Seminole High Performance Gives Back

As you all probably know, in my non-tennis non-coaching life, I aspire to be an excellent teacher-educator. I find that teaching is one of the most fulfilling things I’ve ever done and that teachers are one of the most important impact factors in people’s lives every day, whether it be as a student or as a parent. Unfortunately, teachers also don’t make a good living, or, more importantly, don’t get the recognition that they deserve in our society. 

It brings me great joy to say that Seminole High Performance is making a difference in teachers’ lives. First of all, they are making a difference in MY life (as I am teacher) by giving me the opportunity to work with such an amazing staff and with such amazing kiddos. Secondly, SHP has donated t-shirts for a raffle that will be held at the Florida Council of Teachers of English next week in Lake Mary, Florida. Out of their own generosity, SHP has donated garnet and gold cotton t-shirts to the cause of giving back to the teachers we all love and admire. These gifts will go to deserving teachers all across Florida. A little goes a long way—to know that there is someone there that does not know you but yet appreciates what you do for children and for adolescents means the world to me, and I know that it will mean the world to every teacher who gets a Seminole High Performance t-shirt.  

The gesture is reminiscent of our mission at Seminole High Performance; to develop players with integrity. That’s something that comes from mentors and an environment that is, day in and day out, a positive and disciplined one. So thank you, on behalf of all teachers in Florida, and everywhere, thank you for making a difference Seminole High Performance Tennis.   

Seminole High Performance Back in Action!

And I’m back! 

What a journey these past few months have been with Seminole High Performance! A great finish to the last three summer camps, where the kids had fun and worked hard despite hot temperatures and tough practices! We take tennis seriously at Seminole High Performance; there is no time for games that don’t make a positive impact on a player’s tennis game, but there is plenty of time for fun games that also encourage correct technique and live ball play! 

Recently we’ve begun our afterschool program again. It runs Monday through Thursday, 4:30-6:30 pm. On Mondays, we meet with our “big kids” at the FSU courts; this is when we train competitive tournament players in a closed atmosphere focusing more on match-play, footwork, and fitness. On the other side of town on Mondays at Killearn Country Club, we train our up-and-coming players, and we focus more on technique and drilling to set up good habits for their future tennis! We take our technique seriously, but differentiate instruction to each individual player’s strengths and needs, making our program unique. We give special attention to EVERY player in our camp, and keep open communication with both players and parents to ensure they are getting everything they need out of every day of practice! 

On Tuesdays, we have a plus program that we run from 1:30-4:30, where students have the option of coming 1:30-3:30 or 2:30-4:30. This plus program focuses on intense, individualized tournament training and gets our players out on the courts for more practice because practice makes us better players! 4:30-6:30 our afternoon clinics begin, and we have a range of players that come for this time to the FSU outdoor courts, from 6-8 year old beginners to 16-18 year old competitive players, and with everything in between! Every player that comes to our clinics gets better, both mentally and physically. 

On Wednesday, we have a 4:30-6:30 clinic at Killearn Country Club ONLY, and we do that so players can train on clay courts as well as hard courts, giving them more diversity and more practice compared to other training facilities. Again, we have a mix of players on these days that suit every players needs, and coaches that will help with anything from tournament development to proper nutrition. 

 Thursdays we have our plus program again at the FSU courts from 1:30-4:30, similar to how Tuesday’s are run. On Thursday we finish up the week with all of our players at 4:30 reflecting on how we did that week, and setting goals for the following week. We wish our tournament players good luck in their weekend tournaments, and encourage friendships and partnerships amongst our kiddos, helping them connect with each other for match play over the weekend!

Throughout the week, our coaches are open for private lessons to help players further develop their games. Like I’ve written in previous blogs, I suggest two private lessons a week for beginners, once a week for intermediate players unless a change in technique is being made (then twice or even three times a week helps), and once a week for tournament-level players to brush up on technique.  Call me, Eddie, Nick, Andres, or Taylor for a private lesson!

What we have that no one else in Florida has is access 24/7 to the FSU indoor court facility. That means when everyone else is home because of weather, we are still practicing and getting better because we have access to the indoor courts! 

