Progression Infinity

There's a fairly new website called CoachYouthTennis. It has lots of great info for coaches of all

I use the heck outta my spots

levels. Great for parents, too, who are new to tennis and want some perspective on what they may be seeing during their player's lessons.

As per my usual, I will be mining the info there and testing it on court. Today's post is a complete lesson plan as opposed to a single standalone activity. It has been battle tested recently and I am very pleased with the results. My students enjoyed it thoroughly. I used it in a private lesson as well as in a group lesson with 9 red ballers and also 6 orange ballers (two different clinics, natch). Worked great all times. You will need some spots or some way to mark the court.

Student Picks

My Students' Favorite Tennis Drills

View more lists from Lissa Johnston

My Picks

My Favorite Tennis Games

View more lists from Lissa Johnston

UR10S Radio

Thanks Lisa Stone @ParentingAces for inviting me to be a guest on your radio show on Monday March 25 at 12 noon Eastern. It will be broadcast on the UR10S blog radio program. We will be discussing the red-orange-green-yellow (ROGY) low compression ball progression teaching format. Just click on their link and call the number provided to join the discussion. I hope to hear from many of you!

Here are a few links that you may find useful and that may come up during the discussion:

• Jorge Capestany's video explaining the logic and physics behind the use of different balls for different players.
• International Tennis Federation (ITF) endorsement of ROGY.
• USTA's suggested competencies for the various ball colors.
• 10andUnderTennis site
• The facilities where I teach using these formats: Lexington County Tennis Complex and Cayce Tennis and Fitness Center.
• An Australian study comparing yellow vs green balls during high level 9-10 year-old player matches

It Only Hurts For A Minute

At last, a practical use for all those
Beanie Babies!

Thanks Mark Dalli for this great idea! During a recent tennis instruction discussion on LinkedIn, the Los Angeles area teaching pro had this solution for young players who are afraid of the ball. You will need a supply of soft, small-ish stuffed animals.

Have the player stand at the net, no racquet needed. Coach then lightly tosses the stuffed animals at the player. The intention is for the stuffed animals to make contact (hit) the player, so take it easy. Ideally this will help them relax and realize if they do get hit by a foam ball, it likely will not hurt.

I have done this by gently tossing foam balls at players, even other types of balls, and it is very effective if done right. But I love the stuffed animals idea for very  young players. Mark claims they love it and guarantees a case of the giggles.

On Court Tantrums: What's Your Policy?

John McEnroe, the undisputed king of the on-court tantrum.
 Photo from one.com.au

I am a closet softy when it comes to on-court tears. Tantrums, not so much. Absolutely Not Tolerated. I follow the tennis rules Point Penalty System structure: a verbal warning, then a penalty (usually a brief time out in a safe area nearby), followed by possibility of a default (meaning if behavior is going to be an ongoing problem, maybe it is time to take a break from tennis - or at least tennis with me).

A word about safety: safety comes first. Is the tantrum thrower also a racquet thrower? Any physical misbehavior toward equipment, court, or other players is Absolutely Not Tolerated. If a time out is needed, do you have a spot that is sheltered, where they will not be in the path of students or balls as the activity continues, but you can still keep a close eye on them during their 'break'? And also where they are plainly visible so that you don't forget about them? When I have a student taking a break, I am frequently calling out to them to see how they are doing and if they are ready to return to the group.

This may seem like a hard-nosed stance on tantrums, but it is often moderated by one of the following.

• age - perhaps the biggest factor. My reaction to a 5-year-old tantrum is quite different from that to a 10-year-old. For the former, mercy is a possibility. For the latter, not so much. 
• conditions - is it hot? is it chilly? Even windy conditions can cause frustration and discomfort for very young players. I make sure everyone is comfortable for conditions. In South Carolina, where I live, it is usually a heat situation so I make sure everyone is hydrated and we take a shade break if necessary.
• duration - our clinics for under 8s are 45 minute sessions, and sometimes that is stretching things. If your classes are much longer, don't be surprised when kids get tired. If they get tired, they get cranky. And it can go downhill from there very quickly.

So when things occasionally take an unexpected turn during your lesson, just remember you are there to set an example as well as teach tennis. Keeping your cool can be a challenge, whether you live in South Carolina or South Dakota. Hang in there! I'm rooting for you!

Tennis Report Cards

For all you teaching pros out there - is anyone doing regular, documented objective player evaluations? My intent is to have some hard data to back up any feedback or input I give them regarding their progress. Also, many of my students are eager to progress to the next color ball. If they are not ready IMO, I think of this as a sort of tennis report card to help explain where they need to improve. Here's a form I put together recently for my players. I am willing to update and adapt. In fact, it is already 2.0.

