Newsletter Vol 1 Issue 5 Jan

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

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

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

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

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. our tennis playing nation. This wonderful game is The Associations most valuable What supported this desire to play tennis was not asset, not the best performance player of the day just a personality cult centered on our most Tennis matured in Britain partly for the very reason Copyright © 2010 Tennis Works Ltd. All rights reserved. PAGE 7 TENNIS WORKS NEWSLETTER - Vol. 1 Issue 5

that it was “character forming and so serve the valued the contribution it made to local life. Facilities interests of the nation and The Empire.” Thankfully where families or family members played and enjoyed those expansionist sentiments are long dead, but the special feel that is inherent to well designed clubs the game still possesses its same qualities. and which welcome all participants even if their presence is a result of local scholarships or bursaries for Allow me to summarize before I step down from those struggling financially. the soapbox. I want the governing body to become the leading public advocate of the games From this base, perhaps a decade hence, those who extraordinary qualities. wished to take their game to a higher level can use this as the platform and seek the help of the tennis authori- I want the people who have a strong vested ties, and if they lose their motivation so what, others interest in expanding the game to use this lead are emerging and the downside is so little. and increase their customer base firstly by targeting those who can bring “new money” into Oh! by the way of illustration, what is the name of our the game and then to those less advantaged. international Grand Slam winner in aerobics, which has a massive presence in this country, or who is our best I want the relationship to be re-established fisherman from the reputed three million regular British between attracting adults to the game who then anglers? encourage, through role modeling and persuasion, their children to play. I now step down before the heckling drowns out my voice. I want us to have the courage to believe that if we can grow the game, over time, the champions will Keith presently coaches on the ATP tour as the tour reappear as much through evolution as through coach with Britain’s number two Davis Cup player, being targeted. And if I’m wrong we still may be Jamie Baker. Keith is the co-owner of THE TENNIS left with the very attractive scenario of having a COACHES TOOLKIT, a tennis education resource for vibrant viable tennis industry. coaches. Imagine a country littered with attractive clubs, For more information visit www.thetennistoolkit.com many possessing their own indoor courts, making and see TWN Vol 1, Issue 1 for Keith’s previous article. a healthy profit because the wider community Copyright © 2010 Tennis Works Ltd. All rights reserved. PAGE 8 TENNIS WORKS NEWSLETTER - Vol. 1 Issue 5

SUCCESS BREEDS SUCCESS Phil Hill

Having spent the last 20 years coaching I have also Spain’s Tennis History spent almost 10 of these 20 years coaching Like a lot of sports, Great Britain exported Tennis abroad, both in Italy from 1990 to 1994 and Spain to the Iberian Peninsula in the early 1900’s from late 2001 to late 2006. In that time I was forming an English Colony in Huelva (Andalucía) by coaching and travelling with players from ATP level the mining community of Riotinto Mining to Junior ITF standard at the Bruguera Academy in Company, which created a Tennis Club and Tennis Barcelona, Spain. Association for this region. Tennis was also This time spent in Spain obviously gave me a great beginning to grow in the north of Spain as well as insight into what makes the Country such a in San Sebastian, Barcelona, Madrid and Zaragoza. successful Tennis Nation. Spain first competed internationally in the 1920 In order to understand why Spain has been so Olympic Games, and in 1921 played their first successful over the years we need to look at the Davis Cup competition, losing to Great Britain at critical components that have influenced their the Hendon Country Club in London. progress in the Tennis World. These can be broken However the real “boom” for Spanish Tennis down into the following: started in the 1960’s and early 70’s with players  Spain’s Tennis History such as Manuel Santana (Roland Garros Champion  Competitive infrastructure 1961,1964 and Wimbledon Champion 1965)  Coaches/Awareness of Standards/Philosophy Andres Gimeno (Roland Garros Champion 1972)  Tennis Culture & Environment Manuel Orantes (Roland Garros Champion 1975).

