One or Two Handed Backhands

 If I were asked the question, what do I do if my child's coach wants to switch them from a one to a two-handed backhand.

If your son has already developed a reasonably functional one-hand backhand then I would question why the change. It's probably easier for this coach which may be the reason.

As for one being totally superior over the other, I would point to the success of one-handed players even now in a game dominated by two-handers. Of course, there are now many top players with a two-handed backhand such as Rafa and Novak but the GOAT herd includes Federer and Laver, both one-handers. 

 You could also make an argument for changing him from being a right-handed player to a left-handed one since Tony did it with Rafa and the lefties have advantages on the court. But most of us would see that as going too far. 

 As for limiting his future on the court, I might argue that the mere odds and commitment requirements of becoming a world-class or even a 5.0+ player limit anyone more than any method they use. 

 If he plays competitive tennis and becomes a social player later in life a one-handed backhand will let him last longer into senior citizen play since slice combined with extra reach will carry the day.

The Need for Beginner Coaches

The late Dennis Van Der Meer comes to mind with his excellent operation on Hilton Head that served all levels and introduced tens of thousands to the game. He changed the future of tennis with his teaching methods and focus on proper technique from the beginning.

I made a decent living over the decades following that approach in my own way by focusing on many groups starting with beginners, intermediates, league players, and some private lessons for advanced players.

It was hard work but much fun to bring new players into the game and raise them up to competition often handing them off to college coaches. Fortunately, I had no illusions about my place in the tennis world and loved being paid for hitting tennis balls.

Arthritis

 Arthritis Myths  and facts

Consistency in Effort Matters

 Become so good that they can't ignore you

 I like the concepts pointed out in the article linked above.   The idea is to keep working at it and eventually just through sheer volume of creation and outcome of effort that you will have to produce something exceptional.  Your skills will improve and your voice will be heard.

 If you apply this to being a tennis coach then study, train, and keep learning while sharing your ideas.

 If you apply this to becoming a better player the object is to make a systematic effort at improvement.  I usually find the best way to do this is to focus on one thing and perfect it or work towards improvement.

 

 

Philosophy in Training

 Wabi-Sabi -  Perfect Imperfection

The Right Way to Strive  

Rather than focus on the final outcome maybe think of your training process as the end in itself.

How you approach training may allow you to become consistent in your effort which over time will often give you the most gains.  Rather than intensity, often it's the regular and consistent spaced repetition that will insure the best results.

Building Muscle - How long does it take

 It takes time and much more than most people are willing to wait for results.

 How long Does it Take

My Perspective:

The main rules are to be patient and consistent and focus on an area at least at first.

I learned this by gaining more core strength but not actually attaining it through the standard approach.   I was doing curls with my back braced against a wall and sitting on the floor.   This exercise was to strengthen my arms to prevent injury.   As I progressed on this I began to notice that not only were my arm muscles getting larger and stronger but that my stomach muscles had started showing signs of definition that I hadn't seen in decades.   I kept at it and added other items like a medicine ball to work the same magic.   

 Diet

 My own experience with this suggests that the weight lifters and body builders really know the answers when it comes to adding muscle.   I started taking protein supplements in conjunction with weight training and began to see a rapid visual improvement in my tone and muscle size in my arms  and upper body which is where I had focused my effort. 

All of these things are just my own experience so not being an expert on this subject I suggest that you do your own research.   All I've done iis to tell you where you might begin your research.  

 This post is for informational purposes only and does not constitute advice on how to train for strength or muscle enhancement.   Do you own research please.

In Defense of Novak

 Wertheim Judging Novak

This is an alternate perspective on what is wrong with some of the tennis writers who are so quick to judge.  This is especially true when it comes to Novak and the Adria Tour.

Coffee Naps for Health and Effectiveness

This is a great concept.  The trick is to time coffee intake just prior to your nap so that by the time it kicks in you're done with your nap.  A 15 minute nap seems to be what they're talking about and I doubt that you could make it an hour unless you're really exhausted to the point where a caffeine hit won't pull you out of slumber.  I'm going to try this myself especially if it's a day where I got no sleep.

Coffee Naps - Interesting Concept

Strength Training For Life and Function

This is a good article on longevity benefits that you can derive from strength training. 


No matter what you do for your exercise it helps to have more strength.  You'll notice that you perform better and that you reduce your injury risk.  Even your balance and agility seem to improve. 
Tennis strokes can benefit from the upper body, core, and leg strength.   Work on all of these to raise your performance.

Pushups: Why, How to do more pushups, benchmarks

 Why - because you don't need equipment and it is a simple but great way to increase your shoulder, chest, and core strength.

