This Is A Fantastic Tip On The Need To Breath

Please watch this short clip and listen for the connection between breathing and your muscles when making contact with a tennis ball. This is a fantastic tip. Remember a couple deep breaths though the nose can do wonders for your body, mind and soul. It can help you relax and refocus. Do it as your sitting in a classroom and taking a test. This was something I always reminded the girls on the team about.

34 Reasons Tennis Is The Best Sport? Tennis Participation Is Growing !

Why tennis is the best sport? << click this sentence, after you read below

Jack Groppel, a noted expert on the science of sport, gives you 34 simple reasons, with noted research, on why you should play tennis and what are the physical and psychological benefits of doing so. This list of reasons is awesome, as anyone can see themselves in it. I think I may have noted some to you already.

I write these blog posts so you spent some time each day thinking about tennis. I feel the posts here serve an important function. I think they are all simple reads that will make you think, but most of all will have you mind right BEFORE you walk on the court. This has been our pre-season warm-up daily activity.

I hope some posts have been fun. A few weren't about tennis per say, and many were filled with instruction. I feel I had a good variety of relative topics and i'll try to continue that. I hope you enjoyed it, and I think that if you did well keeping with them that I'll see it on the court. I know I had fun writing them. I hope your parents enjoyed them and got a feel for what we'll be doing this season, which the longer I did this the more important I felt that point to be. If you or they have any suggestions on a topic or how I can make our blog better, I'd love to hear them.

I won't be adding as many articles once the season starts, as we'll have challenge match results and team match summaries to use for posts. All the information you've seen here will show up in our practices and matches as advice I'll remind you of, along with drills. Posts on doubles and singles strategies are coming this week, as we have challenge matches starting on Friday or Monday.

See you all Monday, from 255-525. You can feel the warmth coming. NO MORE SNOW!!! Please have your sweats, shorts and both running and tennis shoes. You can not play tennis in running shoes, as they have no side support. Of course your re-gripped and re-strung racquet. Be prepared, as I remember from my Boy Scout days, and as I've told you for many weeks now.

FYI - The NJSIAA has new requirements for coaches, due to recent litigation. This is a NJSIAA rule now. I have to take attendance everyday and hand that report in with a weekly lesson plan to our AD. I'll have notebook, and you'll sign-in and I'll then note the time you signed in, next to your name. We'll do this one by one. I actually like the idea, a record of your attendance helps me avoid any unforeseen problems.

Keep Your Eyes At The Contact Point As Ball Leaves The Racquet

Here's a final short article that I feel ties the other ball tracking pieces together. Its got a few invaluable tips on how to hold your head and eyes at the contact point. The contact point is where the ball meets the racquet. I want to remind you that many if not most still have limited experience in learning this sport. You all have played some, but have more experiences and practice hours in youth sports such as soccer, baseball and swimming. I'm certain you learned technique in those sports many moons ago.

Tennis technique and the correct fundamentals are vital for you in the here and now, so a good foundation continues to strengthen. If it isn't, and you learn and do such technique incorrect. It will take longer to correct any flaws in your game, thus extracting them from your muscle memory. Tennis by nature is repetitive learning and practice. This is why I feel so strongly about my approach and why I can be a stickler at times. I am very passionate about this idea.

My experiences the past couple seasons, teaching and coaching a team at Paul VI and Haddon Heights have reignited my love of tennis, wherein I thought I may have lost it. I got a second wind, with the love of teaching this sport for a lifetime the correct way to you and others, as that catalyst. You can see that passion in my big goofy bag, with all the teaching tools I haul to the courts everyday. I use them to simplify and exact the tennis teaching process to quicken and enhance your learning in many little ways. Remember the 'Pyramid of Success' and its block describing the idea of the passion of the teacher inspiring others.

With that thought, and discounting that you may not feel anywhere near the same. I will continue along this path and hope that I will leave no stone unturned in insisting that I teach you the right way so the foundation we've been setting here will flourish long after you leave these courts and Paul VI High School. I will continue holding true to this idea from the first day of practice to the last day of the season. This is the correct way for the teaching of tennis to occur. If I don't do it this way I'd be doing you a disservice and you'd be wasting your time. Those who were here last year can attest to these truths. They all got a lot better and they should be very proud of themselves individually. I know I am. My first "YESSS!!!," of the season is close by, but I can and will go the opposite way when needed.

A new season brings new challenges and new possibilities for individual and team success. All I ask from any of you individually is that you show you do care about learning this sport, by being at practice and listening to the instructions and following them without problems, grief or excuses. Being at practice and prepared is crucial. I'm only asking you to do this Monday - Friday. That is the essence of the contract you'll get Monday.

Remember the quote from the first day by the famous economist.

"Its better to do the right thing wronger, than the wrong thing righter."

Tracking And Watching The Ball

The very first bit of information that I gave you last year was an article about watching the ball. This is another simple one, two pages, that stress the same point. Its written by Bill Tilden, who for the first half of the 20th century was considered the greatest tennis player ever. When Rodger Federer won the US Open for the 6th straight time last year he tied Tilden's record which stood for 80 years.

The video clip defines and expands on tracking. It referrers the viewer to the important idea of "tracking the tennis ball." This is along the same line as, "keeping your head still." You should now be able to see how these many simple 'ball/eye' concepts connect, that I've presented here on our blog. Watching the ball, and keeping your head between the lines when your on the court practicing and playing a match. This will allow your brain to go on auto pilot, as it send signals to your body and feet, that you don't even know they are getting. Your muscle memory is taking over.