When Professional Tennis started, the two major does not include the 11 Olympic Medals won since pioneering Coaches responsible for producing the 1988 (Seoul) with Rafael Nadal winning the Gold at next “crop” of players came from two separate Beijing. camps. One was a Colombian Coach by the name For this reason Spain was entered into the Hall of of William “Pato” Alvarez (who originally came to Fame in 2004 as the “Best Federation in the Spain to work for the Spanish Tennis Federation as World”. National Coach) who worked with Emilio Sanchez, Sergio Casal, Arantxa Sanchez, and Javier Sanchez So what is the key to all this success? and the other was Luis Bruguera (a Catalan Coach Competitive Infrastructure and former Davis Cup Captain for Spain) who Spain has over 250,000 regular competing tennis worked with Jordi Arrese, Joan Aguilera, and players in all categories from juniors to Veterans. Fernando Luna as well as, his son, Sergi Bruguera. The emphasis at junior level is to predominantly Although at this time Spain did not win the Davis compete in Spain (unless competing for Spain in Cup their female compatriots did win the international team events) due to the high standard Federation Cup 5 times (1991, 1993, 1994, 1995 of tournaments available both nationally and re- and 1998.) The main protagonists were Arantxa gionally. Major sponsors tend to establish circuits Sanchez (Roland Garros Champion 1989, 1994, for the juniors such TTK Warriors Tour, Promesas 1998 and US Open Champion 1994) and Conchita Marca, Babolat Cup and Junior Nike Tour at various Martinez (Wimbledon Champion 1994). age group categories. However, in recent years In the men’s tennis, Spain has practically “owned” Spain has started to stage more ITF Junior (Grade 6 Roland Garros (much to the frustration of the Events) and Tennis Europe Events (Grade 8 Events French!) winning 10 occasions since 1990’s (Sergi U14 & U16 total) with more Spanish players Bruguera 1993, 1994, Carlos Moya 1998, Albert beginning to travel to compete abroad individually. Costa 2002, Juan Carlos Ferrero 2003, and Rafael Just like here in the UK, they hold their national Nadal 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2010. Also junior championships in August for all categories, Rafael Nadal has won Wimbledon 2008 and 2010 although their Club Team Events are far more and Australian Open 2009 and US Open 2010. This important than here. This is a similar mentality to

Football, competing regularly from May onwards. For me, the main difference with the competitive structure is that it is geared towards professional tennis with 42 Futures Events staged every year in the men’s game and 30 Women’s Future events, making sure that players can learn their “trade”, domestically without having to travel outside of the Country. ATP challenger and WTA Tour are of less importance in Spain with 5 ATP Challenger events and 1 WTA event each year. For me there is still a clear bias towards Men’s tennis in Spain than Women’s in terms of competitive opportunities. At ATP tour level, Spain now hosts 3 Events (Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia). It is also Phil Hill alongside Sergio Bruguera (2-times French Open Cham- pion) with children from Halton Tennis Club at the Bruguera important to mention that Spain hosts 19 ITF Academy, which is run and owned by Luis Bruguera, Sergio’s Senior Events as well as its own National Veterans dad.

tournaments, in particular 15 team events at various age group categories, emphasizing the players I was invited into this fraternity. The players demand and strength in depth of their players. tended to travel in groups either with Academies or with a private Coach. Coaches “coached” whilst Coaches/Awareness of Standards/Philosophy their players were competing. The Coaches had As I travelled throughout Spain I was to meet and clear tactical goals that the players were to follow. exchange ideas with fellow coaches, who were The players knew who was “the boss” very similar predominantly Spanish. I felt there was a sense of to what you see with regards to the philosophy unity between Spanish Players and Coaches, Toni Nadal has towards his nephew Rafael and so especially when the coaches and players were in therefore show a deep respect towards the Coach. other Countries, and as I was coaching Spanish

A lot of the Coaches are ex players so therefore Spain and individual regions were not allowed to understand the requirements of the game and express their culture or languages. This all changed travel on a regular basis with players. An example when General Franco died and the Autonomous of this is the ex-Davis Cup Captain Jordi Arrese. He Regions were formed to self govern. As with other would be with the Davis Team at the weekend and sports in Spain, tennis formed an independent on the Tuesday be at regional tournament with Tennis Federation, which in turn created healthy U16 junior working for the Catalan Tennis competition between regions to produce players. Federation. This was common practice. The The 1992 Barcelona Olympics was a major catalyst Spanish players were always practicing if not in producing Tennis Players through Regional and competing and the work rate and intensity was Government funding in tennis. very high. Head, heart and legs is their philosophy, My conclusion is that success breeds success and which many Coaches have tried to adopt in other that through hard work and humility, the Spanish countries. What the Spanish refer to each of these players are able to be the world leaders in tennis. factors are: This is underlined by the exemplary Rafael Nadal  Head -Having the “coolness” to think tactically who is already inspiring the next generation of smart options. Spanish Tennis to continue the culture for future  Heart- To fight for every ball and chased down success. “lost causes” and demonstrate a “never say die” physical presence. Phil Hill has spent the last 20 years coaching and teaching  Legs - Be a physical specimen ready to run all pupils of all abilities but has predominantly worked with day and prepared to break your opponent phys- Performance Players. Having played to Junior County level ically on court by winning “the war of attrition”. (in Kent) and Senior County (In Bucks, current O35 Captain) Phil has coached in Kent, Italy (Biella) and Spain (Barcelona, Tennis Culture and Environment Bruguera Academy) as well as for the LTA (Bucks County Spain was subject to a dictator (General Franco) Performance Officer) to name a few. He has worked with until his death in 1976 and therefore was not given mini, junior, ATP & WTA Professional Players. Phil is an LTA the opportunity to express itself generally to the PCA Coach and LTA Coach Education Tutor and is currently international world. This desire to succeed was working at Halton High Performance Centre as Technical slightly suppressed unless you were competing for Director to the Performance Programme. Copyright © 2010 Tennis Works Ltd. All rights reserved. PAGE 12 TENNIS WORKS NEWSLETTER - Vol. 1 Issue 5

