Outstanding Performances of the Week

               Congratulations

to the following players for a fantastic performance this past weekend.                      Madison Lee - winner of 3 stars tournament Girls U12.     Charlotte Petrick - winner of the Veneto Red Clay Open Women's Singles.

Ivan Mitric - finalist of the Veneto Red Clay Open Men's Singles.

If by any chance I left anyone out it is not intentional. Please email me at hytennis@gmail.com.  

Weekly Plan #10 + Become an Emotional Master Athlete

Competition is about finding out how well you can do something under pressure. It’s about challenging yourself to get better. It can be about working together with others to accomplish a goal. You compete to succeed; to be the best you can be. To have a good outcome, a person has to focus on and commit to doing the work needed to improve.

So, if working hard is all that it takes to do well then why doesn't everyone do well?  Unfortunately, ourselves is the biggest and toughest opponent that anyone can have, isn't it?

Tennis as we all know is an emotional sport.  Earlier today, that was exactly what I saw over 6 courts of matches with these young ladies battling out on the red turf.  Nobody spoke English but one court.  I am guessing by their body language they weren't saying "oh good try." As the saying goes, when the student is ready the teacher will appear.  In this situation, I am the student and came across this great article (the teacher) that I want to share with you "Become an Emotional Master Athlete." (clinck on the link) 

Part 6 - Your one minute bag check

Top 10 Things every player should have in their tennis bag

                                                          

Welcome to Part 6 of 6 of this series of blogs. The reason that I broke it down in parts was three folds.  One was to make it easier to locate if certain topic was of particular interest.  Two was based on some of the questions at the parent's meeting that took place several weeks ago. Three was to prepare our players and parents heading down to the Florida tournaments in December.  Without further delay, here is your bag check to bring to tournaments.

Part 5 - What players should do after their match

Post Match Recovery

After the completion of your match and after having reported your score it is a good idea to....

1. Cool down.  Cooling down is an important, but often underestimated part of tennis. It allows your body to re stabilize removing  the lactic acid built up in the muscles so your body can recover faster.  Do 10 minutes on either stationary bike or a gentle jog.  Then...

2. Hydrate.  This will be a very good time to drink that chocolate milk however, if it is not available drink several bottles of electrolyte drinks and check your urine color to make sure you are not dehydrated. Keep drinking until you reach the "right" color (refer to urine chart on Part 3). This is especially important if you are competing in a humid climate.  Then...

3. Shower/ Change.  A contrast shower can help speed recovery, regulate body temperature, and keep muscles from stiffening up.  If showers are not available then at least get out of the wet clothes.

4.  Stretch.  A whole body stretch lasts approximately 20 minutes with a hold of 30 seconds on each stretch.  In addition to keeping the body limber it also helps to prevent injuries.  A travel size foam roller has become increasingly popular with tennis players.  Then...

5. Ice.  Ice should be your new best friend.  Any aches and pains how ever minor you feel in your body put a bag of ice on it for 15 minutes.  It does wonders.  Then...

6. Post match assessment.  When to talk to the coach about the match is an individual preference but it has to be the same day while it is relatively fresh in the mind.  It is important to assess the match objectively with an open mind for learning to take place.  If the coach is not at the tournament, then call.  If calling is too costly because you're out of the country then email. Keeping in touch with the coach provides a reassurance for the athlete.  Too often, athletes base their self esteem on the results and coaches can help by putting things into perspective.  It is imperative that players reach out to their coach.  Unless players have a private coach, most coaches have to take care of many players.  

7. Sleep.  A good night of sleep between 7-9 hours provides invaluable regeneration of the body, the mind, and emotions that are experienced during the day. Some athletes, especially during major growth spurts, may need 10 hours of sleep. However, too much sleep can be detrimental to performance, so make sure there are 3 hours of awake time before going on match court.

See you tomorrow on Part 6 of 6 - Your one minute bag check.

Part 4 - Pre Match Preparation

Okay, you've trained hard for weeks and months on and off the tennis court to improve your tennis skills and to get fitter and faster.  You are now a lean, mean, fighting machine ready for your tournaments.  You arrive at the tournament site.  You are excited.  You can't wait to see your friends whom you haven't seen in a while.  Everywhere you turn there are people.  It is exciting at first but soon it becomes mentally draining.

Distractions at tournaments is a big factor.  You must keep focus, if you want to give yourself a chance to do well.  Here is a check list of what to do at tournaments.