Does a Tennis Report Card
spoil the fun?
Click here for a PDF of this form.

Initially I set up the first week of every month as evaluation week, where the clinic time would be spent on evaluations until all students had been evaluated. I jettisoned this approach fairly quickly as it was taking too much time per student in the larger classes. Plus I felt too much like I was teaching to the test. Also I did not have a standard form to work with - I was just winging it with simple dead ball feed exercises customized to the abilities of each student. It became obvious after looking at my initial documented results that this was not fair to the students. Why should one red ball student get hand-tossed balls while another gets racquet-fed balls? My desire to see them succeed was competing with my need for a fair, objective test of their skills. So, Plan B.

I created the form based on the skill pyramid suggested by PTR and others. I also made the evaluations optional and outside of clinic time. My students now have the option to request an evaluation by me no more often than once per month.  They are tested on the basics. I ask them to get at least 7 of 10 balls in play. They have three chances to get their 7 of 10.

The form is a work in progress. My intention is to increase the difficulty after they have mastered each level. So for example once they demonstrate better than 70% at the basic level (Consistency), at future evals they will be asked to demonstrate directional ability, then depth, then spin, etc.

One thing I am already considering changing is how many chances they get to achieve the 7 out of 10. With three chances of ten balls each on forehands, backhands, fh and bh volleys, and ad/deuce serves, each eval is taking about 30 minutes. It feels too long. Maybe they should get only one chance?

Any input appreciated. Is this type of evaluation useful? Does it have a role in junior tennis instruction, or should the students' performance against peers (tournaments, match play) be enough?

Who's On Court?

Here's a question for all of you tennis coaches out there: where do your students' parents hang out during your lessons?

My coaching experience began with camps and Jr. Team Tennis, so either there were no parents (camps) or tons of parents (JTT) but all off court since there were so many of them. As I progressed to more traditional clinic-style teaching, the classes were smaller and the times were such (afternoon/evening) that it was not unusual for a few parents to be hanging around waiting for the lesson to be over. Sometimes they drift onto court but I usually ask them to observe off court so that they (and their child) get in the habit of the parents being off court when their child starts playing tournaments. I don't mind that they are very nearby and can hear and see everything we say and do together on court. I just have it in my mind that the only ones on the court should be the players, not the fans.

Recently I observed other teaching pros with a different philosophy. During what appear to be private lessons, while the student is hitting with the pro, the parent is wandering around on court collecting balls and depositing them in the cart. My first impression: hey, this is great! A real time-saver - no tedious ball pickup during the private, all time devoted to instruction. But the closer I looked, the less I liked this. Plenty of convo was going on between parent and pro during lesson, which is fine on one hand, but seems somewhat distracting on the other. I guess I am thinking the lesson time is a time for student and teacher to bond, communicate, collaborate, and the focus should be on the student. But I also understand why developing a similar relationship with the parent is important. Thoughts?

Pick-up Tag

One of our summer camp coaches, Eli Ortiz, came up with this clever idea to speed up the ball pick-up.

One player is 'it' and has to tag other players. Other players are safe if they are transporting a ball to the ball hopper. Once a ball is picked up it must be taken straight to the hopper because it loses its safe powers soon after it is picked up. Any player tagged becomes the new 'it'.

No fair holding on to one ball the whole time. No fair picking balls out of the hopper.

Players may pick up as many balls at a time as they like. Be warned: this game becomes very intense as the number of balls to be picked up dwindles.

Ball pick-up - always a challenge

Fing Fong Fooey

R-P-S is so yesterday!

This is a great variation on Rock Paper Scissors for groups larger than two, or when you need to select individual players at random for whatever task you are doing.

You and your players form a circle. All make a similar hand motion like Rock, Paper Scissors. But instead of saying Rock Paper Scissors, you say 'Fing, Fong, Fooey!'. At the word Fooey, everyone holds out either one, two or three fingers. Count up the total number of fingers showing. Starting with yourself, count around the circle that number of people. Whoever is the person at that number is 'it'.

Are Your Tennis Priorities In Order?

Psych students will recognize
 Mr. Maslow's work here

A few years ago when I took my first PTR certification test, the instructor (Scott Mitchell formerly of Charlotte Country Club, now at The Landings in Savannah GA) had many words of wisdom during the two-day workshop. When we were discussing teaching the serve, he went over five basic skills students should master. You may be surprised to learn that speed/power was the LAST of the five. The other four were (in order):

• Consistency: get it over the net, in the correct box. Your goal should be at least 7 of 10 in the box.
• Depth: once you are getting them in, can you place them deep or short at will?
• Location: if you can get them in and get them deep, then you are ready to start placing them (wide, T, body)
• Spin: how do you make contact with the ball - topspin? slice? flat? 