INFORMATION OVERLOAD Steve Green

Today’s modern coach faces a huge dilemma in operate in such an environment. the 21st century – “information overload”. The In order for the coach to evaluate the internet has presented us with so many effectiveness of the programme they are running, possibilities, options, choices and decisions. Like they need that most precious of commodities, starving people left to run free in a supermarket time. All the information that goes into a we run up and down as we gorge ourselves on free programme needs time to settle in. It will often information. need adapting in order for it to work, but as it Having operated as a strength and conditioning begins to take effect it will need changing and coach for many years I can see the advantages and increasing to continue to do the job it is designed disadvantages of so much information. for. The coach is many things: a guide, a motivator, a In essence there are hundreds of choices, options listening ear, confidant and a strong overall and major and minor adjustments to be made all presence in a sports person’s life. In professional the way through a sports person’s career. Where sports it is commonplace to have an entourage of then, as coaches, do we look to for guidance? experts that invest a great deal of time making In the past 15 years, Sports Science has developed sure that optimum performance is achieved. The at an extreme rate and using Sports Science would synergy of the group is very important and seem an obvious place to begin in seeking the disharmony leads to poor performance. The information to gain an advantage over other modern coach needs good management skills to athletes. Sports Science certainly does offer help in

many areas, but once again, the coach must  Environment - The environment is supportive decide what to choose and how to apply it. As the but not overbearing and good lifestyle habits are field of sports science grows, so does the potential encouraged. for information overload and time wasting.  No Quick Fix - Fashionable quick fixes are treat- Statistical data is often regarded as something that ed with caution and never replace a solid tried you can’t argue with as the figures are black and and tested method. white. However, this all depends on who is  Long Term Approach - A long term approach is presenting the results and how they have chosen always adopted and good results are enjoyed, to represent them in order to put their point while poor results are studied. across. Using statistical data can be very helpful  Good fitness - A sound base of physical fitness is but there is no hard and fast rule or answer for the maintained and solid technique is seen as a coach to follow a certain path when engaged in must.  Good biomechanics - Good biomechanics are the pursuit of high performance. The coach must make a decision based on what they feel is right always taught and support a sound and healthy for the player from information they have mental approach with a winning mind. gathered and give priority to. I hope you find this insight into my observations I have been fortunate in my career to have useful and I would encourage any coach to keep brushed shoulders with many highly successful things simple and ensure the hard work is done coaches and sports people. It is possible to identify until results achieved. With this approach you can’t certain patterns that appear to exist in all of them go too far wrong, as long as you stay observant and and none of these patterns are measurable. I can use support when you require it. I wish you all the only put them forward as my own subjective ob- best in your fantastic journey! servations: Steve Green is a British Olympic Association Accredited Strength and Conditioning Specialist and former physical  Good Routine - There is always a strong coach to Henman and Rusedski. In conjunction with M.W.A element of a good routine and repetition is Ltd has developed The FitPack System, an all inclusive train- accepted as a foundation upon which every- ing programme for young sports people (7 to 16 ). To regis- thing is built. ter your interest in this exciting new approach to children’s fitness training, email [email protected]. Copyright © 2010 Tennis Works Ltd. All rights reserved. PAGE 14 TENNIS WORKS NEWSLETTER - Vol. 1 Issue 5

