Written By Todd Widom
How many times do you watch junior tennis players train and all the players are working on the same shot, technique, or tactic? How can a person who is 6′ 4” be training to have the style of someone 5′ 10”?
The cookie cutter mold does not work if the player is trying to reach their optimum level, whether that level is college or professional tennis. I recently had a discussion with a very well respected coach in the South Florida area and we spoke about my approach of training tennis players. Looking at the size of the parents, the current size of the student, their techniques, their movement, their attitude, and obviously their strengths and weaknesses, I then develop a plan about how that particular student can then attain their goals and dreams with their tennis.
My goal as a coach is to try and have the student reach a great level by the time the player is between 16 to18 years old, so that they can play at a great level of college tennis or professional tennis. If you are trying to get the best out of each and every student, a custom plan of how that student is going to attain their goals must be devised in a much disciplined manner. Having a bunch of kids on a court doing the same drills will not get this accomplished. The best tennis players I have ever been around all work in a small intimate setting and their coach is coaching to a strict disciplined plan to maximize each and every students’ potential. This means that each student has their own personal objectives that they are trying to get accomplished drill after drill and day after day.