Viewing entries in
Coaching

1 Comment

You're Not Slow, It Just Feels that Way...

Novak Djokovic is arguably the best tennis player of all time. It’s no secret he possesses an array of talents and skills. From his technique, to his mental toughness and everything in between.

His physical abilities aren’t too shabby either. Flexibility, stamina and movement are merely a few that come to mind.

While Novak is unquestionably a physical specimen, he’s not the fastest tennis player I’ve ever seen. It’s obvious he’s not the strongest. And I’d say he’s probably not one of the most powerful out there either.

1 Comment

The Magic of (Self) Cueing in Tennis

Comment

The Magic of (Self) Cueing in Tennis

A lot of instruction in tennis is coach-directed. And a lot of that is simply the addition of information. Whether positive or negative, this often includes verbal feedback, praise and prompting. There’s also non-verbal feedback like gesturing or modeling - in other words, the coach uses a bodily action to demonstrate what they are seeking from the player.

My take on this - it’s critical… but (and it’s a BIG but), it’s overdone….

Comment

Is the Typical Tennis Practice Sequence Flawed? A Case for Serving First.

Comment

Is the Typical Tennis Practice Sequence Flawed? A Case for Serving First.

What does the typical practice in tennis look like? If you’re someone that’s been around the game for many years, it probably follows a pretty similar structure - mini-tennis, groundstrokes, volleys/overheads and lastly, serves and returns.

But what if a player’s priority is to improve the serve? Does it make sense to hit for an hour (or like in many tennis settings, beyond an hour) prior to serving?

Comment

How to Develop a Tennis Kinogram

Comment

How to Develop a Tennis Kinogram

I recently wrote an article for ALTIS - an education platform & elite athlete training facility - where I outlined how I use their Kinogram Method with tennis players.

What I didn’t do in that post, however, was show a step-by-step approach of how to actually develop a kinogram - which is what I’m going to do here.

Comment

10 THINGS I'VE LEARNED AS A TENNIS PERFORMANCE COACH IN 10 YEARS - PART 2

Comment

10 THINGS I'VE LEARNED AS A TENNIS PERFORMANCE COACH IN 10 YEARS - PART 2

I recently saw a post on a Facebook coaching forum. It was actually a question that went something like this, “coaches, have you seen any of your players improve their tennis because of their physical training?”.

My hand immediately covered my face and I began shaking my head in disbelief (no, no, no...it can’t be).

My answer to the question is an emphatic YES! Of course I’ve seen - on numerous occasions - physical preparation directly benefiting a player’s tennis game.

Comment

10 Things I've Learned as a Tennis Performance Coach in 10 Years - Part 1

3 Comments

10 Things I've Learned as a Tennis Performance Coach in 10 Years - Part 1

And in this post, I wanted to expand on these topics in more detail to add clarity to each.

First, here’s a bit of context. It’s been nearly 10 years since I began my master’s degree in sport science at the University of Edinburgh. It was 2010 and I was an eager young lad (as the scot’s would say).

Before then, I had a lot of ‘in the trenches’ experience - as a player and a coach. But going through a masters programme got me on the research train, and I’ve been on it ever since.

3 Comments

2 Comments

Body Types in Tennis: They've Changed, But Should You Care?

Tennis has evolved. From racquet technology to improved training methodologies and everything in between. We now see a different type of tennis being played. Overall, it’s faster, points are shorter and there’s no denying that it’s more power oriented. Because of this, players have had to adapt.

And adapt they have. It’s not uncommon to see players lifting weights to gain more strength & power…

2 Comments

Comment

Want to improve your tennis strokes? Focus on skills...

Many in tennis are fanatical about technique. Everything from a player’s grip, to their elbow placement on the forehand, to the degree of knee bend on the serve and everything in between. Some coaches take it to the point where you need a ruler, a protractor (and perhaps a PhD) just to analyze a basic groundstroke.

While I too believe that technique and mechanics play a vital role when it comes to playing high calibre tennis, we must respect the uniqueness of each individual. Take any 2 players on tour and compare them side by side, you’ll notice that variations exist - even when attempting to execute the same shot!

Comment

Is the Weekly Training Schedule in Tennis Broken?

Comment

Is the Weekly Training Schedule in Tennis Broken?

Are you a high-performance player or coach? If so, this post is for you.

You see, I’ve coached in a number of high-performance settings. From academies, to federations and in private settings. One common characteristic that has struck me time and again is training schedules. The typical schedule sees players training Monday to Friday. On rare occasions, some take part in Saturday morning sessions - but this is certainly not the norm. As you can see, these settings follow the regular school and work week schedule.

But is it the most ideal option when developing an elite performer?

Comment

Junior Training, Stretching, Recovery, Agility and More - Mattspoint Q&A

7 Comments

Junior Training, Stretching, Recovery, Agility and More - Mattspoint Q&A

’ve received many questions of late and thought it might be interesting to share some of them in a post, along with my thoughts on some key topics. These queries come from players, coaches and even tennis parents.

As you read along, keep in mind that a lot of scenarios are circumstantial, so there could be more than one answer to a particular query. That being said, I will give the most direct, evidence backed response, that I possibly can.

7 Comments

Can research help us forge the 'Super Champion' athlete?

2 Comments

Can research help us forge the 'Super Champion' athlete?

Wouldn’t it be great if we had a step-by-step recipe when it came to building the ultimate tennis champ? Just add 10 years of skill training, a half-decade of physical development and a sprinkle of mental skills...and voila, a world-class player, just like that!

Jokes aside, the topic of ‘what it takes to get to the top’, is eternally interesting. Whether you’re a coach, parent or athlete, achieving high levels of success in your chosen sport, is often a lifelong dream. The odds, however, are stacked against us all.

2 Comments

Member Login
Welcome, (First Name)!

Forgot? Show
Log In
Enter Member Area
My Profile Not a member? Sign up. Log Out