How to do More

Benchmarks - I know an 80-year-old man who does twenty pushups per day in addition to planks, situps, and squats.   He is stronger than most men in their 60's.

Start where you have to start even if it's half pushups from your knees and get to where you can do one or more real pushups.  Then work on increasing the number daily until you can do thirty or even twenty and do multiple sets of twenty.  Once you reach twenty you can always finish it with ten more half pushups.

Novak - the unexpected hero of Tennis and Icon

This is a great article on how Novak Djokovic has become the likely all-time grand slam winner in tennis.  He is well on the way.

Novak Djokovic miscast villain becomes an icon

Simple Yet Effective Serve - Felix Auger Aliassime

I love the clean simplicity of it. His serve is probably super reliable thanks to no-wasted-motion, an ideal toss height for full extension, and fast delivery that allows him to strike the toss near the apex. An added benefit is that it rushes an opponent used to facing many drawn-out serves. It likely holds up extremely well when he's tired or facing bad wind conditions. I teach this approach.



Check it out in Slo-Mo.

Novak Traiing Regimen off court

How Novak Trains   - off the court

Seles

Monica Seles Wiki

She was an Epic Champion! And what a sad way to bring her down. It had Shakespearean tones to it when only an assassin could remove the Queen of the Court from her rightful place. What could have been?

Focus: How to use it to improve your life and your tennis game

The ability to focus most of your efforts toward one goal usually predicts some level of success.  To become extremely good at something it usually means removing many other things from your daily activities.

So it is with tennis.  If you want to become a superior player you need to eat, read, sleep, exercise, and practice tennis.  It should all be focused on that objective and each item on that list and whatever others you can find must move you toward that goal.

Here is the Warren Buffet 20 slot rule for investments that you can find a way to repurpose as you invest your time and energy into tennis.

Frank Froehling R.I.P

ATP Obituary

Protein: Plant vs Animal, Muscle Loss

Evidence that plant-based diets  are healthy


Muscle Loss - 4 laws of muscle

Holding a racket with some fingers off the grip - can it work

If you're timing is that precise and you can hit the ball cleanly that way it probably just reduces fatigue on the arm and allows more opportunity for using force through linear and angular momentum depending on the motions involved. In that event, it's as if your hand is just along for the ride once you set the racket in motion and you can direct it as needed. I think the service lends itself to that better than even ground-strokes though I wouldn't necessarily teach it to a student. 

Here is an interesting take as applies to sports/ice-skating but considering loop and ellipse motions involved in most strokes and especially serving it probably helps explain why well-timed players can let the racket do its thing at some point rather than forcing it with muscle.

Angular Momentum for Dummies
I'm not suggesting that you try and calculate it but rather know that it exists.  It probably explains why players using the physics of rotating bodies, ellipses, loops, and the gains of falling objects can harness these forces naturally and seemingly hit with little effort.   It allows them to loosen their grip.

Timing is everything

How to handle a Lobber

First, most lobbers have no short game so I recommend bringing them up to the net. If they had strong short/net game they wouldn't likely be lobbing you. Practice and refine drop shots as part of this tactic.

Secondly, you need an air defense and that means a smash. Most players don't practice it but I recommend and develop that along with deep volleys. For doubles players, I add in the half volley so between a volley and a half volley you have low and midheight balls covered. Then it's all about whether you can handle offensive and defensive lobs.

Generally, you practice taking defensive high arcing lobs on the bounce while out of necessity you take offensive fast low arcing balls on the fly.

Life on Reset thanks to CoronaVirus Pandemic

I did a personal reset a few years ago thanks to a major health challenge. It looks as if many others are bound for the same reality as a result of this life-changing event. Life is tenuous and you really only need enough to live without an endless struggle toward some distant goal, especially financial. Find some happiness in your existence.

Corona Virus Protection Recommendation from Doctors

Coronavirus Protection Advice

Coronavirus: Indian Wells Canceled

Event Canceled 

This is just the beginning of the economic problems that will result from the risk of large public events when a major health threat exists.

What is Topspin and How is it Generated

Topspin is a ball that rotates forward from top to bottom in the same direction that the ball is traveling.

Friction is an essential element in creating topspin. Try getting topspin on a ball with a 2x4 instead of the grids of a racket string bed and you'll see that friction matters. Beyond that, the rate of rotation, speed, and height are determined by racket head speed at contact and the angle of attack on the ball.

The Original Standard Method created by Dennis Van Der Meer described a topspin groundstroke simply as generating a low-to-high motion with a vertical racket face.

Pareto Priciple Applies to Tennis: Is coaching from the stands fair?

