Bigger Better Tennis - Paul Dale

  VITAS GERALAITIS: THE PLAYBOY CHAMPION      When Vitas Geraliatis (pictured: right) passed away at the age of 40,  it left the tennis community in shock. The Grand Slam winner and a perennial  top-ten player had been bigger than  life during his years as a tennis professional  When news on the passing of Vitas Geralaitis reached the news outlets around the world there was a sense of shock throughout the tennis community. It was hard to believe that Geralaitis, a larger than life personality, was no more. Born in Brooklyn, New York on July 26th, 1954, Geralaitis was as flamboyant off-court as he was a superstar on-court. With his long curly blonde hair and athletic game, Geraliatis was tagged with the "playboy" label at a time when there were already several larger than life personalities in tennis. Vitas Geralaitis was a regular fixture on the New York  club scene But it would be unfair to remember Vitas Geralaitis as merely a flamboyant playboy tennis pro. He achieved a to

Before I coach any player for the first time, there are several things I want to know about them.  I'm sure, as a coach also, you have been in this situation many times yourself. For me, when a new player strolls through the gate and onto my court for the first time I immediately begin watching for signs that will help me coach them later.  The important distinction here is that I am not looking at every student as being the same. Far from it. I understand now, after coaching for many years, that every player is different. As coaches, our ability to recognise the differences in each player, and coach them as individuals based on those differences will set us apart.  Here are 6 of the qualities I want to know about a new player: 1. WHAT MOTIVATES THEM? "There is so much time and effort required to be a top player, that if you don't love what you are doing it will be almost impossible to reach the top". There is a long list of things that motivate us to do things. We su

Of all the tennis topics, the topic of tennis fitness has changed the most. Alternative fades come in, and are soon replaced by another different fitness idea that comes along. It's enormously confusing for us coaches and players to get a solid idea of what exactly we should be doing with regard to tennis fitness. What does seem to have gotten better however is that we now realize that tennis fitness should be related closely to what happens on the court in matches.  Often in the past, any tennis fitness done on-court was almost completely different from what was needed on-court in real matches.  PERIODIZATION Don't be scared by the long serious term Periodization. Here is what it means to us as tennis Coaches and Players. Periodization is a term to describe what we should do several weeks (sometimes months) out from an important tennis event that we want to peak for. By using periodization a player can build their game and their fitness so that on the day of the event they are

It's no secret that if you're looking for ways to improve your results, any improvement in your game will start on the practice court. Any positive change in your game will have to be practiced and worked on for at least several weeks.  But there are some changes you can make that will take less time, and that you will see immediate improvements to the way you are competing in competition. 1.  EAT BETWEEN CHANGEOVERS  This first tip may surprise you a bit but it has had a huge effect on many of the players I have trained. I encourage many of my trainees to take snacks during the changeovers.  Use the changeover to take in some food so that your blood sugar levels remain stable I'm not just referring to snacking at change-overs during matches either, I want players to snack during breaks in practice sessions also. I want them to operate at 100% during practice because I need them focused. There's a little bit of history to this particular tip which I think is important f