10 and Under Competitive Match with Orange Ball

Summer Tennis Lessons

Can you believe there are only three months left of school? 

That means that our school year tennis programs are winding down. The time is now to start making plans for what your future stars are going to do during the summer. We are offering our same programs at Encanto Park this year and in addition I feel led to have beginner and learn to rally classes at our North Phoenix location on Monday and Wednesday.  Oh, there may be a morning for Laveen too, I am still trying to figure out the logistics of doing a Friday morning summer program in Laveen.  More details to come.

Central Arizona 10U Slam Series

The first 10 and under tennis event for the slam series is coming. It will be on February 25 at the Phoenix Tennis Center. The slam series consists of four tournaments during the winter/spring for 10 and under players who are able to serve, rally and score. It is still and introductory tournament compared to the sectional ranking tournaments. The ages that are available to play are 8 and under who will be playing on the 36 foot tennis court with a red ball, ten and under who play on the 60 foot court with an orange ball, and more advanced 10 and under who will play with a green ball. 

***You must have a USTA membership, but if you are a new member you will get a FREE 1 YEAR membership. 

Register at: https://www.cazjuniortennis.com/10uslamseries

Central Arizona 10U Slam Series

Serena Williams vs Venus Williams Australian Open 2017 Final Highlights ...

10 and Under Futures Events

December 17, 2016

Phoenix Tennis Center

12-2pm

$10

January 14, 2016

Phoenix Tennis Center

                                                12-2 pm

                                              $10

Play Days are designed for ten and under players who are beginning or have experience playing competitive matches. These events allow the player to develop in a cooperative learning environment.

Play Days are on one day for two hours. The player is engaged in a variety of skill and cooperative games to allow the ten and under player the ability to become ready for competitive tennis. 

These Play Days are for 10 and under players. Players will use modified courts and equipment.

To register or questions contact

Jackie Marx

tsr@phoenixtennis.com

480-639-6704

Technique: The Five Controls of the Ball

(The information in this article was taken or adapted from the High Performance Coaching Program Study Guide.)

The five primary controls of the ball are depth, height, direction, speed, and spin.  Mastery of these controls is essential to mastery of tennis stroke production.

Depth

One of the most important shot placement objectives is depth.  Strokes that land near the baseline are much more difficult to return, limit the angles the opponent can play, and provide more time for a player to recover for the next shot.  Players using excessive topspin must be careful to maintain depth during rallies.  

Example—Remind players that the singles court is about three times longer than it is wide, so focusing on groundstroke depth is a safer strategy than focusing on side-to-side shot placement.

Height

One of the best ways to achieve depth of placement is to aim groundstrokes high over the net.  Under the pressure of a match players who hit the ball flat may tend not to lift shots over the net, aiming near the tape, so their shots often lack the depth necessary to prevent attacking play by their opponents.  (Keep in mind that about 70% of groundstroke errors go into the net.)  Good players use topspin to achieve high net clearance and keep their shot out of the opponent’s hitting zone. They also use a higher ball to neutralize opponent’s natural aggression.

Example—Emphasize to players the benefits of varying the height of their shots.  

Direction

The ability to change shot direction and the understanding of the tactical advantage, or percentages, of so doing is important to overall success.  The following are general principles for shot direction:

• Crosscourt shots are easier and require less recovery but also have the greatest margin for error. 
• Down-the-line shots are often more effective offensively but are more difficult. They must be stroked firmly to cancel out the lateral momentum of the ball and to avoid a higher net. These shots also require the athlete to recover a larger distance to stay in the middle of the opponent’s shot options.
  Example—Emphasize to aggressive baseliners that an offensive down-the-line shot must be stroked aggressively for accuracy and must be followed up with aggressive recovery movements.

Speed

The speed at which the ball is stroked is another important variable the tennis player controls.  Greater ball speeds place more pressure on an opponent by decreasing the time needed to get to and prepare for the shot. Ball speed also limits the opponent’s options and makes it more difficult for him or her to produce the shot.  The negative aspect of ball speed is that the margin for error is lower, so it is more difficult to control the placement of the ball. 

The speed and spin of the ball after a stroke are closely and inversely related, meaning more of one (speed) means less of the other (spin).  The more direct the impact of the ball and the racket, the greater the ball speed will be leaving the racket, while the more glancing the collision is, the more spin the ball will have. Brody (1987) has an excellent discussion and several illustrations of how ball speed and spin affect shot accuracy and margins for error.

Example— Emphasize that margins for stroke errors are much larger for slow and moderate speed shots and that the margin for error decreases very rapidly at high stroke speeds.

Spin

Ball spin is clearly one of the most important factors related to ball control in tennis.  Putting the correct spin on the ball can increase a shot’s margin for error and affect the bounce of the ball. All tennis shots are made with some ball spin; even “flat” serves and groundstrokes have some spin. However, it is the greater amounts of spin (1000 to 4000 rpm) produced by racket trajectory variations at impact that have the most dramatic effects on ball flight and bounce.

• Topspin. Topspin is 

To Share the Story

    I have been asked by several parents over the past couple weeks when I started playing tennis. I have shared my story with them and that got me thinking how important it is to share the story of how I started playing tennis. I was entering the ninth grade and I found a tennis racket in our garage and started practicing with it. I can remember making a makeshift grass tennis court out of saw horses in our backyard. I ended up taking some tennis lessons over the winter and then went out for the high school tennis team. That first year, I lost- a lot.  The rest of the team had a name for the way I played because I would always hit the high moon balls. I finished the last man on the team ladder, two years in a row. 

      Some people may think that is not something to be proud of, but for me it is. Being last is what kept me working to prove to myself that I could learn this game. I went to summer tennis camps and played with a friend ritually over the summers. I began to craft my game and by my senior year I had earned a varsity spot, but played number one junior varsity. Even with my dedication, hard work, and passion our coach allowed me to play a varsity match. Something deep down on the inside of me wouldn't let me quit, it kept saying,"There is something more for you, this is just the beginning." I had a hard time listening to that. I wanted success now. 

       When I moved back to Phoenix for college I taught lessons and washed courts at a local academy to help pay my way through school. I would practice in the evening from 7-9 two to three nights a week. Two years after moving to Phoenix, I made my college tennis team after never playing varsity or junior tennis.  The next year I earned a college scholarship. Not only was I a scholarship player, but I had worked for a tennis teacher certification. I tell this story because it does not matter when you start playing as a high school player or the ranking you achieve. It doesn't matter on your talent. It matters on how much you are willing to go the distance and enjoy a journey. It matters not where you start, but how you finish. I may have started last, but now I get to give the instruction I needed when I was starting. I hope in some way I can make your journey just a little bit easier.