Skill Based Learning vs. Knowledge Based Learning

Think back to when you were in school or maybe your last business meeting or conference. When we went to learn something, how was it presented? How many of us can say that the presenter just stood up front and talked to us?  We acquired a ton of knowledge, but not the skills to use it. Something we strive to focus on at 10sKidz is Skill Based Learning. That is a fancy buzzword for learning through the process. Since this is a way I try to live my life, I feel that is the best way to teach our students. As we

often say, "One of the best ways to master a skill is to teach it to someone else." I learned that from my International Relations Professor at UWEC my freshmen year of college. 

Skill based learning is where we focus on teaching a skill, like the forehand, but the student may have only one thing they are focused on doing. So when they are in a cooperative game, they are focused on that part of the skill. Something that we do to help our students focus more on the process is take away the focus of the end result. When students play, they are not playing to win. The score just tells where they are in their game and when they reach the final point, it just says, the game is over. Their goal is to keep playing until the game stops. 

Another way we teach students to focus on the process and not the result is to always make it look good, even if you miss. You see, everyone misses in tennis. Make the stroke look good, develop the movement, let that movement inspire you and those watching. To help student's work through the process and get over the fear of the result, we teach our students to get good at starting over. Tennis is a game of starting over. After each point, you start over.  The real fun is how long you can keep starting over until the game stops. We like to say the best part of the game is when we are playing not when some one wins or loses, that means the game is done. 

Let me make a guarantee, that if you teach effective and efficient technique and focus on the process, you will see players make gains they never thought they could. They develop such a focused mind-body connection that their skills become a part of them and they will love the feel of the ball on the strings. 

Happy Fall!!!!

 

Shift in Learning

Something that I have noticed over the past 10 years is how youth tennis has changed or has it?  Something that we see now is more skill based lessons using a games based approach. Yes, we always want to have fluency and rote where we teach technique, but lessons have moved more to a cooperative games based format. It used to be that we would stand in a line, hit a forehand, a backhand, run up for a volley. Then we might practice our serve and then play.  Now we are seeing more cooperative learning strategies to help kids learn skills and apply their technique in context. 

"Long gone are the days of coaches barking orders and saying overused and empty phrases like “see the ball hit the strings” and passing that off as high-level learning." (Kalindi Dinhoffer, 2020)

Very few players can actually learn with auditory commands alone. It just doesn’t stick. And, when the player does kind of get it, they aren’t learning optimally. This where kinesthetic learning comes in. Kinesthetic learning is all about the feel of the game.  Something we are always encouraging is for the students to love the feel of the ball on the strings. If they can love the feel of the ball hitting the strings, that becomes a reason to keep playing. We want our students to remember how each stroke feels and when it felt good. That is why you will often hear us say, make it look good, make the finish look good, you may inspire yourself. How you finish helps with balance. We emphasize learning to be friends with the ball as 

Most players can recall, with excitement, when they finally figured out a certain shot or concept that had been giving them trouble. Kinesthetic learning is creates emotional involvement. .Students want to play more, be present, and stick with the game longer when they’re experiencing kinesthetic learning.

Fall Classes Starting this Week!

 Welcome back everyone! I hope you have been able to get used to your new school schedules. It is September and that means after school tennis classes and cooler temperatures. Anything under 110 is considered cooler.  This September we will start with some classes at our North Phoenix Baptist location until Encanto Sports Complex reopens and we are able to set up our classes through the City of Phoenix. 

Schedule and Registration
We have several offerings
Starting Tuesday 9/8
Learn to Rally Level 1
5:45-6:15 pm

Starting Thursday 9/10
Learn to Rally Level 2
4:30-5:30 pm
Green Ball (Ages 11-14)
5:45-6:45 pm

Starting Monday 9/14 (New Time)
***Three week class
Orange Ball for Beginner/Advanced Beginner
Ages 9-12 (Consolidated class)
5:45-6:45 pm

Build Your Immune System, it is a Muscle Too!

