Weekly Plan for Week of February 1 - 4

Happy Day Everyone!  Came across this quote today.  It is so fitting for our group that I thought I'd post it here.  While each individual is training hard to achieve his or her goal, we still need each other to work together in order to set the bar higher to challenge each other.  When you are at the same tournament, watch and root for each other.  Be proud to be training in the same program and at the same club.  You are on the same team!!!

With most of our players competing next weekend, we will be entering the pre-comp/competition week of training phase.  The focal points for this week is as follow:

• Specifics - sharpening our tools
• Serves & Returns
• Situation Play
• Points
• Match Play

 The idea behind all the different training phases is to ensure that our players are mentally, physically, and emotionally ready to compete.  Special note to the players.  Please come to training this week and bring your most positive side with you.  Negative sides are not invited.  Sorry!!!

Let us have an awesome week.

Serves, serves, and more serves

Hello everyone.  Based on the feedback from our coaches, we all agreed our players have made tremendous progress in their skills.  The transition from the back to the net is better.  The decision making on ball selections is better.  The intensity is better.  So, a round of applause to our players. 

We spend a lot of hours working on our groundstrokes, net game, tactics, and technique. While we work on the serves everyday, the percentage comparing to working on other skills is under parr.  We all know how important the serve is, not just to start a point but to get some free points and to get out of trouble when serving.

Therefore, the past week, we adjusted the training content where we emphasized on the different serving patterns before the tennis warm up.  Each player should be familiar with the different patterns by now.  There is just so much we can do to build tools within the allotted training hours.  Therefore, we strongly suggest that our players practice the serving patterns on their own 3 times a week and keep a record of the numbers completed for progress review.  Included on this blog is a copy of the patterns and numbers completed last week.

Weekly Plan #15

Hello everyone.  What a great week of work everyone put in last week.  The players were put in a situation where they were physically challenged and having to compete on top of the physical exhaustion.  It was a job well done.

In preparation for the up and coming National Selection we will be entering the pre-competition training.  We will continue to do fitness but will lighten up by Thursday so the body will be relatively fresh and ready to compete.



The focal points for the week of January 18th are the following:

• Serve + 3rd hit.  Players spend a lot of time developing big serves and returns.  Because the returns have become a huge weapon, it is necessary to be able to counter well in order to stay in the point.
• Returns.  Learning to put the server on the defense on their second serves so we can dominate the point.
  
• Transitioning from consistency to dominating point.  In order to compete well, we need to start the point, to stay in the point, and to finish the point.  It is easy to be caught just running side to side retrieving shots but we need to recognize opportunities and to quickly take advantage of them.
• Match play with different situations.  We will play mini matches 2 out of 3 sets with different scenarios to get ready for the situation when they appear.
• Skill polishing.  During the week of training, all the coaches will observe closely to what players need to polish on in order to get ready.  Of course, it will be even better if the players themselves recognize the things they need to touch on:-)  

In closing, enjoy all the tennis from down under.  If you haven't yet, please join me in following Ali and Yves on their exciting road trip in Melbourne by visiting www.orcgrandslam.com.

 Until next time.....

Weekly Plan #14

Hello everyone.  Hope you had a fantastic weekend.  I am almost positive it was not a relaxing weekend for our players and parents as the National Selections are under way.  Hang in there parents.  Your kid needs your strength and courage to take on the stress they face on the court.  And for players, if you are not feeling your best yet, just do the best you can.  Playing tournaments right after a big break is tough.  Take one step at a time.    One point at a time.  One game at a game.  One set at a time.  Do the best you can.  The result will take care of itself.

Weekly Plan for January 11 - 14

As mentioned, last week's training was simply to see where everyone's tennis and fitness level stood.  It came as no surprise that the lack of hours on court over the holidays caused some rustiness and a little out of shape.  Based on that, we will approach this week with the following:

• Setting up for shots with quicker first two steps instead of just arriving at the same time diluting the quality of the shots.
• Transitioning quickly from the baseline up to the ball.
• Recovery steps.
• Serves.

It is time to roll up the sleeves and get back to work:-)

 

Kicking Off 2016 with Alison Riske

 Congratulations!!!

A super start for Ali in 2016 reaching the finals this week at the Shenzhen Open, China losing to world number 5 ranked Agnieszka Radwanska.  Shenzhen,  a major city in the south of Southern China's Guangdong Province just north of Hong Kong, Shenzhen's modern cityscape is a result of a vibrant economy fueled by foreign investment. It is deemed southern mainland China's financial hub.

Ali's next stop is the Aussie Open in Melbourne where she will meet up with Yves for the preparation.  The tournament is to start on Monday, January 18th.  

Please join me in following Ali and Yves on their exciting road trip in Melbourne by visiting www.orcgrandslam.com

Weekly Plan #13

Welcome back everyone.  Don't know about you, I can only take so much food and pies and having no schedule.  I am so ready to get back on the court.  And I am hoping the players are too:-).

Over the holidays, some players continued with their tennis training and tournaments and some went away and took a lot of time off.  Therefore, the training plan for this week is simply to see where everyone is with their tennis and fitness level.  We will be doing a lot of volume, getting our rhythm back on the court.  And ease back into our fitness with a lower intensity workout on the treadmill.  Please bring your heart rate monitor. 

The general goal for 2016 is to be:
- injury free.
- faster and more explosive.
- better endurance to be able to stay in the points longer.
- weapon building to dominate points.
- comfortable with the transition to be able to close out points.
- have more players playing in the ITF tournaments for international exposure.
- last but not least working as a team pushing each other to the next level.

Looking forward to a fantastic 2016.  See ya.

Year End Bitter Sweet Tourney

A job well done!

Congratulations to the following players for finishing 2015 year end tournament in the $10,500 Copacabana Holiday Open with a bang.

Just the way we like it, we had two ORC players playing against each other in the women's open singles final and teaming up together for the doubles championship on New Year's Eve.

Isabelle winning the women's singles and doubles title with Charlotte.

Charlotte runner-up in the women's singles and winning the doubles title with Isabelle.