Sunday, December 16, 2018

Friday, September 28, 2018

Monday, August 27, 2018

Tennis Video of the Day: Learn to Play (and Live) FREE


Goal: Abandon Unproductive thoughts
Technique: Bring a waste basket or bag and discard them


Goal: Be (and stay) in the present, and address any issue
Technique: Focus on your breathe, and the exact moment when the inhale becomes the exhale


Courtesy: Bob ("Focus Coach") Litwin, Performance Coach, Tennis Congress (Apx. 14 mins., Published August 26, 2018)

Wednesday, August 15, 2018

Lessons from Dance: The Primacy of Balance and Core Rotation

Courtesy: John Cambridge on You Tube ("Puttin' on the Ritz" with Fred Astaire) 

Monday, August 13, 2018

Lessons from the Martial Arts: The Supremacy of Speed and Quickness

Courtesy: Topideo on YouTube (From the Martial Arts Movie "Enter the Dragon" with Bruce Lee)

Saturday, August 11, 2018

Sunday, August 5, 2018

Tennis Topic of the Day: The Most Beautiful Game


Tennis is a "uniquely strong, complex and beautiful sport", which turns a game into a metaphor, and sport into art. Tennis is: angles, spin, power, control, direction, geometry, speed, strength, movement, balance, drama, dance, deception, doggedness, calmness, explosiveness, analysis, touch, bravado, nimbleness, defiance, elegance and the variety of both the human forms who play it and the styles it is played with --- and so much more. 

Read why many believe that tennis is the most beautiful game. 

Article: The Most Beautiful Game: Tennis Turns Sport into Art, Marianne Bevis, Bleacher Report (Nov. 2009)

Saturday, July 28, 2018

Tennis Topic of the Day: Legendary Coach Nick Bollettieri's Top 5 Tennis Tips for All Players

Legendary Coach Nick Bollettieri's Top 5 Tennis Tips for All Players

1. Early racket preparation - Unit turn of body with racket back can never be too early
2. Exaggerate the follow-thru - Do not think of just hitting the ball, but finishing the swing
3. Never-Two Bounces - Think of never letting the rally ball bounce twice
4. Hit & Recover - Recover immediately to the center of court after your hit and finish
5. Foundation & Balance - Your ready position and playing posture is always low, solid and balanced


For more: Coach's Tips to Improve Your Tennis Game

Monday, May 7, 2018

Tennis Topic & Book - "Muscle Memory and Mental Imagery: Better Tennis"


I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.  
Bruce Lee

Muscle memory is the result of focused repetition of strokes, through deliberate practice, over a concentrated time with appropriate recovery to empower the human body to produce an higher, elevated performance level. 

Many coaches might describe this performance level for the typical player as "unconscious competence." Other coaches might also suggest muscle memory is a vital predicate for "elite performance" for anyone at the professional ranks. 

The science of muscle memory (and use of mental imagery) to help players at all levels is thoughtfully explored in the provocative and well-researched book, Muscle Memory and Mental Imagery: Better Tennis

Backed by science, research and even statistical mathematics, author Archie Dan Smith (physician, medical director and tennis aficionado) clarifies the concept of muscle memory, proposes scientific laws to help explain it, and offers practice methods and practical tips to improve it. 

Muscle Memory then explores the intriguing topic of mental imagery, or literally self-creating a sensory experience, to supplement and enhance higher-level performance. 

The book also presents the tennis reader with an excellent recommendation section for further reading (books, articles and websites), and an extensive bibliography. 

Here's a brief excerpt on muscle memory for consideration. 

"Muscle memory is what determines your strokes and makes your tennis game what it is - for the good or for the bad. 
I propose the following laws of muscle memory. By understanding these laws, you can apply them to your training and your tennis game. You will become a better player. 
Laws of Muscle Memory.
1. Your tennis strokes are due to muscle memory.
2. Muscle memory is the result of permanent changes in the brain, nerves and muscles.
3. Permanent changes occur through repetition in a concentrated period of time.
4. Repetition by doing it right in practice is how you hit good strokes in a match.
5. Learning different patterns back to back may cause forgetting of the initial one.
6. Once your muscle memory is in place, it "forgets" slowly, if at all.
7. The temporary improvement that occurs during practice or matches should not be considered learning, but rather a transient performance effect." 


Here's another brief excerpt on mental imagery for consideration: 

"Imagery [means] 'to create an experience in the mind'. The goal of imagery is using your mind or imagination to see and feel yourself playing the point, as if you are actually there. . . . You are practicing, or better termed, mentally rehearsing, your shots. In fact, some even call it 'visualization'. The two most common [imagery], and relevant to tennis, are visual and kinesthetic. Visual - You see in your mind, as if you are actually there. Kinesthetic imagery is when you feel as if your own body is doing it . . . The reason [imagery] works lies in the fact that when you imagine yourself performing to perfection . . . you are in turn psychologically creating neural patterns in your brain, just as if you had physically performed the action." 

For much more reading on these compelling tennis topics, please see and review: 
Muscle Memory and Mental Imagery: Better Tennis, by Archie Dan Smith, MD (CreateSpace: 2017)(36 Chapters, 144 Pages)(available on Amazon- Kindle Edition)

Tennis Quote of the Day: What means the most is that tennis is fun!

Monday, April 9, 2018

Sunday, March 25, 2018

Saturday, March 24, 2018

Sunday, March 18, 2018

Sunday, January 7, 2018

Tennis Topic of the Day: Success Indicator for Life or Tennis


(Click Image to Enlarge)
 Courtesy: MaryEllen Tribby

Saturday, January 6, 2018

Tennis Tribute of the Day: Roger Federer


"Both flesh and, somehow, light." --- David Foster Wallace

Tuesday, January 2, 2018

Tennis Quote & Topic of the Day: Tennis and the Number 3

"Tennis is a game of 3s". 

Doug Lewis, USPTA-1 Certified 

Lead Tennis Instructor
Healthplex Tennis
Springfield, PA USA


Things in tennis can be quickly analyzed in terms of threes (3s). 
3 spins: topspin, slice, and flat
3 service angles: down-the-middle, out-wide, and into the body
3 court regions to hit to: their backhand, forehand or middle
3 court depths to hit to: short, middle and deep
3 net heights for groundstrokes: short for hard & flat shots, medium for deeper shots, high for lobs
3 types of opponents to access: baseliner, net-charger, grinder
3 types of player profiles: tall, short and medium