Coaching or Coping Developing Circuits
Running a circuit of activities can be a great way to manage groups, but get some of the key principles wrong and the circuit can become a complete disaster. Everything twice If you have 20 players and want to do each task with two players then you might assume that you need 10 different activities but that
What your child should learn from an Olympic Tennis Champion!
Andy Murray shouts, he cries, he may seem moody, some love him and some are just not fans. He does not fly, shoot webs from his wrists or save the world, but he is the greatest British Tennis Player ever. He is a pretty normal guy who gets frustrated sometimes, doesn’t court the camera but hits
6 Keys to Giving Feedback to Kids so Learning will Happen
Communicating with and giving our tennis kids feedback on their performance is our most powerful coaching tool. But not all communication and feedback has the effect we are hoping for. On the positive side feedback can be motivating, reinforcing or informational. On the negative side it could create too much dependency on the coach; or confuse the
Coaching or Coping – Discipline
You may have times when children get over excited or misbehave this may be part of “testing the boundaries”; finding out what is acceptable and what is not. Sometimes the reason children are over excited is because of the behaviour of the coach! When we act over animated and a little crazy, this can send a
Make Learning Stick – Part 2
In our previous article we explored the learning concepts of: Open vs Closed Skills Light the Fire Challenge In part 2 we dive deeper into the learning techniques which are proven to make learning stick. Implicit Learning is Superior Implicit learning happens in an unconscious way, kids are not aware they are learning but the environment you have created
5 Creative Ways To Plan a US Open Event
The tennis world descends on Flushing Meadow this month to celebrate the final grand slam of the year. Described by Forbes magazine as the "world's most popular sporting event," the US Open is a great chance for tennis coaches all over the world to take advantage of that popularity to give their own program a boost. Planning
Go Team…or Go Nowhere
Ever notice that the main competition to your kids tennis coaching business is not the other tennis club down the street, but other sporting codes like football, cricket, baseball or basketball? What have these sports got in common
How to Return a 147mph Serve
Watching the Andy Murray returning master class while dismantling Milos Raonic during the 2016 Wimbledon Final it is tempting to think he must be a freak of nature. That he has the reaction speeds of a superhero to return serves approaching 150mph. This is the common belief, that the elites of the game have special genetic gifts
5 Great Ideas for Running a Wimbledon Themed Event
We are competing in a brutal marketplace. Never before have kids had so many options. Team sports are proving increasingly popular. Non-traditional sports are emerging from all corners. Established boys sports like football are making a concerted push to steal our tennis girls. Not to mention the dark spectre of too much screen time. Happily we have
3 Essential Steps to Build the Confidence of Your Tennis Girls
“Get out. Get out. I’m serious. Just get out!” Nick Kyrgios bellows at his coaches box after losing 8 points in a row at Wimbledon. When I hear Kyrgios yell at his coaches box; or the umpire; or the crowd, I am reminded of the research we encountered in developing the Girls Tennis Network. When a girl makes
IGNITING THE FLAME
The fascinating book “The Talent Code” by Daniel Coyle raises the issue of “ignition” as a key part of the development of elite performers. One of our key jobs as tennis coaches is too spark a flame of passion for the sport in our students. Whether we are aiming to develop pro players or building a program
What’s Your Pre – Game Coach
Our job is one of the most demanding there is! We need the patience of a school teacher; the endurance to coach for hours on end; the concentration to be “with it” for all our tennis kids; the discipline to do our office work and the enthusiasm to motivate our students lesson after lesson. When the weather
Surviving the Disengaged
One of my coaching leaders sent me a dejected email yesterday. “Monday and Tuesday were pretty tough days given the lack of response from a lot of my kids.” Andrew is an intense coach, committed to learning and giving his absolute best on the court. He is constantly searching for ways to be a better coach with players
25 reasons why we like tennis more than gaming
We are sure that you have read some things about gaming and how much fun it is for kids. And we know that kids can learn a lot from gaming, but we think that our game, provides kids even more opportunities to develop as a person then computer games. Here are 25 reasons why we love
On Becoming a Court Warrior
“We are going to have a mini competition today,” I announced. My class of five 6-year olds met my plans with various states of glee. Except for Joshua. When we talk about overachievers and underachievers, Joshua slots into the underachievers. He is more likely to say “I can’t”; is very aware if he can’t perform a skill; and is
You’ve been selected!
Does that sound like a positive opener? Being chosen!? Is that something that a parent wants to hear? Maybe it's not for the top team or as the winner of something but every parent wants to know that their child is being thought about individually. I remember when my daughter started Elementary (Infants) school. Even at the
What’s on the menu?
Travelling the globe helping clubs with their programs always sounds glamorous (it's not what it seems) but there are certain constants that the tennis industry brings. The baseline is always in the same place and the net the same height, (well usually), coaches all want to know the same type of things like "How do you
World’s Best U10 Club – The Place To Play Award!
We often get asked where can a coach or owner go to see the world's best practice in under 10 tennis. So we decided to try to reach beyond the evolve9 network and go global on this one. We are really excited to announce that we are launching The Place to Play Award. An annual award that will
Do you want to be a superhero? We can make it happen!
Virtual reality is coming closer and closer to being mainstream and now you can stick on a pair of glasses and watch yourself jump tall buildings in a single bound, you can fly and bullets just bounce of your chest. Finally you get to be a real life superhero. But for those of us that love and
Help, I’m a parent!
Her face was red and eyes watering. After 15 minutes of yelling at me she took a pause, a breath and said. "Thanks so much, you have been great about this!" I was in a state of shock and nearly fell over. I knew Mary, she was a good parent, although a little too attentive; her