Bigger Better Tennis - Paul Dale

Many coaches are involved in the daily task of developing junior tennis players to reach the top of the game.  A very important question for those involved in junior development is, “When we develop junior players for the future, what, in essence, are we trying to develop”? What is the goal? A simple question with profound implications to the way we approach each on-court session. For years, my goal or mission statement when training junior players was to create a player with “Perfect Defence on Wood, and Perfect Offence on Clay”.  Think about that, defence on the fastest surface and offence on the slowest surface. Probably the fastest surface you can play on is a wooden floor indoors. Think of the problems you are faced with on fast wood.  · Returning serve: requires exceptionally fast reflexes and compact strokes · Teaches a player the skills of staying relaxed enough in the hands to adapt quickly, but firm enough on contact to stabilise the racquet ·   Fas...