Something we promote in our classes for kids is the importance of keeping our immune system strong. At no time is that more important than when there is something going around that is contagious. As tennis players we tend to get a lot of overuse to muscles and joints. We can reduce this by eating more foods or supplements that are high in antioxidants, vitamin c, and vitamin e. I write this to you today because Blue Cross just left something in my inbox that talks about what we teach. Yes, a health insurance company pushing something other than pharmaceuticals. Here is the article.

Eat well to keep your immune system strong.

By now, chances are you know the advice on protecting yourself and others from the coronavirus: Keep your distance. Wear a mask. Wash your hands. And so on.

But here's one bit of advice to think about too: Eat healthy foods.

Eating nutritiously has always been a way to stay healthy. A healthy diet strengthens your immune system, and a strong immune system helps protect you from illness. While no single food or diet can prevent illness, eating healthy can help your body prevent, fight, and recover from infections during the COVID-19 pandemic.

What does healthy eating look like?

Of course, it's best to keep your immune system healthy all the time, not just when a virus is going around. That means focusing on a well-balanced diet filled with nutritious foods including fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.

According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, these nutrients can help strengthen your immune system:
 

Probiotics. These good bacteria can be found in cultured dairy products such as yogurt.

Protein. This may be especially helpful in healing and recovery. You can find this in plant and animal products such as milk, eggs, beef, chicken, fish, nuts, beans, and seeds.

Vitamin A. This helps regulate the immune system and protect against infections. Look for it in sweet potatoes, carrots, broccoli, spinach, eggs, and milk or cereal fortified with vitamin A.

Vitamin C. Look for this in citrus fruits. It helps the immune system by increasing the amount of antibodies in your system.

Vitamin D. Find it in fatty fish and eggs, as well as drinks fortified with vitamin D.

Vitamin E. This works as an antioxidant. Antioxidants decrease inflammation. Find vitamin E in fortified cereals, sunflower seeds, vegetable oils, and peanut butter.

Zinc. This may help wounds heal. You can find it in wheat germ, beans, and tofu, but zinc is best absorbed from animal sources such as beef and fish.

The best way to get the nutrients your immune system needs is to include a wide variety of healthy foods in your diet. That's usually a better option than a supplement. Overloading on specific nutrients won't give your immune system a super boost. In fact, taking too much of some of them can actually do more harm than good.

Take an all-around approach
Eating nutritious foods is just one way to strengthen your immune system. Other good habits include:

• Getting a good amount of sleep each night

• Being active every day

• Maintaining a healthy weight

• Coping with stress and anxiety in healthy ways, like deep breathing and exercise

Summer 2020

Canceled. That seems to be the word for the Spring of 2020. Canceled. Tennis classes, canceled. Spring Training, Canceled. NCAA Tournament, Canceled. Graduation, Canceled. School activities, canceled. You looked around and there was nothing it seemed. The roads were empty. Drive time in the morning normally would take 25 minutes to go six miles. The new normal, 10 minutes. Nothing was happening.

This summer I experienced something again. That when nothing is happening, something is happening. Something behind the scenes somewhere is unfolding. That is what happened for our tennis classes in Summer 2020. We had a small group of kids who came out and developed friendships and worked to make their skills better. We set a goal in March to build connection in different ways. In late July, I was presented with an opportunity to have t shirts made for our kids. The way it came about was truly amazing. 

Pandemic miracles became our mantra. We stayed the course. We set up some classes at our North Phoenix location. We had kids that were just so grateful to get to do something. I think this summer was one of the power of the comeback. Just like tennis, when we miss, we get a chance to start over. We were resilient. We kept up with our practice. I think that this summer was one for the ages, even though it was different, it was the continuation of something bigger than ourselves. 

Future Dates to Watch For

The 2020 fall tennis season is only 6 weeks away. That means that you have an opportunity to play in the www.mesatennis.com NET Tournament, (Non Elimination Tournaments) for Novice to Advanced, Orange, Green and Yellow Ball divisions. I really like these because they give you an opportunity to play other players from around the area. You may meet someone you really enjoy playing with. 