Part 3 - Recovery Drinks

Hello everyone.  I hope you find the first 2 parts helpful.  Now moving on to part 3 of 6 on recovery fluids.  The reason that I feel it is important to share this topic is based on my own painful experiences and having witnessed on other athletes - muscle cramping.  Muscle cramping, though there are many theories as to why it happens, usually involves improper hydration and/or improper electrolyte replenishment.  No one wants to cramp but cramping is far down the road of electrolyte depletion.  It's the same theory that if you are thirsty, you are already dehydrated.  

Even if you have been fortunate enough to have never suffered the painful, debilitating effects of cramping, you still need to provide your body adequate supply of electrolytes in order to maintain bodily functions at optimal levels, and to recover quickly for the next day.

Included in this blog are two of my favorite recovery drinks.  

Part 2 - General tactics against different playing style.

Welcome back to part 2 of 6.  So, have you thought about what type of game style you are?  If you haven't, take a few minutes to think about it before reading on.  C'mon stay with me here.  Really think about it.  Okay, for those who did their brain storming let's explore.....

Weekly Plan #9 + Part 1 Determining Your Playing Style

Greetings from Chile.  In preparation for the up and coming Florida tournaments, this week I am going to change things up a bit.  I am going to blog a different topic everyday as it will contain too much information in one setting.

Topics of discussion this week includes the following:
The weekly plan.
Part 1 - Determining your playing style.
Part 2 - General tactics against different playing style.
Part 3 - Recovery drinks.
Part 4 - Preparation for pre and post matches.
Part 5 - What players should do after their match.
Part 6 - Your one minute bag check for the tournaments.

College Signings

A Big Congratulation

Standing behind every achiever is a team of dedicated and passionate parents and coaches. The road to achevment is anything but comfortable - the sweat, the injuries, the commitment, the obstacles, the hard work, the tears, and the endless one more. It gives me great pleasure to inform you of three outstanding achievers for their college signing this past week. Clarke with Furman University. Tiara with University of Rhode Island. Eli with University of Minnesota. A huge congratulations to our new scholars. Last but not least, I would like to also congratulate the parents and coaches who sweated it out with the new scholars. Well done parents and coaches. You must be so proud. In closing, I just have to share with you one of my favorite books by Dr. Suess. Oh, the Places You'll Go! Please click on the link. Hope you like it too.

Thank You Parents

On behalf of all the coaches of the Elite Group, I want to thank you for making the effort to attend tonight's parents meeting.  Being relatively new to the club, I have not had the opportunity to meet all the parents until now.  It was nice to put a face to the emails and phone calls:-).  I know it's annoying with school meetings, and office meetings.  Your presence was much appreciated.

Weekly Plan #7

Hello everyone.  In this blog, we will do a recap of the lessons introduced in the last five weeks and explore briefly of the lessons for the next training phase.

In the last several weeks, we worked on perception skills and decision making playing the right way, looking to intercept when the opponent is off balance, taking time away is just as important as hitting hard, various situational play,

Parent Information Meeting Thursday

Happy November to everyone.  Parents, please come and join us for a fantastic evening of information sharing this Thursday, November 12th @ 6:00PM.  Some of the topics include but are not limited to: the pathways in the academy, tournament preparation, developing the right mindset, college, and the big picture.  Oh, and bring your questions!  See you on Thursday!!

Florida Trip

 Hello everyone.  Just a quick word for the Florida trip.  We will be sending coaches to the Orange Bowl this year.  Please contact Andrea Rabzak for arrangement at andrea1017@me.com.

Weekly Plan #6

Ready!

Get Set!

Fire!

Happy November parents and players.  Now that all the candies are gone and the tournament is behind us it is now time to refocus and get back to work.  

I am sure everyone has watched Sharapova and Djokovic countless times.  So, what do they have in common?  Oh man, I can already hear some of you guys thinking "I don't watch women's tennis...blah, blah, blah:-)  Just for amusement, what do you think of their commonality?  No, not nothing.  

Outstanding Performances of the Week

	Isabelle $50,000 ITF Pro Circuit Qualifier
Sofia U18 ITF Burlington Semi-Finalist Singles	Ivan U18 ITF Burlington Finalist Singles	Ines U18 ITF BurlingtonFinalist Doubles

Those who know me knows that I am soooo not the type to brag.  I am much more at home with being humble however, this past week was a fantastic week for our ORC players that I had to make an exception!  There were two events going on at the same time - the U18 ITF in Burlington and the ITF Pro Circuit at the Aviva Center.