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TENNIS WORKS NEWSLETTER - Vol. 1 Issue 5 TWN - Table of contents Letter from the editors ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 3 Grow the game, grow the champion (a very personal opinion) by Keith Reynolds …………………… 5 Success breeds success by Phil Hill ………..……………………………………………………...…..………………..….. 9 Information overload by Steve Green ……………………………………………………………………………………...13 It’s not ALL about the racket! by Neil Claxton ……………….………...………….……….…………………………. 15 The ‘Tennis Drill Series’ - Co-ordination and warm-up by Simon Tomlinson ……..……………….….. 17 The coaches environment by John Cavill …………………..…………………...…………………………………….. 19 Post training / match recovery by Tyrell Diaz-Stevens ………..……………………………...…………….……. 22 Josh’s Tennis Diary by Josh Sapwell ………………………………………………………………………………………. 24 Why visit tennisworks.net? …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 28 We want to hear from you ..…………………………………………………………………………………………………… 31 Copyright © 2010 Tennis Works Ltd. All rights reserved. PAGE 2 TENNIS WORKS NEWSLETTER - Vol. 1 Issue 5 A LETTER FROM THE EDITORS Melvyn Jones & John Cavill Welcome to another edition of the Tennis Works Newsletter (TWN), the first of 2011! A Happy New Year to all our readers. May 2011 be a great one for you all. Firstly, a big well-done to Josh Sapwell who followed in the footsteps of Juan Martin Del Potro and Justin Henine at the same age by winning the U14 Junior Orange Bowl title in Florida, a fantastic end to the year. He returned to the UK on Christmas Eve after a month in the USA for a well earned rest (see Josh’s Diary for more information). We start the year with another varied batch of great articles and we are sure you will find something of interest to digest and learn from. We kick off this month with a thought provoking article by Keith Reynolds called ‘Grow the game, grow the champion’. This is followed by ‘Success breeds success’ by Phil Hill, commenting on Spain’s incredible success that has earned them the title of ‘Best Federation in the World’. Steve Green writes about ‘Information overload’ and shares six key parameters which contribute to producing a good player. Whilst on a similar theme, Neil Claxton highlights the thought Copyright © 2010 Tennis Works Ltd. All rights reserved. PAGE 3 TENNIS WORKS NEWSLETTER - Vol. 1 Issue 5 process necessary to evaluate each ball and how to play it. The ‘Tennis Drill Series’ continues with Simon Tomlinson giving us two co-ordination and warm- up routines. John Cavill shares his view on the ‘coaching environment’, whilst our health focus this month is from a coach, Tyrell Diaz-Stevens who offers tips on post training and / or match recovery. We finish up as always with Josh Sapwell and his update from an incredible December. Once again we wish you a happy and successful 2011. Remember to visit tennisworks.net and see what it has to offer. Also, if you do not yet subscribe to receiving this newsletter regularly, please do so, it’s free. Kind regards Copyright © 2010 Tennis Works Ltd. All rights reserved. PAGE 4 TENNIS WORKS NEWSLETTER - Vol. 1 Issue 5 GROW THE GAME, GROW THE CHAMPION (A very personal opinion!) Keith Reynolds My 63rd birthday, earlier this year, was a day of 1968 by symbolically deregulating Wimbledon, personal liberation. It was a moment when I which created an environment in which the best recognized that there was not a long period ahead tennis players could compete against each other to be able to say the things I wish to say, or anywhere, any place, and at any time. So the express the thoughts I wish to express. modern game was born. With tennis being such an important part of my During most of the post war era, British tennis was life, much of this new found freedom centered on an important force within the world game, even where I stood in the British tennis world and though only a distant threat to the Americans and where the nation’s tennis stood in the world. Australians. But in comparison to the latter decade British tennis has certainly played a vital role in the it was a golden era in terms of British player development of the game and in one respect, at visibility. least still occupies centre stage. Any tournament I have now arrived at the moment where it begins (Wimbledon) that can call itself "The to become controversial. Championships" must have recognized its own The more money we have to work with and the self-importance; it is rather like the Americans harder we try as a tennis nation to produce calling their national sports "World Series"! performance players the more difficult we find The Lawn Tennis Association and The All England the task. Tennis Club played a crucial role in developing the world wide tennis industry as we know it today. Wimbledon began to return some serious profits from 1981 onwards. Mark McCormack, IMG, The Encouraging tennis to become an open sport in All England