Only when you can demonstrate a mastery of the above four components should you attempt to add power/speed to your serve.

This really hit home with me as practically everyone I know is trying to hit it harder/faster FIRST. If they can hit a killer serve, they don't care if it is only 1 of 10 or 1 of 100 - they will keep trying for that long shot. I immediately included this advice in all of my serve lessons as well as in my own quest to improve my serve. It has served me well (groan) and has resulted in giving me a more reliable serve if perhaps not a faster one.

So I was delighted to learn at a recent Recreational Coaches Workshop that this philosophy has been officially expanded to other aspects of tennis instruction. Hooray! Doesn't matter if you are working on a forehand, a backhand, a volley, an overhead, whatever - consistency first!  This does a couple of things for the student as well as the instructor. It allows the student to PLAY tennis quickly. In the olden days when coaches were more focused on the correct grip and technique, it might be weeks/months/years before a student actually played out some points. They spent their lesson time hitting fed balls until the coach was satisfied with their form. No more! At least, not on my court. Get the ball over the net, within playable area, however you can. Get playing! Once students are playing, we can move to the next levels (placement, depth, spin, power).  This also makes the coach's job easier - if the student can at least get balls over the net fairly reliably, teaching a new skill such as direction or spin will be less frustrating for everyone.

To emphasize the importance of having the correct priorities, I am adding these five components to my blog labels effective immediately. So if you have students who are becoming more consistent and are ready to tackle depth or spin, you can quickly search for those activities.

Good luck with your instruction and here's to consistency, the structurally sound base for your tennis skill pyramid.

No Crying in Tennis!

Read full article on RFed's 2009 Aussie Open loss
 to Nadal at The Telegraph

Remember that great line from the Tom Hanks (and Madonna!) movie, A League of Their Own?

"There's no crying in baseball!"

As much as I would like to change the word 'baseball' to 'tennis' and have it be a rock-solid fact, we all know it simply isn't true. Even the Greats shed a tear from time to time. Yes, Roger, we are talking about YOU.

Is there anything more heartbreaking than a six-year-old crying his/her eyes out? Yes: a five-year-old. Seriously, when they turn on the waterworks, I just want to hug them and make everything okay. Sometimes I do. But I am finding out this very often leads to more teary episodes in future. My policy on tearful students is evolving. I actually have said on a couple of occasions, "there's no crying in tennis" in an attempt to lighten the mood and also in hopes that they will take me literally and stop. This has not worked yet. :) What I am finding more effective is a more businesslike approach. I determine the cause of the tears, and if it is not tear-worthy, I explain why there will not be any more tears on that topic. Sometimes tears are warranted (yes Roger I would cry, too, if I took a six figure hit by coming in second at one of the slams) but rarely on my court, so I feel pretty confident insisting the tears be dried and we move on to the next activity.

While we want to attend to the needs of all of our students, it is important IMO to control the level of disruption. The other students who are not having an issue deserve their full portion of instruction. Important to get back on task as quickly as possible.  Teachers and parents everywhere recognize the value of one tried and trusty tactic: misdirection. Occasionally the cause of the upset is the student's inability to perform an activity either to their satisfaction or in keeping up with the other kids in the class. Completely understand! (I remember years ago being the Weakest Link in an upper level clinic on hitting a slice forehand. Believe me, I wanted to cry.) Rather than forcing the issue, I usually progress to a different activity, do a ball pickup, have a water break, whatever and keep things moving. Important not to let the lesson devolve into focusing on why Susie or Johnny is having a meltdown. And yes, I have just as many boys cry as girls at this age.

I don't have many Greats on my court. But every now and then I do have some tears (usually not from me). Teachers of 10 and Unders should be prepared for the inevitable. How we handle these situations is often a matter of individual personality. I've shown you mine. How about yours?

Excel at Exceeding Expectations

Just came across these great resolutions from a tennis pro in England. Seeing as how I'm writing this in mid-May, one might argue it's a little late for resolutions. But one might also argue it's never too late for excellence. In fact, one of the presentations at the 2012 PTR Symposium was entitled Developing A World Class Teaching Staff. Great info for us coaches, great tips for parents shopping for tennis instruction for their kids. There are the obvious ones - be on time, dress appropriately, positive attitude. Here are some highlights from both lists with my own spin on what I am trying to accomplish every time I step out on the court with my students.