The Pareto principle, 80/20 rule. The top twenty percent. no matter how they get there through a combination of talent, coaching, and financial support will likely garner eighty percent of the revenue/resources.

To achieve your highest level of play you can balance where you spend the resources or bootstrap your way into the to twenty percent with sweat equity meaning discipline and practice.  Beyond that, to keep things going you need to acquire as many resources to support a sustained effort to remaining at the top.

 New WTA now allows coaching from the stands - is it fair?

Health: Coffee, Good or Bad

Boon for Civilization with Costs

It's part of life now for many of us.  Considering the benefits we can work on removing the negative costs.

This message is powered by coffee.

Thiem Made his Move - Novak held firm

Thiem made his move

Over time it looks as if Thiem will move into the Big 3 as one or more retires.   He just has to have faith but he'll have to contend with Novak for a while yet.

Novak Djokovic - committed fans - The Searcher

If you listen to the international tennis media you'd think the Novak has a big problem with popularity among tennis fans.  It may be true that the love fans hold for Fed and Rafa are a big part of the current tennis aura in Sports but the most dominant men's singles player of the decade is Novak Djokovic.  The numbers are clear.  So what is Novak to do other than to keep playing as he does and wait until on or both of his rivals retire and see what happens then?

Here is an article that describes some of the problems Novak faces accurately and yet you can still detect by the tone of some of the statements that in the end his mistreatment is deserved.  As a Novak fan, you'll find that you have some harsh treatment ahead of you but fortunately, you have a favorite who returns the love.  Novak more than any tennis star takes time to show his appreciation of tennis fans.

In the end, we'll probably have to accept that some players will always find more popularity than their performance would seemingly deserve but this is the fickle world of fandom.  Pick your favorite and cheer but please be kind to the fans of your favorite's rivals.

Melbourne's Heartbreaking Reaction to Novak Djokovic's win at the Australian Open


Yet for all of that, there is the man who has achieved what few will ever accomplish both in sports and financially.   Here is the side of Novak that recognizes his past and explains how he lives. 

This is a great article.

Novak Djokovic - The Searcher

Australian Open 2020: Men's Champ Novak Djokovic - 8 time winner

Thrilling Match

He pulled himself out of a deep deficit to seize victory again. 

Australian Open 2020: Women's Singles - Kenin the New Women's Champ

Congratulations to Sofia Kenin and many more wins.

Women's AO winner - Kenin

Diet: Vegetarians

Our Human Ancestors were nearly all vegetarians

Just avoid extreme diets and you'll hopefully avoid the risks associated with them.  It's probably easier now to eat healthy as a vegetarian than before.  Even if you don't go that approach it may pay to increase fiber, fresh vegetables, and fruit to round out your diet.

Hopkins Study - A better way to learn

How to learn effectively

Apply this method when teaching tennis students and you will find that they are more flexible under pressure than by rote training.

Diabetes and Liver Damage

Reversing Diabetes and Liver Damage Study

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31338545

Another Perspective on the GOAT and Federer

GOAT or not, Fed is a favorite

Novak: Why his popularity isn't as high as Rafa and Fed

Wins Heaps but not Hearts

He takes care of business on the court and I've never noticed him be unkind or nasty on the court.  So if tennis is a popularity contest we should get rid of scores and tournaments and just send them out on a runway in tennis clothes and see how the crowd likes them.

Other than that I'll continue to value his presence on the court as much as I do Fed and Rafa.   If he eventually surpasses both in terms of wins then whoever is the most popular we can all agree on who is the best.

The GOAT contest continues.

Health: Calcium Scan of the Heart

Scan or not to scan

Health: Habitual Tea Drinking Leads to Longer Life, Psychology of Facial Hair for Men, Statin Medication Mood Changes, Road Rage

Tea 

Hopefully for some of us, coffee will do the same.

Men More Confident with Facial Hair
Feeling like an alpha dog.  More hair equals more flair.


Statins
This is one of those items that aren't mentioned when they prescribe meds.   Yes, they hand you a sheet when you get the meds here in the USA but who really reads them.  In this case, it appears that it has never before been seen as a side effect.  Mood changes can be bad news as this article indicates. 

Road Rage is not good you or anyone around you
I'd love to know if he was on any meds.

A Hack that will change your life if you can stand it.
Drop multitasking. 


The Best Books on Life

Tsitsipas Forehand

Compact does work, especially on fast surfaces.  Notice that the backswing stays with his shoulder rotation.  This is biomechanically sound and a natural product of handling balls on fast surfaces.  He's stayed away from Academy strokes with big windmill flourishes found in many clay-court player strokes.

Forehand Video 

Another View