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What did you learn about tennis, and life in 2016?
A few things I learned:
1.
I've really learned this year not to bother engaging tennis federations, sponsors, agents and fan boys -- as generally its not productive.
2.
2016 - the year of Trump. If you work hard -- you'll win. And, believe it or not some guys are just meant to win. Its enevitable. You see em coming from a mile away. I saw that guy winning from day one - Donald had the goods.
3.
Winning -- its un-traditional. Pick the pathway your player wants to persue, work smarter - harder than anyone else and never give up on your player. Bad shit will happen along the way, but, in the end you will come out smelling like a rose.
4.
Balance - work nonstop on hip positioning, foot striking and controlling center of gravity and the hands - Tilden fundamentals will beautifully fall into place. Its not rocket science.
5.
Don't skip steps - I won't name names, but, in 2015 a brilliant womans tennis player emerged onto the international scene. She won a major title in kids tennis. This year she got her ass kicked. First round. And, its funny, the good players in this age group are not factors this year. Its crazy to watch it all unfold. A year ago I was asked, and I saide everyone was fan-boys, and were in love with the results, but, not the process. I mentioned great results at a young age never translate well to the professional game, and they are making a major mistake putting this girl out on the international stage, allowing magazine features, working with academies and dealing with agents, sponsors and marketers. The whole Maria Shinskina - Monica Veil deal, in my opinion. The external looked good (her game), but, internally her team, and the player were not working 24-7 like fanatics to be the best they could possibly be (and, on the court). There are plenty of 16-40 year old men who can give a girl player a beating day in and day out, and it would be best if she stayed at home, stopped acting like a pro and wasting money. I suggested cancelling trips to France, Germany, Russia, telling the agents, sponsors, academies and coaches to call when she is 16 to 18. It was a terrible idea to take a coach from the federation when she has people who brought her game to where it was, and the decision was going to bite them hard in the ass. How can you respect anyone who has no LOYALTY? Karma bites players in the ass who are not grateful sooner or later to there developmental roots, and sooner or later they will be thrown back to square on and those people won't be as willing to help. The federation -- they were even bigger jackasses for taking the kid away from her old people, and not rewarding them for a job well done. They should have mended fences, stay with the people who developed her game in the first place and told very nicely the tennis federations, sponsors, agents, coaches and fan boys she is not ready to make any decisions just yet. Federation doesn't like hearing that. But, they are political, and they basically poach talent and aren't accountable. This young girl was actually with people who lived and died, and thought 24-7 about making her a champion. I think they would have done it. But, big name people coming along, stars, and they sell the kid and parent on "these people have took you as far as they will take you, and now you need to work with blah blah blah blah." Its generally not productive in development as they make a kid think they are a pro before they have really put in the hard miles, or pull them out of there home to early. Like I said, with the woman - men can beat them badly and its best to keep them home. Now, I think they will have an uphill battle for two - three years and I am not sure pressure is condusive to building nuerology in a teenage body. And, this kid is trapped in the system now. No way out, and if she does not produce soon, they will dump her, and destroy her confidence (or body, I don't like the way they are training her personally - 50, 60 kids, train em hard like horses, and see what 2-3 come out of it. Tenni$ is a business, and I think its best to keep kids out of that game as long as they can. I see no benfits to these Orange Bowls, and big Junior tournaments, and I am not sure why everyone is in such a rush. Save the cash.
I think I see where this is all headed now - reminds me of the tennis_chiro story. What a great story he shared by the way.
6.
More small muscle work - be more efficient in what you do, and get better quality reps with a lot of rest.
7.
Create athletes who are always engaged and internalizing the sport. Verbalize to them more, watch videos, matches, and talk, talk, talk as that is 99 percent of the fun in the process.
8.
How you play at 10, 12, 14 or 16, doesn't matter. Finish school, see where you are at 18, go to college for 4 years, and then think about pro tennis. If you are a bluechipper - slow it down.
9.
A few guys here are world class coaching studs. It'd be interesting to see what a few of them could do with good raw material to mould for a long period of time with no external drama from the outside world of tenni$.