The tournaments are set up in a round robin format. Each player plays one set and keeps track of the games they win for each set. They keep track of the total number of games won. These tournaments are about two hours long and you can play as many as seven to ten players. That kind of practice is really hard to duplicate. The novice divisions even have staff that will help the new players with scoring and rules. These tournaments are such a great opportunity to play or prepare for other tournaments.  Here are the upcoming dates:

• Sept. 18-19 (evening)
• Oct. 17
• Nov. 21
• Dec. 12

Replacing Those Lost Electrolytes

Living in the desert is an act of courage. We know that we must not live against the desert, but to live with it. We must listen to it, watch and learn in order that we can survive. The past several days we have experienced the power of our environment as temperatures have soared to 115+.   Let me encourage you to make sure you are drinking more than just water. Electrolyte drinks such as pedialyte, chocolate milk, powerade, chia seed drinks, antioxidant smoothies are all helpful to replacing those lost electrolytes.

New Morning Sessions Start July 13

This has been a summer of adjustment for all of us. Since we are not able to have our summer program at Encanto Sports Complex we were able to offer modified sessions. It is our gift to you while we work together to get through this season.

Our next summer session starts July 13 at North Phoenix Baptist Church. This is a two week session two days per week. Our Learn to Rally Students start at 7:30-8:15 am and our Green Ball Intermediate (11-14) starts at 8:30-9:30 am.  Class is $30.00 per student. Week day summer sessions limit class to six students.

We have our Saturday morning class at North Phoenix Baptist also. This class is a beginner/advanced beginner class for ages 9-11. This class meets at 8:30-9:30 am. This is a four week class for $40.00.

Crock pot or Microwave Mindset?

We have made through to the half way point of the year. Wow. I am amazed at everything we have been able to accomplish with the limited time we have spent together. Something I have continuously been reminded is to have a crock pot mindset  not a microwave mindset. This year more than any I have had to remind myself that we take things slow and steady instead of trying to get things done fast. In our COVID times, we must remember that. Slow and steady is what wins the race. One step at a time. Today's lesson than comes from a very influential story, The Tortoise and The Hare.
I see a microwave mindset a lot. It is very common in tennis too. I see students who get frustrated because the movements are challenging for them. They want to be able to get it right away. It is all about changing our mindset to one of daily practice instead of having a competitive results mindset. Here is the key, when you do something consistently over time with joy, suddenly you become an overnight success. That is why we like to emphasize the quick wins of making it look good. We want you to develop the feeling of joy in what you do and how your strokes feel to you when they flow.  It is about being the crock pot that cooks your meal so that hours later it permeates the whole house. A microwave meal may give you instant satisfaction, but sometimes you can burn your mouth and chip your tooth at the same time.
Today,  read The Tortoise and the Hare  with your child.

                                                          The Tortoise and the Hare

In the woods there lived a very slow tortoise and a very swift hare. The Hare was a proud animal, fast and sleek, and well aware of his speedy talents. He would take delight in taunting the humble Tortoise.

One bright morning, the Tortoise was plodding along at his usual pace. Suddenly, bounding past him was the Hare! The Hare leapt this way and that, frantically running circles around the patient Tortoise. No matter how the Hare might cross his path or try to trip him up, the Tortoise calmly continued his stroll, undisturbed by the Hare’s antics.

“Good morning, Mr. Hare,” the Tortoise said.

“My goodness, you are moving quickly today.”

“Ha-hah! That I am, Tortoise!” snapped the Hare. “But I cannot say the same for you.

You are as slow as a sloth!”

“This is true, Mr. Hare, this is true,” replied the Tortoise.

“You know, Tortoise,” said the Hare mockingly,

“I just saw a snail slithering along faster than you!”

“Perhaps you did, Mr. Hare, perhaps you did,”

said the Tortoise, all the while slowly continuing along the path. “I am a very slow creature,” said the Tortoise, “but all the same, I would like to challenge you to a race.”

“You? You challenge me to a race?” asked the Hare.

“Why, Tortoise, I could have run a race in the time it took you to make that challenge! Ha, ha, ha!” And with that, the Hare was seized with laughter. He laughed so hard that he fell over.

The noisy laughter of the Hare caught the attention of the other animals. “What’s the commotion?” they asked.

