilliams; 03-08-2014, 08:13 AM.Comment
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I really hate to say it, but where tennis went bad is when the federations decided to ban the young kids turning pro early. Especially in the woman's game. I really think this "developmental program" set tennis back twenty years, and killed the kids motivation to be great, and put in the necessary hours at a young age. I kind of shake my head at people saying, well, we don't train to hard today because we are focused on the end goal or 19 or 20. You know, the old generation was urgent and focused in their goal of climbing to the top. I don't see that good desperation with this up and coming group of players. They all appear to want it the easy way, and I wonder if this group of kids practices the amount of hours Sampras or Williams practiced. I'm not sure how long it'll be until we see another Venus Williams, Roger Federer or Rafa Nadal! Everyone says tennis is more physical now, and all this BS, however if you look at hockey, with each and every passing year the younger kids are better, bigger, stronger, faster and making the grade against older competition than in the past. I understand it makes the federations more money when everyone's held back in Junior's, and coaches can make money off the teenagers who are 14-15-16-17 who haven't shown pro upside (don't worry, stick with it kid, you will make it, its a long process line). Their's such a lack of urgency, and I can't really get to excited about these new up and coming stars like in the past when you had these young, motivated, hungry kids coming up raising hell and making the sport more interesting. I think it'll be a long time before we see generational talents again. I do disagree a bit with Don Budge, I think urgency is important in development, and I think the WTA rule spells that out. As well, I might point hockey, hockey hit a golden age in talent when they turned the pro rule from 20 to 18, as did basketball. Tennis really needs to take a look at that rule again!Originally posted by GeoffWilliams View Post
Actually, US Tennis hasn't done so well since that Capriati rule have they? I think their's a direct correlation!Last edited by hockeyscout; 03-08-2014, 09:24 AM.Comment
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What's in the Bottle? Plastic bags? Once you have seen the light shine through the plastic bags, in a milky way, you see the similarity towards improving a shot you cannot improve. It's tremendously interesting to see those bags swirling. Look inside yourself and you will see them.Originally posted by bottle View Post
There is energy within us, capable of incredible work, that no one can measure yet or have a full understanding yet, that explains why some are incredible and some are not.Last edited by GeoffWilliams; 03-08-2014, 10:37 PM.Comment
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