Austin Tennis Academy News

August 19, 2006

Coach Newman's Kickoff Talk For Academy Players

As a new year begins, it is good to reflect on the process that each of our players goes through as they pursue excellence in the form of junior tennis. As a player begins their career in junior tennis, they begin by playing CATA tour events like the one ATA hosted this past weekend. The competition format is modified to allow the tournament to be completed in a day or a day and a half. Players compete on the same court, but with modified scoring. Each of those players enters the tournament with anticipation, hoping to be the one to walk away with the trophy or ribbon or medal. As coaches and parents we need to help these players understand how these extrinsic rewards fit into the overall process of becoming the best you can. Trophies, ribbons, medals as well as seedings and rankings are a reflection, a by-product of the work players do to become excellent. They are one measure of our progress. Coaches and parents need to help players understand that there are other measures of our progress. For example, an increase in a player’s fitness level, an acquisition of a new shot or the mastery of emotions during competition can all be other measures of our success that might even be more important in the long run to helping a young player have a successful competitive career.

I was fortunate enough to travel with two ATA players who are on this journey of excellence. They are further along than most of the players in our program, but began the same way each player begins…taking a group class, a passion for the game gets ignited, they start playing more and more; they go on to develop a relationship with a primary coach with private lessons; they go to ascending levels of competition from team tennis and CATA tour events, to ZATs, to qualifying for the Champ level, to qualifying for the Superchamp level, to finally reaching the peak of junior tennis in the United States by earning a spot at the United States Tennis Association Super Nationals. These 4 time a year tournaments are for the best players in the United States.

On Saturday, Jeffrey Offerdahl and I left for San Antonio, where the Boys `14s USTA Super Nationals hard court tournament was being held. Jeffrey had struggled a few weeks before at the Clay court Super Nationals and was hopeful to have a better tournament performance in San Antonio. We practiced on Saturday afternoon and he and I spent a hour that evening writing down some ideas for the week. Those scripts were a template for Jeffrey to follow that week. The ideas we talked about and wrote about included physical, technical, tactical and mental areas to work on during this tournament. This was a clarifying and crystallizing process for Jeffrey.

Jeffrey had a great tournament, winning a number of matches and competing fiercely in those he did not win. He played a number of the top 100 ranked USA players very closely. He was focused on a number of performance goals that revolved around improving his backhand groundstroke, hitting shots down the line, his kick second serve and his mental composure under pressure. He was committed to improving those areas and worked diligently during the week to improve himself in each area. At the end of the event, he saw that he could compete with some of the best players in the country his age. He also noted a number of areas he would have to improve in if he wanted to beat that level of player. He took a good long vacation after that tournament, having played a good deal of tennis this summer.

From Wednesday through Sunday, I was in San Jose, California with Ashley Weinhold. Ashley is a more experienced national competitor than Jeffrey. She has won a national championship in the past and was seeded #3 in singles and #1 in doubles in this tournament. Ashley’s goals for this tournament were simple. The winner of this event gets a wild card into the main draw of the USOPEN women’s singles, the runner up a wildcard into the qualifying. Her goal was to win both the singles and doubles and secure a wildcard into the USOPEN Women’s Grand Slam.

Ashley has been following a mostly professional tournament schedule the past four months, and her #3 seeding at the USTA Girls 18s Nationals reflected her recent success on the women’s tour which included a Women’s Professional Ranking of 500 in the world.

Ashley’s preparation each day was as close to perfect as I have seen in a junior tennis player. Nutrition, sleep, hydration, and practice all were taken care of like clockwork. Ashley’s hard work the past six months allowed her to reach the finals of both singles and doubles. There are no easy matches at nationals, even for a top seed and even for someone who has been playing professional tennis. Ashley’s understanding of what she does well and her script work over the past few years has prepared her well for competition. Most of her matches come down to execution. If she executes what she is capable of doing, she usually wins.

Ashley and her partner (who won the tournaments sportsmanship award) lost a tough three set match in the doubles final and on Sunday Ashley lost in the singles finals. While she lost in both finals, Ashley will be playing in the qualifying of the women’s US OPEN next week. She will also be playing in the Junior US OPEN.

Both of these examples are of players inside a process of pursuing excellence. The skills and requirements for these players to reach their level of excellence and players who are trying to get qualified are the same.

I have been working on a list of things that help grow excellence, which I shared with academy students this week:

Survival or extinction of each organism is determined by that organism’s ability to adapt to its environment.

The same is true for tennis players in a tournament.

Can you adapt to the environment of the match?

Can you adjust to the conditions that are occurring in that environment?

4 questions:

1. What are you doing well?
2. What are they doing well?
3. What are you doing poorly?
4. What are they doing poorly?

Answering these questions allows you to adapt to that matches environment.

What are the other elements that add up to being able to adapt to the competitive environment. What other “specialization” can take place in a tennis player that allows them to evolve into a champion?

Champions--are they born or are they made? The argument can be made for both sides of the issue. In all probability champions are both born and made.

What makes a champion? The pursuit of excellence is one major element of becoming a champion.

Each of the following are true for Champions of the past are they true for you? What contributes to your tennis environment? Facility, Coaches, teammates, parents, competitors. Each of these play a crucial role in your development.

Tennis Skills: Physical, Technical, Tactical, Mental

Champions have mastery over many skills, in all realms of the game.

Court Demeanor

Champions walk the walk and talk the talk, they say, think and do the things necessary for success. They have the eye of the tiger, a willingness to go into battle and enjoy it.

Composure-Poise

Champions handle themselves well under pressure. As things heat up, they cool down and get down to business.

Self Knowledge

Champions are clear about who and what they are about, as competitors and as human beings. Champions impose their game on others, they make things happen, instead of waiting for things to happen or wonder what happened.

Ability to Adjust

Champions have the ability to adjust to conditions, opponents, they are flexible.

Ability to Win

Champions do what it takes to win, work, sleep, eat, train, compete.

Ability to Lift their Game

Champions live for the big moments.

Comeback Ability

Champions come back. They believe in themselves when others do not. They know they can do things others cannot.

Close Out Ability

Champions finish well. Once the finish line is in sight, they sprint for it, never taking their eye off their goal.

Tempo

Champions control the pace of the match.

Ability to Learn

Champions are students of the game. They listen to input from all sources then make their decision for themselves.

Drive to Improve

Champions strive to get better, no matter how highly ranked or how many grand slam trophies

Experience

Champions gain experience with every game, set and match point. They are open to all experiences that will help them improve or learn.

Drive

Champions are driven to be their best, each day, each workout.

Talent/Intangibles

Character Attributes

• Commitment-focused on goals at a young age
• Independence-responsibility & accountability
• Confidence and self belief
• Determination-will, resistance, fight till the turn things around
• Competitive spirit
• Work ethic-organized, scheduled

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