Coaching

This summer, Glen Oaks Country Club will have a new Director of Tennis, as Ricky Becker will now be in charge of the club’s tennis events and programming. Becker is a Long Island native who has been involved with the tennis scene here for decades. Growing up on Long Island, Becker was one of the...Read more

Tennis has changed. The balls are traveling much faster than ever before. Even at the club level, it is difficult to sustain a longer rally due to the lack of time in between shots. This change means that players need to be able to hit their shots from many different positions on the court. Even...Read more

Sometimes stating the obvious doesn’t seem as important as some complicated strategy or game plan that the experts promote. In Brad Gilbert’s Winning Ugly , he basically encourages the player to make shots, especially at the beginning of the match. Most players are not at 100 percent mentally or...Read more

Effective coaches use words strategically so that their message has the greatest positive impact and throughout my career, I have looked to find a better cue or phrase to coach with clarity. Sometimes the improvements that I have found are subtle yet they can be meaningful. I've developed a better...Read more

There are usually a couple of days each year that you go out to play a tennis match and everything works well—your movement is great, your shots feel solid and your strategy is working to perfection. When you play a match on any other day, it is important to learn how to compete so that you give...Read more

One of the most difficult things you will encounter on the tennis court is the interference that your mind inadvertently causes when the match gets close. The best players in the world seem to be able to overcome this by reminding themselves of the successes they have had, and letting habit and...Read more

There are many different opinions concerning strategy in a tennis match. Obviously, every match is different, every opponent is different, and every day that you play tennis is different. Keeping a simple idea as your "go to" strategy is what works best for most players. There are many different...Read more

One of the most important qualities of a good tennis player is their ability to figure out where the opponent's shot is going. Recognizing the direction and depth of the shot that was just hit enables the player to react quickly and reply with a shot that is as good, or better, than the shot they...Read more

With a few exceptions, once a player steps on the tennis court for a match, they are pretty much on their own. However, each player has a support team. The team usually consists of their parents, multiple coaches, a physical trainer, and sometimes even a sports psychologist. If a player is lucky...Read more

I have often mentioned that tennis has become a power game, basically at all levels. The equipment is better, the players are better, and the ball is going faster. This makes us want to try to hit the ball through our opponents. A better idea is to hit two or three deep shots at your normal speed,...Read more