A few things I learned:
1.
I've really learned this year not to bother engaging tennis federations, sponsors, agents and fan boys -- as generally its not productive.
2.
2016 - the year of Trump. If you work hard -- you'll win. And, believe it or not some guys are just meant to win. Its enevitable. You see em coming from a mile away. I saw that guy winning from day one - Donald had the goods.
3.
Winning -- its un-traditional. Pick the pathway your player wants to persue, work smarter - harder than anyone else and never give up on your player. Bad shit will happen along the way, but, in the end you will come out smelling like a rose.
4.
Balance - work nonstop on hip positioning, foot striking and controlling center of gravity and the hands - Tilden fundamentals will beautifully fall into place. Its not rocket science.
5.
Don't skip steps - I won't name names, but, in 2015 a brilliant womans tennis player emerged onto the international scene. She won a major title in kids tennis. This year she got her ass kicked. First round. And, its funny, the good players in this age group are not factors this year. Its crazy to watch it all unfold. A year ago I was asked, and I saide everyone was fan-boys, and were in love with the results, but, not the process. I mentioned great results at a young age never translate well to the professional game, and they are making a major mistake putting this girl out on the international stage, allowing magazine features, working with academies and dealing with agents, sponsors and marketers. The whole Maria Shinskina - Monica Veil deal, in my opinion. The external looked good (her game), but, internally her team, and the player were not working 24-7 like fanatics to be the best they could possibly be (and, on the court). There are plenty of 16-40 year old men who can give a girl player a beating day in and day out, and it would be best if she stayed at home, stopped acting like a pro and wasting money. I suggested cancelling trips to France, Germany, Russia, telling the agents, sponsors, academies and coaches to call when she is 16 to 18. It was a terrible idea to take a coach from the federation when she has people who brought her game to where it was, and the decision was going to bite them hard in the ass. How can you respect anyone who has no LOYALTY? Karma bites players in the ass who are not grateful sooner or later to there developmental roots, and sooner or later they will be thrown back to square on and those people won't be as willing to help. The federation -- they were even bigger jackasses for taking the kid away from her old people, and not rewarding them for a job well done. They should have mended fences, stay with the people who developed her game in the first place and told very nicely the tennis federations, sponsors, agents, coaches and fan boys she is not ready to make any decisions just yet. Federation doesn't like hearing that. But, they are political, and they basically poach talent and aren't accountable. This young girl was actually with people who lived and died, and thought 24-7 about making her a champion. I think they would have done it. But, big name people coming along, stars, and they sell the kid and parent on "these people have took you as far as they will take you, and now you need to work with blah blah blah blah." Its generally not productive in development as they make a kid think they are a pro before they have really put in the hard miles, or pull them out of there home to early. Like I said, with the woman - men can beat them badly and its best to keep them home. Now, I think they will have an uphill battle for two - three years and I am not sure pressure is condusive to building nuerology in a teenage body. And, this kid is trapped in the system now. No way out, and if she does not produce soon, they will dump her, and destroy her confidence (or body, I don't like the way they are training her personally - 50, 60 kids, train em hard like horses, and see what 2-3 come out of it. Tenni$ is a business, and I think its best to keep kids out of that game as long as they can. I see no benfits to these Orange Bowls, and big Junior tournaments, and I am not sure why everyone is in such a rush. Save the cash.
I think I see where this is all headed now - reminds me of the tennis_chiro story. What a great story he shared by the way.
6.
More small muscle work - be more efficient in what you do, and get better quality reps with a lot of rest.
7.
Create athletes who are always engaged and internalizing the sport. Verbalize to them more, watch videos, matches, and talk, talk, talk as that is 99 percent of the fun in the process.
8.
How you play at 10, 12, 14 or 16, doesn't matter. Finish school, see where you are at 18, go to college for 4 years, and then think about pro tennis. If you are a bluechipper - slow it down.
9.
A few guys here are world class coaching studs. It'd be interesting to see what a few of them could do with good raw material to mould for a long period of time with no external drama from the outside world of tenni$.
A New Year's Thought...The Champagne Glass
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