You may occasionally be in this zone where all you see is the ball and nothing else. The more you practice this, then the more you'll do it without thinking and the bigger the ball will become. If this is executed all the things we'll practice, footwork, spacing and timing will work for you in harmony and rhythm. You may even find beats to work with.

Baseball players have been there, as Chase Utley was last year during the World Series, tying Reggie Jackson's record for home runs. The baseball must have looked like a grapefruit to him at times. However we have it a bit easier considering you all have a big circular racquet to hit a ball with. I see many a tennis player take this for granted. "How can I miss a ball with this big racquet in my hand, do I really need to look at it that closely?" However I see this concept as making you a more effective a tennis player, in a simple way. Really its part making your racquet that much more effective as a tool, as you work on centering the ball. The "SWEET SPOT" is where your racquet maximizes its' control and power. Remember I said it's all in the eyes.

So I want to take this time for that simple concept to begin re-settling into your sub-conscious, so it kicks on sometime in the near future when you retake the tennis court again, and place yourself between the white lines. I say this knowing that some of you haven't played in a while, and some of you are new all together.

Remember Coach Wooden's quote in the "Pyramid of Success," Little things make the big things happen. Tracking and watching the ball is appropriate to that point. This is such a little thing that is so often forgot. So say to yourself during practice or a match forget about everything else and think about the bright green tennis ball, with its black lettering and white seams. You will see them spinning if you try hard enough.

Quick, Balanced And Controled Footwork Is Everything

The video clips seen here are about footwork and tennis. Pay specific attention to the "term adjustment steps." Hear in the one clip how many small adjustment steps most club players use to get proper spacing before they plant and then strike the tennis ball. Think about how your footwork relates to tracking the ball coming from the other side of the net. Brain and feet in synergy. Remember the fitness ladders I would put out everyday for us to practice those same small steps. One had smaller steps than the other. There was a reason for that.

The picture here is of the "ball of a foot." Where the pad is. The fitness ladder forces us to be on them while isolating these small steps. We often use the "Balls Of Our Feet," to make those little adjustment steps. The fitness ladder is an invaluable tool that I use for the majority of my teaching, as it aids in quickness and strength. I suspect most coaches in a variety of sports use fitness ladders for the same reason. It all starts with the feet. See you all tomorrow, in that same classroom at 245. Please be in your sweats and ready to go

Pauction Info Our AD Mrs. Harris Asked Me To Forward To You & Parents

Attention PVI Coaches:

As mentioned previously, one of PVI’s primary goals this year through the annual Pauction Event is to build community with our sports teams, and alumni athletes. At the coach’s breakfast a couple of months ago, Sister Marianne McCann, Dave Kittridge, the chair of this year’s event, and Tony Devlin, our past chair, discussed what this event is all about and how the sports teams can really help build enthusiasm and encourage participation in making this the Paul VI signature fundraising event.

The event is May 1^st… it’s right around the corner … invitations will be mailed next week. We already have tables reserved for parents of Girls Varsity Basketball, Boys Varsity Basketball, Varsity Football, and two tables of cheerleading parents. Ideally, we would have a table sponsoring each sports team (tables of ten). It would be great if each team would identify some parents, and if possible, a few team alumni names and encourage them to join your team table at the Pauction. We will put sponsor signs on each table with the team name. We know you are busy and we’d like to make it easy for you to engage your team community. If you would give me a list of names, we’ll take care of looking up their contact information, draft, and mail out the invites (preferably with a brief cover note under your name that we can draft). We are asking that you consider helping us with one or more of the following:

1. Email your team parents with the attached flyer and letter (you may revise the letter as you see appropriate)

2. Email me a list of some of your sport team alumni you think may be interested in attending or even organizing a table

(note: if you don’t have contact information, just email me the names and we will get their contact info and send the invite.)

Please refer to the attached Pauction flyer and car raffle form. If you’ve never been to a Pauction event, it is something to experience. First of all, you won’t recognize the school as it will be transformed into a Jersey Shore Resort. For $75.00 per person, you’ll be served hors d’ oeuvres, a top shelf open bar all evening, a gourmet dinner, and an opportunity to win cash … $500 cash giveaways will be drawn throughout the evening. If you’re interested, there will be a Ford Mustang Convertible Raffle, a really impressive live auction, and 300 auction items to bid on. And, this year, we will have Atlantic City gaming tables in the cafeteria. We promise a really a fun evening.

I would love to hear any suggestions or thoughts you may have in moving this forward. Please let me know if you have any questions or how we can assist your outreach. You can respond via email or give me a call anytime at 856-858-4900 x43 or contact Barbara Caruso, x22 (bcaruso@pvihs.org).

If you have any questions or suggestions, please email me or contact Barbara Caruso at bcaruso@pvihs.org .

We sincerely appreciate your support.

Best regards,

Mary Anne Yeager

Director of Institutional Advancement

Forehand Volley - Slo Mo and the Contact point

Here's a slo-mo Forehand Volley clip from you got emailed to you last year. The second clip is about holding you HEAD STILL at contact. This is in-line with the other video(Nick Saviano) about keeping your head still and BEING with the ball as you hit it. Take notice of the volley ready position, the knee bend, the eyes held still at point of contact with ball for a TWO second count, after the ball leaves the racquet ... the slight elbow bend of the racquet hand, as that racquet angle is what you'll always use, no matter what the height of the volley. See the player stepping towards the ball, and releasing the the free hand, with BOTH shoulders slightly turning in that direction. Do you see in the both clips a small step forward with the left foot on the forehand volley, if your right handed. Your need to move forward a bit, to cut off the ball, right before it gets to you. Keep the ball in front of your body. Volley the ball with your wrist in front of you. Sounds like some fine motor skills are involved here.