IT’S NOT ALL ABOUT THE RACKET! Neil Claxton

Fifteen years ago when I began my career as a questioned the methods being adopted. “Why is tennis coach, fresh out of the LTA's DCA course, teaching the forehand swing pattern the major super enthusiastic and ready to apply what I had part of the lesson, when the game starts with a learned. I spent a lot of time shadowing and serve and return?” I also observed that once the watching other coaches and very soon realised serve has been executed, what skills become vital that tennis information manifested into a after the serve? spreading epidemic!! Over the years, as I became more experienced, I One example of what I mean by this is that on a realised that putting so much emphasis on the course that many of the coaches attended, the “C racket actually slowed down the improvement of shape” take-back on the forehand was a major the player. The problem was more to do with part of the technical teaching. Having seen this taking the focus off the shot and the outcome the method and understanding the principles behind player wishes to achieve when they’ve hit the ball, this technique, most tennis courts were taken up rather than performing shapes and patterns that with tennis lessons revolving around the “C shape” can breakdown at any point when under pressure. forehand for many weeks after. Because of the When you just stop and think about how the game environment that I have grown up in, most of my of tennis is played, I came to the conclusion that early years as a coach were surrounded by playing tennis requires multiple skills and that technical teaching. racket work was not necessarily the most vital After much thought and consideration, I ingredient when teaching a player the skills to play the game at the beginning. I have had the honour Copyright © 2010 Tennis Works Ltd. All rights reserved. PAGE 15 TENNIS WORKS NEWSLETTER - Vol. 1 Issue 5

to meet and work with many coaches over my When you look down the order of the process career and we all have our own opinions on how above, we can see that actual racket/stroke tennis is taught and played, although you will find technique happens towards the end. If this is the certain coaches being a lot closer when they all case, why would you teach the technical ‘C’ shape follow a common belief or goal. My observations before working on a players visual skills, have evolved over the years, but this is the order perception, decision making and movement skills? in what I see when the ball is in play: By taking this approach and developing the vital 1. See the ball/opponent/court - To be able to skills first, I have seen far greater improvements in track the ball and other visual objects, the player how players play the game of tennis.

must use their visual skills and perception. I also feel that having a big weakness in one of vital 2. Make decision - Based on the information skills to play the game, severely limits the skill in received and previous tennis memory, a player others. For instance, what if a player has very poor must make a decision on where to move to. visual/perception skills but has learned the C-shape 3. Move - The player must move to the ball and very well? Well the shape of the swing will look position themselves so that they can make good very pretty, but as the player does not perceive the contact. To do this, all the physical skills and ball very well, it is likely that they will have a poor movement patterns developed along with the contact point. Therefore, they will not be able to

perception skills are utilised. execute a consistent forehand. 4. Decision & Prepare - The player must make a decision on where they are going to hit the ball I believe that as coaches, if we develop the visual/ and prepare body and racket set up. perception skills, movement and decision making, 5. Balance & Execute - Prior to executing the more than the racket skills to begin with, then desired shot, the body must be positioned in a there is the potential for the individual to improve balanced state and then the shot struck. at a far greater rate. At the start, it’s not all about 6. Recover - The player must move into a court the racket! position which reflects where the ball that was Neil Claxton is a Performance Coach based at Letchworth sent is heading and what their expectations are Tennis Club and Tennis Works. He is Joshua Sapwell’s Programme Manager and has extensive experience and of the opponent’s response to that shot. knowledge of producing international standard juniors. Copyright © 2010 Tennis Works Ltd. All rights reserved. PAGE 16 TENNIS WORKS NEWSLETTER - Vol. 1 Issue 5

THE TENNIS DRILL SERIES Co-ordination and warm up Drill No 5 - Bouncing 2 balls and zig-zagging Drill No 6 - Bouncing 2 balls with the carioca step Simon Tomlinson

When warming up, it is very important to start with gentle movement and then increase the pace as the player’s body temperature warms up, so no muscles are pulled. For this issue and next of the Tennis Works Newsletter, I would like to share with you a few drills I use with my players to prepare them for the session ahead. Tennis is a visual sport and focus on the ball is vital to be able to react fast and anticipate where you need to be to play the next shot. I always like to involve the ball as much as possible in my warm ups, so this visual learning is maximised. I also believe that coordination underpins technical development, so if you can improve coordination through a warm up, you will also be dedicating quality time to the player’s long term development. Drill 5 - Bouncing 2 balls and zig-zagging This drill helps develop coordination by having to bounce two balls at the same time and light movement to increase the body temperature. 1. The player stands on the baseline in the tramlines facing the net with two tennis balls. 2. They must zig-zag sideways from left to right up the tramlines until they get to the net. 3. While they are moving, they must be in a low athletic position and bounce the two balls at the same time. 4. They must also be able to do the same as above going backwards.

Simon Tomlinson was until recently the Head of the Cavill Academy for Tennis Works. He is currently preparing to travel and coach outside of the UK and all of us at Tennis Works wish him well. He will continue to act as an advisor to us and contribute to the Tennis Drill Series. The Drill Series can be accessed on tennisworks.net.