Variety - make it fun - keep them guessing. Sure, I will repeat some of my (or their) favorite activities from time to time. But I save those for special occasions when rewards are in order. Some coaches may argue they run the same drills time after time because their students have not mastered them yet. But too much repetition can also be the sign of a lazy/bored/burned out coach. Yeah, I went there.

Organization - some coaches are so experienced, they have hundreds of drills buzzing around in their heads and can make their selections like John Belushi in the cafeteria scene from Animal House. Alas, I do not yet have that skill. I rarely walk on the court without my handy Lesson Structure form, direct from the PTR Junior Development workbook. I also keep them filed by student/class as a handy reference of how far each of my students has progressed and what activities we have already done (see Variety, above).
Respect - my students and their parents are my customers and as such deserve my complete attention when we are together. Long way of saying no casual cell phone usage on my court, by me or anyone else. IMO this is right up there with yawning in someone's face. Always disappointed how often I see pros checking their phones during ball pickup,  water breaks, while their kids are running laps or lines (see lazy/bored/burned out above), etc. Once even saw a pro talking on the phone with one hand while hitting with a student with the other. Don't be that pro!
Productive - I aim to incorporate match play or something related to it in at least some part of each lesson. After all, that's why my students are there: to learn to PLAY TENNIS, not to learn how to practice. Too often students take weeks or even months of clinics and have never once played out an actual point, or learned how to keep score. If there's not a ball cart in the middle of the court across the net, they are completely disoriented. IMO this is a big red flag. Parents, do not be alarmed if your players are not spending the entire session standing in lines hitting balls. In fact, you should be overjoyed.
Aware - Every student's needs are different. Every student learns in their own way. My goal is to use the lesson structure as an organizational tool, yet be flexible enough and knowledgeable enough to offer Plan B when something is not working.
Development - My students aren't the only ones who are learning. New tips, new drills, new activities, new learning opportunities are always on the horizon. Maintaining and advancing my certification is a top priority.

Wow, this is a healthy list - and it is just the highlights! As you can see, a lot of elbow grease is needed off-court to make things sparkle on court. Here's hoping your local tennis instruction experience is exceeding expectations!

Mission: Impossible

Top 5 great tips I learned at the 2012 PTR Symposium - this was easily one of them. Mike Barrell's (yes, he of evolve9 fame) presentation Message Sent, Message Received included many great tips on how to insure your tennis instruction will sink in with young students. But this was my favorite: when you label something 'impossible', it eliminates expectations and your students will try it without fear of failure. After all, if it is 'impossible', what do they have to lose? and if they do by chance succeed at an 'impossible' task, you can imagine their satisfaction. It's a Win-Win!

Now we all know even though our 10U students are young, they aren't stupid. You need to be careful about which tasks you label 'impossible'. Make sure you use it judiciously, for tasks that are at least moderately difficult if not moreso. Two exercises come to mind that lend themselves to impossibility. One is dribbling 'edgies'. Another is a serve exercise detailed here. Both are difficult for beginners, but not truly impossible. And if your students happen to succeed at it, they will be absolutely thrilled with themselves. Mission accomplished!

Team Formation Techniques

So the big thing lately is to align tennis with the other big team sports that are kicking tennis' booty, to be honest. Yes we are def talking about youth soccer but the other big three (football, baseball, basketball) are always lurking in the background, luring players with hopes for fame and glory in their high school/college/professional careers. I like to think tennis combines the best of both worlds. Singles and tournament play is perfect for those who enjoy competing individually. But doubles and team play either on school teams or in USTA's Jr. Team Tennis program also provides that great team feel that is so attractive to lots of us, not just the kids.

Even within clinics and camps there are lots fun ways to create a team atmosphere. Team-based activities provide camaraderie and also serve as a Great Equalizer when you have a broad range of talent among the kids in your group.

I like forming different teams frequently to allow the kids to get to know friends outside of their comfort zone. Left to their own, most kids will choose to stick with the safe and familiar. But random team formation techniques nudge them into interacting with new kids. I picked up some of these ideas from USTA QuickStart workshops. Others are variations on a theme and on-the-spot inspiration.

Random Team Formation Strategies
Most involve having the kids line up based on the following criteria, then dividing them into two teams.  Encourage them to work out the lining-up process among themselves.

