August 9

Girls 12s Nationals in Atlanta, Georgia was an eye opening experience for me. The tournament was held at Lifetime in Peachtree Corners. I came as the coach of a young 12 year old. The weather was well into the 90s. One thing that happens now for the young players – the scheduling desk plays kids back to back with only 90 minutes of recovery time once they hit the back draw. The Back draw is where you go when you have lost in the Main draw. It reminds me of the Hunger Games. Only the strongest survive. Not necessarily the finest technique in a player. In fact, the technique exhibited across the board was not exceptional. Serving seems to be the biggest obstacle for this age group. I can’t really relate because I had my own serve coach at 12 – and certainly already had a near perfect serve motion. I’m not sure the coaches are paying close attention to serves in the lessons. There was a lot of histrionics on the courts. In my day, not so much of the emotional distress. We played each week-end – one match a day until elimination. In Southern California, the girls in the 1990s were pretty straight up. Sure there were incidents – but mostly you played without getting cheated. My coach Pete Fischer used to always say, “In out and the score.” I wonder why the kids today have so much trouble accepting a ball inside the court. I saw a lot of bad calls out there. Brad Gilbert told me that he came out to the Juniors a few times and actually held a seminar on cheating for the parents and refs. Well, Brad, it’s still alive and well. Social Media has changed the dynamic of a player out here. In out and the score is not enough for them. Sad, really. Development at this age is so important. My player reached the Round of 16. She had histrionics, something we are working on – but she worked on a lot of our game plan. She won one match in the Back draw. So. How does a coach approach a Rd of 16 loss? You look at all. the markers – both good and bad. You realize your player is not at the elite status of an Olympian – that’s what development is all about. Your player has a journal. They write down their markers – and everything is presented at practice. I always thank my Sociology degree when I look around me in the tennis world. My expertise is in teaching the serve. I wanted to go on every court and just have a serve seminar. That’s for another day.