Drill 6 - Bouncing 2 balls with the carioca step This drill promotes good recovery steps while bouncing two balls at the same time which improves the player’s coordination. 1. The player must start on the baseline with two balls. 2. They must get into a low athletic position and move sideways across the baseline doing the carioca step. The carioca step is when the player crosses one leg over the other and then steps out into the ready position and then repeats this movement with the other leg crossing over at the front. 3. While the player is doing the carioca step, they must bounce two balls at the same time, with one in each hand. 4. Once the player has reached the edge of the court, they must re- peat the exercise but moving in the other direction.

For beginners and players with a basic level of coordination, they will struggle to do these exercises while bouncing two balls at the same time. To make it easier, start with one ball and you may even consider using a bigger ball, for example a basket ball.

THE COACHES ENVIRONMENT John Cavill

Why am I a coach? What do I want out of life? develop myself to be able to run a fully functional What will make me fulfilled? coaching business in this environment. The targets Creating an environment for coaches is a very were: similar process as creating an environment for  Develop a skill set that will allow me to adapt players. When you are involved in creating a very quickly. pathway for a player, clear and precise goals or  Create processes that will allow me to market targets must be set, otherwise focus is diverted my services and look after administration. and the goals aren’t met within the timescale or  Understand the pathway and opportunities for not at all. the children in tennis.  Develop my coaching knowledge and So what goals can we set ourselves as coaches? understanding of child development. There are a variety of coaches out there, all with a  Learn how to negotiate and work with others. number of opinions, outlooks, personal standards and aspirations. If you are going to be fulfilled as a Each of these points alone creates another strand coach, all of these areas must be addressed and of sub-points. The biggest problem is making sure evaluated over time, as goals can change. you stick to your targets. This is probably the hardest lesson for me to learn, as it is so easy to When I started out in tennis, I worked as a com- get distracted or see another opportunity to munity tennis coach. Getting children into tennis pursue. and giving them the opportunity to continue to play was the goal. In order to achieve this, I had to In all the places where I work, the most important thing to me is that I am appreciated for the effort I Copyright © 2010 Tennis Works Ltd. All rights reserved. PAGE 19 TENNIS WORKS NEWSLETTER - Vol. 1 Issue 5

put into helping players, otherwise the work can become very unsatisfactory. Obviously you are not going to be praised for everything you do (and I wouldn’t want that either) but when I teach those who have been inspired to continue tennis further, I get a kick out of what I do. To ensure that I am fulfilled, I must visualise the environment I would like to work in to achieve this and then set goals. Some of these goals include:  Having a safe and good quality facility, where people are pleased to be.  Having somewhere where others support your objectives e.g. school teachers, club committee, members etc. the players you are working with. During the other  Creating a team that can support the objectives and delegate tasks to. hours when a coach is off court, the time is spent planning sessions, making calls, organising the  Creating a programme that will cater for everyone’s needs, including mine. programme, dealing with administration and much more. Unfortunately it is seen by people that the  Creating a positive and exciting environment that attracts people to the programme. hourly rate you charge is only for that hour, but all coaches know, so much work has to go into the off  Making the business financially rewarding and long term. court duties. Taking time out to think and plan your next move is important and if you get this right, Being a tennis coach can be very demanding. your life becomes easier. I have been guilty of Generally the hours spent coaching are when taking on too much, but without the experiences other people are available e.g. after school hours which have pushed me out of my comfort zone and and at weekends. When you are on a tennis court, taught me valuable lessons, I wouldn’t be the coach your whole focus, enthusiasm and attention is on I am today.

Like players, I think that coaches should be able to We as coaches are blessed to be able to create a step outside of their comfort zone because the un- successful business that can have an amazing known is exciting and it pushes your abilities. Hold- impact on people’s lives, be fulfilled as people and ing back or being fearful of the unknown shouldn’t earn a respectable living BUT you have to create be an issue, as making mistakes is not a bad that environment! thing...not learning from them is! John Cavill is Co-founder and Director of Tennis at Much of my Tennis Works Ltd. development As well as his lead involvement in the above John as a coach has heads up the Cavill Academy which he established in 2005. The academy develops young tennis players in a been booking high intensity and comprehensive programme that is on to producing national level players. international In 2009, he established MK Ace Tennis, a Milton conferences, Keynes, UK based charity that delivers affordable and getting on a accessible tennis to schools and public access facilities. plane, meeting MK Ace is currently delivering tennis programmes to world class over 600 people a week. coaches and Over the years John has excelled in networking and those who bringing people together to benefit themselves and have the same tennis, and has created partnerships with some of the hunger to leading coaches and professionals in tennis. Since 2005 John has been organising workshops for local coaches, John Cavill in Mallorca with mentor Jofre improve or Porter, former coach to Carlos Moya and think and in October 2009 the Tennis Works Seminars were technical coach to Rafael Nadal (pictured differently and launched with guest speakers presenting to coaches left) and Juandi Marin, former coach to that travelled from far to attend. To take Tennis Works then spending Carlos Boluda (pictured right). to the next level the business required more expertise more time and financial assistance and in January 2010, John and visiting these people in their environment to see Melvyn Jones joined forces to establish Tennis Works how they operate and take ideas for myself. Limited, an innovative tennis development and educational resources company. Copyright © 2010 Tennis Works Ltd. All rights reserved. PAGE 21 TENNIS WORKS NEWSLETTER - Vol. 1 Issue 5