“This silly Tortoise has challenged me to a race! Why, I’m sure to win,” said the Hare. “He is so slow, I’ll have time to spare.”

The animals agreed on a course for the race and the Fox was chosen to act as the judge. That night, the Tortoise went to bed early to rest for the big day, but the Hare stayed up late into the night, boasting far and wide of his upcoming victory.

The next morning, the Tortoise arose early and slowly made his way to the starting line. As it was time for the race to begin, the Hare was only just waking up. “On your marks!” growled the Fox. “Get set!”

“Whoa! Don’t start without me,” exclaimed the Hare as he dashed to his place at the starting line.

“GO!” barked the Fox, and the Hare was off, leaving the

Tortoise behind in a cloud of dust. When the dust settled, the Tortoise had only cleared the starting line.

“Ha, ha,” laughed the Hare, “I’ll show that old Tortoise! He should have known better than to think that he would beat me.”Not long after the Hare was out of sight, he began to grow weary. “I am so far ahead of that Tortoise,” thought the Hare. “I think I’ll take a little rest here until he comes along. That ought to show him how foolish he is to race me!” The Hare stretched out on a comfortable hammock and enjoyed a few tasty carrots.

After he’d eaten his fill, he felt sleepy. “Well, I suppose there is no harm in taking a little nap,” the Hare said to himself, and with that, he fell fast asleep.Meanwhile, the Tortoise had been making slow but steady progress. He had been happily moving along one step at a time, enjoying the scenery of the race course and greeting the other animals along the way. After quite some time, hecame upon the sleeping Hare.

Hello, friend Owl! Hello, friend Squirrel,” said the Tortoise quietly, so as not to wake the Hare. “It is a beautiful day, is it not?”

“Yes it is,” chirped the Squirrel. “Keep up the good work!”

“Thank you,” replied the Tortoise, as he slowly moved along, enjoying the sun and the warm breeze.

While the foolish Hare slept, the Tortoise continued to make his way patiently along the trail. Over hills and through the forest, the Tortoise slowly plodded along. Hours passed as he crept past a brook, moseyed through a field, and walked along beside a pond. He could see the finish line not far ahead of him. Still the Hare dozed away.

When the sun began to grow low in the sky, a cool breeze blew, chilling the Hare. At last he awoke.

“Oh my!” said the Hare with a start. “How long have I been sleeping? The race! I must get back to the race!”

“You had better hurry if you want to win,” hooted the old Owl. “The Tortoise passed here hours ago.”

The Hare was surprised to hear that he had been asleep so long.

“I’d better get moving!” he said, and darted off in a panic. The Hare scampered along, and tripped and fell many times as he scrambled to make up for the time that he had lost to his long nap. The Hare ran and ran.

The Hare went as fast as he could, but it was of no use, for as he went over the last hill, he could see the Tortoise ahead of him, crossing the finish line ever so slowly.

“I declare, the Tortoise has beaten the Hare!” barked the Fox.

As the animals cheered and congratulated the Tortoise, the Hare came puffing, out of breath and dragging himself along along the trail.

“How could you have beaten me?” said the Hare. “You are so slow and I am so fast!”

“That is right, Mr. Hare,” said the Tortoise.

“I may be slow, but I am patient and steady, and I never stopped going. You see, my friend,” said the Tortoise with a smile, “slow and steady wins the race!”

The Tortoise and the Hare       By Aesop

Starting Over Meditations

Something that I always tell our students is that tennis is a game of starting over. Everyone who ever plays will miss, will make an error than ends a point. We want to get good at starting over. Something that is important to starting over is letting go. Letting go of feelings that are strongholds to our present moment. Those thoughts of negative thinking or feelings of guilt, shame, worthlessness will create tension in our muscles and not allow us to flow. Here are three great meditation and mindfulness exercises that I use to help us let go of negative thinking or stressful feelings. They are pictures of balloons.

