Tuesday of Winter Camp – Week Two came with overcast skies and a constant drizzle. While the rain required an adjustment to the plan, it didn’t get in the way of a fun and productive day at ATA for the nearly 40 kids in attendance.

 

The coaches, accustomed to this type of day, wasted no time implementing their bad-weather plan. With Coach Brian Notis at the helm, the staff set up 4 stations through which to rotate the players.

 

“As coaches, we look forward to rainy days," Coach Notis said. "This is where we get the opportunity to focus on many of the mental and strategic concepts that we’ve been waiting to teach. Very few of our players would argue the importance of the mental side of tennis. Every player that came to practice today learned something to improve their tennis without ever hitting a tennis ball. If it rains again tomorrow, we will be fired up to work hard again off the court and if the weather is beautiful, we’ll work to implement many of the concepts that we learned today.”

 

 

Coach Strecker led a coordination and balance station in the fitness center.

“I think the rainy days are such important days because it allows us to focus on other areas of the game, rather than just hitting balls,” Coach Strecker said. “Things like balance, hand-eye coordination etc. are all small components of tennis that don’t get direct focus.”

 

Coach Schoenmakers and Coach Luis' led a technical and video analysis station. They pulled up slow-motion video of Roger Federer and explained the technical concepts that they talk about every day on-court, with the help of a perfect example.

 

 

“We showed the kids the video, then they wrote about it, then they performed it in the mirrors in an effort to communicate the information as clearly as possible,” Coach John said.

 

 

Coach Brandon Davis and Coach Martinez led a goal setting stage, while student-coaches Liam Leddy and Sydney Young led a stage explaining the in between points routine.

 

 

“Today was very beneficial for coaches and players in our group as both got a more clear idea about what motivates them and where they want to go in the sport,” Coach Martinez said.

 

Student-Coaches Liam Leddy and Sydney Young’s stage introduced the kids to 2 mental toughness tools, the 4-Stages and the 8-Golden.

 

 

“The rain gave us an opportunity to focus on aspects of tennis other than hitting the ball,” Liam said. “We worked on the 4 stages, which is a system for what to do between points, and the 8-golden, which is a similar tool for players to use between points.”

 

While the wet weather washed away any chance for hitting tennis balls on Tuesday, it did not get in the way of a productive day of Winter Camp for the nearly 40 kids.

 

Pictures from Afternoon Camp:

 

 

Coach Strecker talks to a group about the concept of Directionals. 

 

 

Coach John does some speed and agility work with his group in the Fitness Center. 

 

 

Coach Strecker uses his artistic skills to help explain Directionals.