POST TRAINING / MATCH RECOVERY Tyrell Diaz-Stevens

There are many skills a great tennis player starts from this moment. After training, players possesses; physical, mental and emotional. When have a golden window of opportunity to restock a player is performing at a high level in each of their energy systems because the body is more these areas the results can be very successful. So receptive than normal in breaking down certain how does a player optimize and then maintain food types and restoring available energy. This these skills day to day through a very congested window will last for approximately 2 hours, but is season of training and tournament play without most responsive up to 15 minutes after exercise. burning out? The answer: efficient recovery. Re- This provides a player with two opportunities to covery is the process every elite athlete will go enhance their recovery. Firstly, drink a high through off the court to minimise the risk of injury Glycaemic load (GL) recovery drink within fifteen and promote better performance. The recovery minutes of the end of the training session. process is an active process inside a players’ body, Secondly, a player should sit down for a well it is not just shutting down, it takes energy to ac- balanced meal within two hours of the end of the tively rebuild an athletes’ body. So what recovery training session. tools are available? Nutrition, ice, stretching, In between these two nutritional recovery oppor- massage, rest and many more, but we will touch tunities most players would be either icing, on these five. stretching or getting massages and in most cases As soon as a player steps off the court they must all three! So how do these three tools help players prepare themselves for their next match or perform in the following days? Exposing the body training session. Correct nutritional replenishment to ice will reduce much of the inflammation and Copyright © 2010 Tennis Works Ltd. All rights reserved. PAGE 22 TENNIS WORKS NEWSLETTER - Vol. 1 Issue 5

bleeding in muscles caused during rigorous  Stretching: 2 points training. Stretching will elongate muscles back to  Weekly massage: 2 points their normal lengths (hopefully further!), as they  Ice Bath: 1 point after each session tend to tighten during exercise. And massage will  Warm up: 1 point aid blood circulation and will also find any other Emotional Wellbeing: problems and deal with them before they become  Did you laugh were you happy? 2 points. bigger issues.  Any fights, stress, breakups? -2 points Once elite players have taken care of their post  Alone time: 1 point (NO TV, NO iPod, NO match recovery they can begin to rest. Rest can be Internet) separated into active and passive. Active rest is The total points available are 20. Keep this total in a very much a mental and emotional tool. Doing training journal and record them each day and see other enjoyable activities will take your mind off how your score affects your training. playing tennis and allow you to relax. So when the REMEMBER THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS OVER time comes to focus you are fresh and ready for TRAINING, ONLY UNDER RECOVERY!!! the challenge. Passive rest is putting your feet up on the couch and/or sleeping. Elite performers will sleep between 9-10 hours per night. This will regu- Tyrell Diaz Stevens is the director/head coach of late and reenergise their bodies. the Berkhamsted Elite Tennis Academy (BETA). He So how do you keep a track of your recovery? was formerly a world ranked player and competed Follow this point system and you will have a guide on the tour for 8 years. He has played alongside as to whether you need more recovery. many current top 100 players, as well as 3 world Add your total points based on: number ones. He has been to over 40 countries as  Nutrition: 2 for breakfast, 1 for lunch, 1 for either a player or coach. For more information dinner, 2 for post work out snack  Sleep: 2 for 8 hours sleep, 3 for 1 or 2 hours about Tyrell or BETA please visit the BETA website, more, 1 for 1 or 2 hours less. www.betacademy.co.uk.  Hydration: 2 for drinking 2 litres+ of water a day Copyright © 2010 Tennis Works Ltd. All rights reserved. PAGE 23 TENNIS WORKS NEWSLETTER - Vol. 1 Issue 5

‘JOSH’S TENNIS DIARY’

Happy New Year everyone! It’s me again with another monthly update for the Tennis Works Newsletter and what { fantastic end to 2010 I had! Basically, while you guys in the UK were getting caught in snow drifts, I was living it up in Florid{...well, that isn’t absolutely true, as it’s { tough life when you have to play tennis all the time As you may remember from my last diary entry, I was off to Americ{ at the end of November for { 4 week trip to compete in some of the toughest junior tournaments in the world, which was going to be { great benchmark for me and { chance to play some strong competitors. The other British players, LTA Coach and I, all set off to Florid{ on Wednesday 24th November and the st{rt of ‘Sapwell does Americ{’ didn’t go to plan! On arrival I wasn’t feeling great. I’m not sure what it was but my tummy felt terrible. Whether it was food or something that just didn’t agree with me, who knows, but it took me quite { few days before I felt better. I was also very tired and trying to adjust my sleep p{ttern to the time zone was proving difficult. It probably didn’t help that I had some of the most important tournaments coming up, which may also have been on my mind....but this was only natural.