Five Ways to Have a Mindful State

A lot is written today about mindfulness and there are a lot of people who are and claim to be experts in mindfulness. I am not an expert in mindfulness, I just try to practice it everyday.  Mindfulness is not relaxation, though using meditation and relaxation techniques do make us more mindful. Mindfulness is not an event. Mindfulness is simply noticing. Anytime you take a conscious breath, you are noticing, Like I said earlier, meditation can make us more mindful because we are connected to the moment. Thus, every conscious breath we take is a meditation. As you read this, take notice of what you are already doing. Then  give yourself some praise for being mindful. 

One of the first ways to have a mindful state is a process focus and not outcome focus. Mihaly Czikszentmihaly (The Optimal State of Flow) noticed that artists could perform a simple movement task of painting or drawing and create something with different levels of difficulty for hours at a time. What really impressed him is how they devoted such purpose and meaning in the moment, but when the work was finished could completely forget about it.  They were not focused on the finished product, they were focused on the process, the act of creating, drawing, painting. They were not anxious about the outcome, they enjoyed what they were doing and lost themselves in the moment and yet were totally aware of what they were doing. They were able to control the process of what they were doing and how they were doing it. The key here for tennis players is to focus on what we can do and repeat. 

The second key is preparation builds confidence and confidence builds an internal vision of success. Remember, it is not the outcome, but how do you feel about the way you played or performed. What did you do well or like about the day? That is what builds an internal state  that allows us to regulate our emotions. 

The third key is that everything is a practice. From the time spent in lessons to playing a match. It is all practice. You are performing your practice. If everything is practice, that means we should be mindful of our rituals, self-talk, and effort. Since everything is practice, it means this activity is apart of us. The routines, the stroke patterns, the strategy, the passion, All of it connects. Regardless of where you are, in a lesson or at a tennis match, have the mindset that this is my practice. I am practicing getting better, I am practicing enjoying playing this game. Some parts of my practice might have higher stakes, but it's still just practice. When we remember this, we are releasing the outcome focus to an internal focus. 

The fourth key is that if something is baggage, unload it. This could be a breakdown in your strokes, trying a new shot that just isn't working, our reactions, or negative thoughts, or experiences. Lets unload them, release them and use them as teaching points to learn the skill or a new skill. (Conscious Discipline)

Lastly, the fifth key is visualize and notice. We said preparation is one of the building blocks for confidence. Seeing your preparation in writing or pictures is creating that visual plan what you think could happen. This helps us so we can not have to react from a survival state and stay in the flow state. It allows us to notice what we want and notice in the real world when they are happening. The key is noticing. That is mindfulness. Noticing.

In summary, five ways to be mindful are Process, Prepare, Practice, Unload  and Notice. These are just some of the simple keys I use to have a more present state of mind. The big one for me is noticing. When I notice, I am in the moment. Now that you have read this post, which of the five keys to mindfulness do you already practice? 

I Can Handle This

So we started back with official tennis this week and although it is a small turnout, it is great to be back with our tennis family. Some of our families are just not ready to come back yet or they are going on vacation. Either way, I understand. This has been a challenge on our mental states. Adding to the fact that we went from 90 degrees to 110+ in such a short period of time. Usually we are able to acclimate over time, but not this year. The key though is to be able to download calm to our brain. Something I have been learning over the course of these past weeks is about the Conscious Discipline Brain State Model. I think that it can really help in our lessons as we help kids become successful. That is my job, to help them become successful. Their job is to help everyone be successful. 

There are three internal brain states we enter into and only one of them allows us to learn new skills. The three brain states are Survival State, Emotional State, and Executive State. When we are in one of these states, we are operating from a different part of the brain. 

The first state is the Survival State and when we enter here, we are operating from the brain stem. We are asking the question,"Am I safe?"  If the answer is no, then cortisol kicks in and we either, fight, flight, or freeze. We are going to do whatever we need to do to get back to safety. Sometimes the behavior creates the opposite result of what we want. During this state children (adults too) may punch, vandalize, kick, or run away just to feel safe again. In this state, learning cannot happen. Ever try to talk to a child during a tantrum? Communication is not going to happen and when you model that behavior with the same intensity, there becomes a power struggle. 