Lawn Tennis Club and the LTA teamed Copyright © 2010 Tennis Works Ltd. All rights reserved. PAGE 5 TENNIS WORKS NEWSLETTER - Vol. 1 Issue 5 together to produce one of the world's premier In an act of generosity, John challenged me to "arm sporting events. wrestle" our contradictory views. I had come In a display of extreme modesty, the controllers prepared with an analysis of all the photographs and owners of this tournament never blow their that the Lawn Tennis Association published in the own trumpet about an event, which with very little myriad of documents, brochures, leaflets, overt commercialism can return 40 million pounds application forms, etc that originated from of post tax profit in just 14 days. headquarters and regional offices. Successive lawn tennis administrations, judging by My main debating point was that if it had been the guidelines they have issued and pursued, have impossible to read the five-year plan, as per a non believed that the more top players that emanate English-speaking person, but only able to from Britain, the more popular the game will understand the message from the photographs, the become so leading to the consequent viewer/reader would have believed that the British strengthening of its foundations. A lot of money were only interested in two categories of tennis has been spent on producing performance players. player; International champions and / or Mini tennis players. Certainly not the vast majority of I have been told by influential and important players who are neither of the above. When you tennis operators that the logic has proved to be have a moment to spare try the same test today…. flawed. During John Crowther's period in office as chief executive of the LTA, a five year tennis plan John very generously, and I respect him was promoted. Readers were asked to discuss and enormously for it, agreed with my comment that if comment. this debate was being conducted in front of a jury, I would be winning the argument. I refrained from I had strong subjective views which varied strongly asking him whether or not he would like to, or with the content and spirit of that document. should, swap jobs! There is no doubt that the blurb within the The new blueprint for British tennis focuses on five-year plan made very soothing reading with its references to clubs, veterans, juniors, facilities and Winning Tennis. champions. For me the problem was that the Again I feel excluded from the mainstream of imagery contradicted the prose. British tennis as I lose the majority of matches I Copyright © 2010 Tennis Works Ltd. All rights reserved. PAGE 6 TENNIS WORKS NEWSLETTER - Vol. 1 Issue 5 play now! But then tennis is a game where fifty marketable performance player, our champion, but the percent win and fifty per cent lose so Winning inherent values the game possesses. The customers Tennis is hardly totally inclusive either. who supported the game had enough spare money to Please excuse me if it has taken a long and buy equipment, pay membership fees and were roundabout road to get to the main point I wish to attracted to playing tennis as an activity. make. My four year older, eight inch taller brother and I In a gesture of constructive dialogue I would like to shared a one hour lesson, once a month in the winter engage the governing body of tennis in what I on an outdoors court and it was whispered behind our consider to be its primary function and that is to backs that we were “coached” players! be the guardian of THE GAME. It is from a healthy tennis industry that the opportunity This discussion would need to incorporate the to play can be offered to those who traditionally have necessity of growing the game to the most not been seen as the bedrock tennis market. For me to believe the accepted wisdom that tennis is a ‘middle important section of the community which is those people who have the excess personal disposable class’ game I would have to defy all my childhood tennis income. experiences when every working man’s club and miners welfare here in the north boasted thriving tennis These potential customers are likely to be adult, sections and pristine facilities. very possibly parents or parents to be, aspirational in their ambitions, health-conscious and some I want to encourage tennis to be sold to the non playing section of the middle-class, in income terms. public and those that do play to be reassured of their decision. Tennis is the worlds most perfect, meaningful, I think I need to elaborate….. I came through and physical recreational activity, that excludes no one, can from a chapter of British tennis development be ridiculously inexpensive to play and once you have when many players of international quality and got the hang of it you can play it all your life no matter some who were the world’s best “emerged” from where in the world you find yourself living or working.

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