This past two weeks we’ve been focusing on doubles preparation for our players at Seminole High Performance. We’ve been working a lot of volley, overhead, approach shot, and serve drills, and we’ve been playing a lot of doubles specific games that all of our players LOVE. I want to remind you all that a good doubles team always is aggressive and moves to the net before their opponents do! They also make first serves and communicate with each other; good communication is key to a great doubles partnership!

Want to work on your doubles game? Your singles game? Your tennis game? 

Seminole High Performance is the place for you! Visit http://www.seminoletenniscamps.com/ for more information or call Tami Brown, our director of tennis operations, at 850-644-1893.

First week of camp- A grand success, quote of the week, and pictures too

The first week of summer camp is always interesting. We've gotten used to, as coaches, our seminole high performance kiddos, and it's always really nice to have some new faces and help our SHP kids play with some new players and have new experiences.

Working on serves!

Drills during camps!

Being goofy on the way to Chilis with the dorm group!

See that Russian flag in the background? Represent!

One of our communication and teamwork seminars paid off! :)

It was a sunny day on Sunday as we checked in our dorm campers. I smile as I remember some of them; a sweet nine year old who smiled shyly, a few players who have come back over the years, growing taller since I last saw them, a big hug for the coach they had last year, and a few older boys, nonchalantly waving off parents and eyeing the coaches, ready for some tennis and perhaps some ping-pong shenanigans later that night.

Looking for attention!

Of course, some of our kiddos want lots of attention! We give them all the attention they need and want.

Chiles was delicious that evening, and some well-deserved nutrition after a long practice filled with drills and their favorite games, olympics and pass-'em.

We are pumped for Davis cup!

Monday started the week of hard work. I had mostly ladies in my group, which ended up being super fun and exciting. We joked about silly things during resting time, and came up with riddles to entertain each other during lunch breaks. They still didn't get my riddle; if you have a pail that holds 5 gallons and a pail that holds 7 gallons, how do you get exactly four gallons? I suppose math over summer break doesn't sit well with some of the kiddos. :)

Some of the gold group ladies giggling during lunch break

Yes, I'm an awesome photographer, I know.

Between jokes and giggles, we worked hard. We did a lot of consistency drills, and worked on fine-tuning aggressiveness and volleys to put away well-fought points. Of course on Tuesday when I put on my hat to shield my head from the sun we got sent indoors, but it was fun to see how much they enjoyed getting out of the heat but still being able to work on some drills and games mixed in. They got some video analysis with Coach Dwayne too, which was fun for them, working on some serve motions.

After indoors we definitely needed to stretch, so we got some yoga in before we left. The kids loved it.

Yoga!

Thursday came too quickly I think, I was still pumped for David Cup and team mother Russia. My kiddos that switched out with my awesome gold group this week were nervous at first, but really got the hang of it, by day four swinging joyfully around with the Russian flag tied to their necks like a cape. Super Russia! Hard fought matches, but Germany took the title this week. In my heart Russia still won.


 Most memorable quote of the week:

Serving for the match!

"When boys are jealous, it's kind of cute, but when girls get jealous, it's world war three." - 10 year old Grady

Perrin is the queen of the lake reservation!

Great first week guys. We did great. You did great. We miss you already!

Golden ladies! 

Cheering on their Russia teammates!

Will, Grady, and Wyatt

Posing for the camera!

Giggles during break with the gold team. 

Smiles all around!

 

Traffic Light Tennis

Red light, green light. Sometimes we have to come up with interesting ways to entertain kiddos. Sometimes we have to come up with funny or easy to remember metaphors for every tennis player—in the education field, this is actually called building on schema. You may be unfamiliar with tennis, but everyone is familiar with a traffic light. Red means stop, yellow means caution, green means go. Similarly, at SHP we talk about red light as a ball that would be hit back when you are on the defensive, a yellow light as a rally ball, and a green light as an aggressive ball. I get it—but do you?

How do you hit a green ball, exactly? Yes, harder. But how? Most of the time when I ask this question, I get a pause and a quiet blink of the eyes, sometimes a brave shrug, but most of the time, a silence that beckons an answer from the coach.