When we play tennis or learn tennis, there are some students who have a low frustration tolerance. When things start to unravel in a match they begin to throw their racket, water bottles, hit the ball at their opponent, or some other act that is careless. They are thinking unconsciously, trying to get back to a state of safety or control. They just lack the skills to get there. Matches often unravel.  So what we do as coaches or teachers, is teach them the skills in practice. Some tournaments allow for coaching, but most do not so the player is on their own. 

We teach a simple strategy of STAR Breathing. STAR is an acronym for STOP, TAKE a breath, AND RELAX.  The key word is the STOP, PAUSE. During the STOP, we actually hold our breath for one to two seconds. This actually helps reset the brain and chemical systems of our body. then we breath out one to three times from our stomach. When that is done we use a mantra,"I can handle this." or "I got this."  

My challenge to you is to try the STAR breath next time you feel like you are not safe and your internal world is falling apart. Your children will learn this skill every lesson to help them learn to have an internal control over themselves. They will fail from time to time, they won't be perfect, They will recognize their state though and begin making the adjustments. Then one day they will truly believe,"I can handle this."

Source (2018) Dr. Becky Bailey  www.consciousdiscipline.com 

Learn Like the Pro's

This past January I bought a book called Everyday Millionaires. For me it is not about having a million dollars. What I was interested in is what are the habits that your everyday people did to manage their money so they were prepared for the future and to be able to give. I tell you this because in our lessons  we teach the students the skills, habits, and technique that the professional tennis players use.  I do not go into this with the idea I am training professional tennis players. I just want to teach them the habits and skills so they can be successful. I should define successful also. Successful is looking good, loving the feel of the ball on the strings, being able to participate in different levels of play, and being able to teach their skills to some one else. 

The reason I always tell our students to love the feel of the ball on the strings, is because that has to be a WHY. It may not be your big WHY, but if you don't love the feel of the experience at some point you will quit. On that note, we release that tennis is not about the competition, it is a practice. It is not just going to practice, but a practice. When you think about the professional tennis players, we only see the tournaments on television. That is only 10% of the professional's practice. What is the other 90%? I like the way EXOS breaks down the habits into four pillars, Nutrition, Movement, Mindset, and Recovery. The first habit is nutrition. We have to eat well to perform well, regardless of what we are doing. We not only need to practice our technique and skills on court, but we need to work on our movements off court. The professionals do a lot of specific conditioning, but we can go for bike rides, hike, play frisbee at the park, take your pet for walks, or go swimming. Professionals also take time to recover. They get massage, foam roll, and stretch through yoga or specific programs. We can do the same thing, even some days are active rest. Last, professionals work on their mindset. This can also be a part of our recovery as well. Meditation, visualization, mindfulness, and positive affirmations are all apart of the setting a mindset for success.  In our classes we teach our students STAR breathing and the art of noticing. As they notice, they are always in the present. As they learn to STAR breath (Stop, Take a breath, and Relax with the mantra,"I got this." ) 

In closing, I find that it is important to model after the professionals, not because we want to be at that level, but that it gives us a framework to be successful at our practice. 

High School Tennis

Last week I was a part of a professional development webinar that was discussing the attrition rate for junior tennis players. Actually, that was just a key point. The webinar was about single sport athletes versus the multi-activity approach. One of the things that came about was the high ranking junior player quit tennis after the juniors. If they did not get a college scholarship, they never or rarely picked up a racket again. They also discussed how many of them had overuse injuries, which I think is really a misunderstanding of how to periodize  a program than anything. You cannot always go one hundred percent and think you will not need a break.
One way to periodize a tournament player, especially if they are not going to participate in other activities is to play high school tennis. This is usually not as intense as the sanctioned tournaments and can really allow for the player to come back to a place where they can discover the true why they play the game. The true why could be to love the feel of the ball on the strings. If you don't love the feel of being out on the court, running around, and the ball hitting the strings, it can be very difficult to want to play. High school tennis and non-sanctioned tournaments are opportunities to work on the mindfulness part of our practice. They are the opportunities to develop the love that will carry you to play with your friends when you are in college and the weekly social gathering as you move on in life. It might also be an opportunity for you to pass something on to your children. A lot of the players who go out for high school tennis do so because they love the game and may not have access to tennis instruction for affordability or logistic reasons. They may have been looking for a sport to fill their time or they wanted to find something they could do to help them belong. Sometimes tennis players find tennis late after  burnout from another sport. 
My point for all of this is that we should periodize our tennis with our students whether they are playing at a ranked level or not. It is important that we find opportunities for them to go back to loving the feel of the ball on the strings and still being able to work on their skills. High School tennis can give a lot of players an opportunity to play everyday instead of just taking lessons. Lessons without application becomes monotonous. 

