Walking for a health plan - Tennis Walking is even better

 Jut walking for health proves valuable.

Walking 

 Tennis Walking

Tennis Walking is a way of walking while practicing.   You don't have to run for balls that are out of reach of a walk.  Look at older players and you'll often see that they don't run or even jog but rather limit the balls they reach by how far they can walk to reach a ball.  

Another approach to this is a toss and hit method of solo practice when you don't have a backboard.  Just toss the ball to the maximum distance you can move and reach it on one bounce while walking.  

More reasons to play tennis - Balance and the ability to run

 Tennis Players don't generally do this when running.  

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Those that used to do, teach! Reasons not to give up on competitive tennis.

 Suppose as a coach you have a student that has wildly improbable dreams of playing tennis professionally based on what you know as a coach.  Should you be honest in your view and dash their dreams or allow those dreams to go forward.  This is especially important to consider when a student plans to skip college first and try to play professionally.  We all know that unless they have a high national ranking in their own country that it is unlikely that they'll get very far.

As an example, I taught tennis to beginner and advanced beginner students in college classes where one now and then actually thought they could someday get out there and be on TV playing tennis for a living.   Rather than bother with deep discussions on this I'd always just suggest that we get them past the other players in the class first.  

So then you have students that have their parents believing in their dream as well.  Again, do you attempt to dash the dream usually at your own personal expense since they'll likely move on or quit rather than stay with you.  Or, do you just help them keep moving one step forward toward that unlikely goal regardless.

Here is the thing.  It is very possible that this student that must love the game will do anything to stay with the sport even if it is somewhere else in the tennis industry.  If they skip college early and go toward a competitive career it may end up being a dead-end for competition for them but it can lead to contacts in the tennis industry.  I know a number of examples of this including friends that became professional stringers for the tennis tours and others that became reps or fellow coaches.  All is not lost and reality will let them know that the other options may be their only remaining options if results don't match expectations.   

Changing Ball Direction - What it takes

 #1 Universal Rule of Tennis - The ball goes where the racket face is pointed at contact. The player is responsible for working out the details like getting there, positioning, and creating enough force to redirect the energy of the incoming ball. The proper form makes this easier to accomplish. The safe answer for returning a ball when under pressure is to send it back to the same place it originated. Changing the ball direction intentionally and accurately requires multiple skills.

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.

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