So, let’s break it down. A red light ball is a ball that you want to hit when you are on the defensive. That typically means that you are on the run. I break down the red, yellow, and green light ball into percent effort—obviously, you’re giving 100% effort all the time, right? Now, I’m talking effort of your swing. When you tense up and put in your entire body into the ball, that’s a green light ball—80%. You never want to be hitting 100% strength on the ball because it’s hard to control. It’s known as a “slap” in tennis—a reckless, go-for-broke type of shot that we coaches frown upon. A rally ball is 50% of your speed. You are still swinging out, your shot stays the same, and you are still moving your feet, but the ball will be easier to control. On the run, like we started this paragraph, would be the red light ball—you’re out of position and can’t behind the ball as well as you should. It’s better to hit a red light ball, or a 20% effort shot.

Now let me reiterate—this doesn’t mean that you poke at the ball. Your swing will stay the same, all that changes is the effort behind the ball, meaning your muscle tension. Relax the muscle tension to hit a softer shot. Practice this—hit ten balls in a row at 20%, move up to 50%, get 10 balls in at 50%, then move up to 80%, hitting ten balls in a row. At any point if you miss two or three shots in a row, go back down a level.

The reason why I like this is a lot of junior players tend to go for broke even when practicing. It’s important to stay consistent and to know how to do that. You need to know how to dial back in speed. It takes effort and focus to do so. At a slower pace, players also tend to feel the ball better, and can adjust better when hitting the ball slower in terms of technique.

So while red, yellow, and green light balls seem like an arbitrary metaphor that is hard to grasp, 20%, 50%, and 80% swing effort helps you know exactly HOW to hit these traffic light shots.   

Cross-Training

Want to be stronger and faster, and improve your tennis skill? Play soccer! Swim! Go to a spin class! Cross-training in sports has been around for a long time, and is an important way to develop muscles that typically are underused in tennis but can help you become stronger and fitter. One of the best sports to cross-train with is soccer. This doesn’t mean that you should join a soccer league, but rather, use soccer as a warm-up or play with tennis friends over the weekend when you have a free chance. Not only is it intense and a good work out, but the footwork in soccer mimics the small steps necessary in tennis as well. Balance and coordination can improve, and, did I mention, it is fun! The only thing that you should adjust is the length of the field—play on the court from net to fence, constructing two small goals at either end, or mimic this set up on field. Make sure rules are very strictly enforced—oftentimes, players get overzealous with soccer and end up breaking a foot or twisting an ankle. A hard jab from an opponent from foot to shin isn’t pleasant, but when played right and carefully, soccer can be a great cross-training sport for tennis.

Swimming is another great cross-training sport. It’s low-impact, so players with injuries that prevent them from running for fitness can utilize water sprints that enhance upper body strength and fitness level. Any kind of swimming will do, but make sure you’re in the pool for extended amounts of time, between 30 minutes and an hour, and swim laps either as a replacement for a slow jog or court sprints, which necessitate high speeds and short breaks rather than continuous slow movement. If you’ve ever seen a swimmer’s body, you’ll notice their large shoulders and thin legs—tennis players need shoulder strength, but don’t necessarily need to lift a ton of weight to get these muscles. Swimming naturally develops these shoulder muscles, and can be a great cross-training tool.

Spin (otherwise known as biking) is one of my favorite cross-training tools. Spin is interactive because it’s typically done with music and an instructor in a gym setting, where the bikes are stationary and have adjustable weighting to push your legs as if you were pumping weights. The extended session and adrenaline rush is an intense work out, and not only burns calories but develops fast-twitch muscles and a great way to tone butt muscles, quads, and hamstrings without a million squats. I personally love spin and biking exercises because you still feel like you are working out but you also are low-impact on your joints. I was bike-bound in college because of a leg injury. I gained so much speed and explosiveness due to the bike sprints that I did with our trainers. 

Tennis is great, but it also can get intense, and fitness can become boring and tough. Cross-training keeps you fit, ready for the court, and also rests your head mentally from the sport while training your body. Soccer and spin typically are team-orientated, while swim and biking can be done for people who prefer to work individually.