The first tournament was called Eddie Herr, which was at the world famous Bollettieri’s in Bradenton, Florid{. It was good to go here, as I’m coming back in February to train. I did see the founder, Nick Bollettieri, milling around at some

point but I’m not sure he saw me play. This was probably not { bad thing, as I was playing like { dog. For some reason I couldn’t play my game and everything ap{rt from my serve wasn’t functioning to best of my ability. All I could hear in my head was ‘get behind the ball....get behind the ball’ but my brain wasn’t passing the message onto my feet. There were 128 players in this tournament and I somehow made it through to the last 16 before losing. Afterwards, I was not in the best of spirits, as my confidence had taken { knock with my poor display, so it was going to take something special to fire me up for the next tournament. I must say, my friend and fellow Brit, Pete Ashley played like { god that week. There must have been something in the Florid{ water, but he couldn’t miss { shot and deservedly went on to win the tournament...well done Pete, that’s one for Team GB! Going into the next tournament called the American Tennis Cup, which was held at the Miccosukee Resort in Florid{, I continued in the same form as I had finished the week before. This tournament had { 64 player draw, with many of the players who had played Eddie Herr, also competing. Again, my game was off and I fought my way through the first three rounds to eventually get knocked out in the last 16 again. I was now feeling very despondent, as my best tennis was locked away somewhere inside and wasn’t coming out to play when I needed it. I had { few days off {fter the American Tennis Cup, in preparation for the big one...the Junior Orange Bowl. The history and prestige of this event is well known to those in the tennis world, with players like Juan M{rtin Del Potro and Justine Henine winning when they were my age. This was { 128 player competition and although I was not playing my best tennis, I really wanted to win this one and deep down I knew I could. The tournament st{rted and my ‘too familiar’ bad tennis had followed me onto the court again. I muscled through round {fter round until I somehow reached the qu{rter finals. It was in this match I learned something very important about myself and that was however I am playing, I have control and the Copyright © 2010 Tennis Works Ltd. All rights reserved. PAGE 25 TENNIS WORKS NEWSLETTER - Vol. 1 Issue 5

ability to make { change. I was { set and 5-3 down with the lid on my suitcase half closed when I decided that was it...I was going to have to just take the skin off the ball, every time I hit it! This somewhat risky but fearless approach did the trick and I broke my opponents serve as he was trying to close the match out. I then held serve, as up until then my serve was the only thing keeping me in the tournament and then I went on to take the second set with the ‘machine gun’ tactic. In the third set, my opponent did something to his ankle which eventually ended up with him retiring and I booked my place into the semi finals. With new-found form, I won my semi final match 6-0, 6-3 and the final beckoned me. In the final I played against { lad from Croati{ called Born{ Coric, who I beat in the Masters Cup in Italy, so I knew I just had to play my game and all would be OK. The first set was { tough encounter and I lost it in the tiebreak. You can’t let { set get to you, so in my mind I called that the ‘warm up’ and imagined the match has just st{rted but I had to win it in 2 straight sets. This is exactly what I did and I went on to win the next two sets 6-4, 6-3 and the 2010 Junior Orange Bowl title

I am delighted with the result and how I was able to turn things round. To take the trophy home to Mum and Dad made me very proud and now she has more

silverware to dust! With all the commotion of flights being cancelled and people being stuck in foreign countries, we fortunately weren’t {ffected and landed at Heathrow just 30 minutes behind schedule, even though we lost an engine...{fter all, I had presents to open and turkey to eat The only unfortunate news I have had this month is that my physical trainer, Simon Tomlinson, who has done so much for me over the past few years, is moving away I’m am{zed that he has been able to stick it out this long working with me... h{ h{ h{! Simon is { great guy and I’m very fond of him. He has made { big impact on me and my game, so some of the success over the past year is definitely { tes- tament to his hard work. We’ll stay in touch, but I’ll miss the comedy he brings...although I won’t miss the pain he inflicts on me! Well that’s it for 2010...I’ve got important FIFA 2011 on the Play Station to get on with and to chill out for the rest of Christmas before it all st{rts again soon. I hope you are all enjoying my monthly updates and if any of you readers would like to get in touch, then please do so by going into the forum of the members’ are{ of www.tennisworks.net. Speak to you all again soon! Forty love, Josh Sapwell

WHY VISIT tennisworks.net?