EXOS 5-min Mindset Practice - April 22, 2020

Tennis Skills to Help During COVID-19

How can tennis help us during the COVID-19 pandemic? I am not just referring to the active part such as playing through creative measures. I am talking about the mental skills we learn in tennis that allow us to be resilient and to adapt. Tennis is a game where you must have a plan, but be able to adapt that plan to the situation. Think of when we are returning serve. We don't know where the server is going to serve the ball, but we have to adjust if it comes to the right, left, or right at us. We also have to be able to adapt to the speed, the height, and the spin of the ball. As we go through this COVID-19 pandemic, think about what we already have to help us get through this. When returning serve, we have practiced our backhand, we have practiced our forehand, we have practiced moving to the ball, we have practiced the rally. The same thing applies to real life. This pandemic feels like an opponent on a comeback. We were ahead in the game and all of sudden, they caught some momentum. Now we are uncertain, the nerves start rattling, we start to think,"Oh No! I blew it."  We need to adapt. One of the things I have to tell myself everyday is,"Start over. Make it look good. It's okay, I got this. Stay the course." 

One of the things tennis teaches us is to use what we have and adjust to uncertainty. My challenge to you is to use what you have. Tennis teaches us routines, routines are mindfulness in action. The way we start a serve with checking our grip, bouncing the ball. The way we look at our strings in between points. The way we set up to return a serve. I was thinking about the Potato Race. These routines help prepare us to play a point. Use what you have a set a routine. Stay mindful and remember, tennis brings out the strengths to help us be resilient.

Do Simple Better

I am not really one for taking on too much, but I am one for trying to make a project more than it needs to be. I somehow have the gift of over complicating a task, just because I can. One of the practices I have been working on the last couple of years is to be simple. That means, do less. Less is more. Those have been some mantra's for me, but in 2018, I heard a new mantra. "Do Simple Better." 

Yes, do the simple things, the little things better. Something like our morning rituals, keep them simple and do them better. In other words, be present on the routine instead of just on autopilot. Easier said than done, especially if your mind is still waking up and you feel rushed by the clock. I think all of these mantras have helped me to do one think better, to stop and pause. When I start to get overwhelmed, I stop and pause and say,"Do Simple Better. Less is more. Just one."

I always believe in the power of one thing. I remember tennis guru Vic Braden once said, "If you just improve one part of your game, you are a better player." In other words, you don't have to try and fix everything all at once. I remember when I was first learning how to improve my serve. For years, my teaching pros in high school had told me to break my wrist at contact. When I made a trip to Arizona, a teaching pro, master professional, and co-founder of the Professional Tennis Registry, said,"You don't break the wrist, you turn the forearm." So, for a whole summer, I just worked on turning the forearm. You know, that simple thing did make me better. I still had flaws in my serve motion, but it was better. Anyway, during these days of quarantine, I encourage you to "Do Simple Better." Whether it is tennis or cleaning the sink. Find the simple things in your life and do those better. I have to tell that to myself everyday. 

What's Your Story?

Stories sell. I am not just talking about selling to make money. A testimonial story has the power to influence and transform.  I don't think I have told my story a whole lot, but I think it is one that needs to be told. One of the things I have learned about tennis over the years is you do not have to be a great athlete to be successful at this game. Unlike sports like basketball, football, base

ball, soccer, usually the faster, stronger players are more successful. Tennis is a learned sport and while athletic skill levels can help in your development, it is not the determining factor in your mastery. 