• Birthday month
• Birthday day
• Alphabetical by first name
• By height - to make sure all the tall kids are not on the same team, have them line up by height, then count off 1, 2, 1, 2, etc. so that they are equally divided between the two teams.
• By lot - picking a colored poker chip or clothespin out of a bag/hat
• By name - random draw out of a hat. Alternate draws between teams.
• By arrival time - assign a number as they arrive and divide them in half once everyone is there
• Shoe size - I have seen this suggested but this does not work well with younger players - they usually have no clue what shoe size they wear. You could do shoe color - mostly white shoes vs other colors.
• Birthplace - use city or state as the divider - for instance, one team will be everyone born in south Carolina, the other team everyone who is not. If the teams are uneven, try shrinking the criteria to smaller geographic locales. Again, this becomes problematic with younger players who may not know exactly where they were born. 
• School loyalty - where they go to school, or what schools (colleges) they root for
• Pro team loyalty - this is usually easier to divide by: fan of local team vs fan of other teams
• The Big Freeze - without letting them know why, have them run around on the court until you say 'FREEZE'. All players on deuce side are on a team; others are on other team. This works well in combination with the Court Tag activity described in the Warm Up blog entry.

Once they are divided into teams, give them a brief period of time (30 seconds or less) to come up with a team name. I tell my students everyone on the team must be in agreement. If they are unable to come to an agreement within 30 seconds, I will choose their team name and I warn them they are guaranteed not to like it. I always choose something silly and slightly distasteful like Skunks or Dog Breath or Slimy Boogers or Cute Pink Kitties (the girls love this but the boys . . . ). Naturally any name chosen must pass my personal level of good taste and good sportsmanship. 

Occasionally I select the team names ahead of time based on props I have available. For example one year at summer camp I had found some cool (and inexpensive) foam visors at a local craft store. I bought a shark visor and a tiger. They were by far the coolest of all that were available. So our activities that day included the teams (Tigers and Sharks, natch) taking turns wearing the visors (optional - no one was forced to wear it). Also they had to manage the sharing of the visor-wearing themselves which worked out surprisingly well. 

Ball Pickup

Ahhh, the ball pickup - sometimes the bane of lesson time. It does serve a purpose. After all, those balls aren't going to load themselves back in the cart. It provides a brief rest period and logical time to stop, get a drink, and discuss previous or future activities. However, if not managed properly, it can eat into valuable instruction time and at its worst devolve into a battle of wills. Instructors are always looking for fresh ways to get this done. At first the kids are all excited about the pickup, wanting to get it done quickly, trying to beat each other out for fastest pickup or most balls picked up. But the honeymoon is over fairly quickly. Dawdling, dilly-dallying, and outright dodging of responsibility soon sets in. Some coaches penalize the dodgers; for instance, if one is caught dodging during one pickup, said dodger is responsible for all balls at the next pickup. I have resorted to this on occasion, but I much prefer motivation to punishment. Here are some tactics that work for me.

Racquet pickup contest - an ongoing challenge to see who can beat either my personal best or the PB of another class in number of balls balanced one one racquet. Last count was 41 balls by one of my older classes. Younger classes usual run in the mid-20 ball range. Winners get their pictures on our FB page.
Timed pickups - divide players into teams responsible for specific halves or parts of the court. All balls must be picked up by a specific and brief time (seconds/low number of minutes). Variation: time every pickup; every class competes to have quickest pickup.
Onesies - balls must be picked up by hand and deposited in hopper one at a time, at a brisk pace. A good workout!
Kangaroo pickup - if their shirts are loose enough, have them stuff their shirts with tennis balls. This is easier for the younger students than balancing on a racquet. Beware one unanticipated side effect (and in retrospect it shouldn't have been unanticipated) - one student picking up foam balls insisted they were her 'breasts' and she only wanted to pick up two at a time. She was 4. . . An alternative to this, again if the shirt is large enough, is have them use the shirt like an apron and carry the balls on the outside rather than stuffing them inside.
Fun pickup toys - got this from a USTA QuickStart Workshop years ago - purchase some inexpensive plastic beach/Easter basket buckets. Cheaper than tubes and easier for young students to handle. Get lots of different colors. Large cones also work well for this.
Siblings assist - if younger siblings are on the outside looking in, invite them inside the court to help with the pickup.
Rollerball - Here's another fun and simple ball pickup activity. I found it in one of USTA's QuickStart Coaches Resource booklets. Have the players roll balls to the cart. Player with ball landing closest to cart wins. My students always want to know: what do we win? My answer: RESPECT.
Lobster Pickup - extra racquets needed for this one. Using 2 racquets, sandwich ball(s) between racquets to move them to the hopper/cart.
Tennis Ball Sandwich - have players work together in teams of 2, again with the sandwich idea before depositing ball into cart.
Ken's Pick-up - from Ken DeHart - Player performs a physical activity such as a lunge, squat, jumping jack, etc. after picking up a set number of balls; i.e. do one lunge for every 5 balls picked up.