Why visit tennisworks.net? What does it offer?  Psychological – Covering visualisation, Here is a little information about the site. emotional control, positive thinking and more The website, tennisworks.net is a subscription  The 5th Performance Factor – Covering all website that provides tennis development and aspects to do with the tennis environment educational resources. Our aim is to 'inspire tennis  Business Support Services – Includes business excellence' and provide a 'one stop shop' where aids, templates, resources and more one will find everything they need to play, coach These are in the form of: and develop the wonderful game of tennis  PDF documents whether you are a player, parent, coach, tennis  Video and audio files leader, tennis enthusiast, club official or business  Read only articles owner. Additionally, you will find: Resources are grouped into six main areas:  Webinars –Join us on one of the many live  Physical – Covering fitness, strength and webinars we will be regularly holding where conditioning, visual skills, nutrition and more Tennis Works and guest speakers deliver  Technical – Covering stroke production for all content on all aspects of the game of tennis. the shots Otherwise members can visit our archive of  Tactical – Covering game plans, patterns of recorded webinars which are constantly added play, decision making and more to all the time.

 Online forums – Create discussion and  Tennis Works Lesson Planner™ - This allows you exchange ideas amongst like-minded tennis to create lesson plans that can be printed off, enthusiasts at different levels of development shared with your students or shared with other and coaching. people from the resources on the website.  Download area - Where you can access items to There are four subscription levels each giving you download and keep, to enable you to build your different levels of access although all levels, with own personal library of tennis resources. the exception of the free one have access to Tennis TENNIS WORKS NEWSLETTER (TWN)  – Monthly Works Tennis Manager™ and Tennis Works Lesson electronic newsletter full of interesting and Planner™. Please visit the site to see what each informative articles on all things associated with level offers and the pricing structure. tennis provided by a variety of different individuals and professionals. If you join as a Developer or Coach you can  Online store - Offering tennis equipment; automatically participate in our Affiliate clothing and associated training resources in Programme where you can earn income by the form of books and DVDs at competitive promoting the site. This offers uncapped potential prices with further discount for Tennis- to earn additional income. Works.Net members. One of the subscription levels is that of Enhanced We are also pleased to provide two unique Coach. This enables you to attend live Seminars at interactive resources: Milton Keynes (UK). Six live seminars are held each Tennis Works Tennis Manager™ - This unique year with guest presenters who are experts in their system helps you manage and record the areas field delivering educational presentations on you will require as a coach or tennis player subjects that support the development of tennis. including training sessions, competitive events, Many elements of these events involves diet details, physical programme and goal demonstrations on court with players and is a fully setting. You can share your Tennis Manager interactive experience. Attendees also earn LTA with other people, so your coach can easily License points. If you are only able, or only wish to access information to monitor your programme. attend occasional seminars, you can do so by purchasing tickets for individual events and Copyright © 2010 Tennis Works Ltd. All rights reserved. PAGE 29 TENNIS WORKS NEWSLETTER - Vol. 1 Issue 5

subscribe to the site at a lower level. What makes TennisWorks.Net unique to the other tennis resource sites that exist? Quite simply CONTENT and FOCUS. Much of our CONTENT is unique and exclusive to us. We have spent many hours filming quality coaching material and producing it in a way that really gets the message across. FOCUS because we avoid looking at the big name players and instead show what it means to develop from the grass-roots up, from Beginner through Foundation and on to Intermediate and Advanced, no matter what age you are. We hope you will join us. Visit tennisworks.net and see what we offer.

We want to hear from you! For further information on many of the We need your feedback in order for us to articles within this newsletter and for improve our publication for you. additional information about Tennis Works  How did you like it? Limited, please visit: Tennisworks.net  How could we improve it? More information on the exercises and drills  What topics would you like covered? within the newsletter can be found within Send an email with your suggestions or Tennisworks.net testimonial to [email protected] January seminar March seminar

Live Seminar in Milton Keynes, UK Live Seminar in Milton Keynes, UK Monday 10th January 2011 Monday 7th March 2011 Open to all Coaches Open to all Coaches Enjoy an interactive learning experience at this on court seminar which will help coaches to Enjoy an interactive learning experience with Keith giving an insight into the biomechanical maximise the development of children playing mini tennis and offer guidelines on how to make requirements players need at the various stages of development as all essential strokes are that all important decision regarding moving players through the Mini Tennis stages analysed. 4 LTA License Points accredited 4 LTA License Points accredited