I am not a great athlete, as a matter of fact, I was the last man on my high school team ladder when I started playing. That year I was a freshman in high school. I remember telling people one day I would teach tennis and they laughed. I just remember the many hours spent learning with a friend of mine from high school, going to camps, and winter lessons. For four years I worked and worked, I finally earned a Varsity spot my senior year, but never got to play in a Varsity match. Overlooked for others. Discouraged. Yet, that was not the end of the story. Three years later I had earned a scholarship to Mesa Community College. I hung around on a team that qualified for nationals, even winning a college match. What's my point in all of this? It wasn't my talent that got me to where I wanted to go. It was my determination, passion, and a WHY that helped me on the road to mastery.  I tell this story because one of the main reasons I went into teaching tennis is because I wanted to give students the kind of instruction that I wish I would have had when I was learning. I want to be able to teach the students it seems nobody wants and turn them into somebody everybody wants. I want to help those who are willing to find great difficulty in tennis and yet they still continue on. These are the students who have that passion for mastery. 

Foam Ball Volley

Yesterday I had the chance to experience what it was like to play on a clay tennis court. My yard is hard dirt. I decided to take my racket and my foam tennis ball out to practice my volleys and half volleys against a wall. It was very interesting because I had to adjust my footwork if the ball hit a stone. I noticed that ball was slower when it bounced compared to a hard court. I tell you this story because this is a great way to practice your volleys. 
So how do you start? You will need a foam tennis ball, a tennis racket and a wall or garage door. The surface does not matter.
To start, depending on skill level, I would start by tossing the ball up against the wall and catching it. Practice tossing the ball higher so the ball will come back slower and at an arc shape. 

When you add the racket: Point the racket handle to your opposite foot to keep the racket head up.

Aim with the ball above head height and practice keeping your racket in this position while you volley. If you miss, great, you get to start over! You just start a new game.


You can purchase the foam balls on Amazon or at Big 5 Sporting Goods at Christown Mall.

Climb the Serve Mountain Greek God Style

In Greek lore there is a story about a man who was sentenced to pushing a boulder up a mountain for eternity, but if he was able to get the boulder up and over the mountain then he would be set free.  We use this story as our hook for a classic game to help students master the serve at different lengths of the tennis court. Ultimately being able to serve from the baseline on whatever court length they are playing on.
We start everyone at the 1/8 line. In order for the student to be able to move back and ultimately break the spell, they must have the karate serve grip, the ball must bounce twice within the boundaries, and they must hold their follow through for the two bounces. If that happens, they get to move up the mountain two steps. If it goes cross court, they get to move back four steps. If they miss into the net or out of the court after the 1/8 line they move up two steps to try again from where they had earlier success. We tell our students we want two bounces (or more) because no matter where you are on the court, if you can get the ball to bounce two times on the other side it will always land in the service box.  We want our students to hold the finish so they work on balance, taking time, and becoming aware of their movements. Once a student has moved to the baseline they break the spell and everyone gets to move back and serve from the baseline. We adapted this game from the Canadian Tennis Association. I have attached that here as well. This game is loved by everyone in our lessons because they are working on a learning goal of being able to aim higher over the net to be able to serve from the baseline. We sometimes will do this with a time limit as the students become more confident and competent in their serve. I hope you will use this in your practice regimen towards mastery and be able to break the spell.




Climb the Serve Mountain
Goal: To understand starting the point with an overhead serve.
Rules of the Game: Players are in teams. Each time a server comes
up they attempt to serve the ball into the service box from a different
distance from the net. If they get it in, the next time they come up to
serve, they move to the next distance. Points are gained for the team
by getting the serve in from different distances (climb the mountain):
 Base: Middle of their service box (short distance) = 1 point
 Summit: ¾ distance (medium distance) = 2 points
 Peak: Baseline (long distance) = 3 points
Place a target in the service box to point the racquet face at (they
don’t have to hit it but there is a bonus of 2 points if they do). First
team to 25 points wins. Switch teams being on the Ad or Deuce side
for the second game.
Note: This activity can be done on Red, Orange (shown), or Green
courts.