Contents (in progress) November 22nd

©Dr. Ray Brown 2011 No part of this document may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of
Dr. Ray Brown

Part ONE

Successful Player Development

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1. Learning and Instruction

Understanding the human learning process is essential to successful player development

There are five major learning principles that will greatly accelerate the player development process

There are several additional learning principles that support efficient and effective player development

The notion that a player's development can be accelerated by "quick fixes" is scientifically unfounded

Effective instruction depends on the extent to which the instructor is committed to the player's development

2. The Player Development Process

The player's development must be supported by a sound player development process

Instructors must understand the scope and limits of authority if they are to be effective in developing a player.

Player development cannot be effective without a system having metrics and a plan

A plan must have measurable milestones that are recognizable and accepted by both player and coach

Within each phase of a plan, a set of exercises and drills are needed to assure systematic development of the player's skill components, strength elements, match play, and mental development.

Player system engineering must address three key aspects of player development

Player system engineering requires the integration of diverse engineering management technologies

Player development also requires the integration of diverse scientific and technology disciplines

Tradeoff analyses are a key to making effective decisions about the introduction and development of techniques and skill sets

 

3. The Complex Dimensions of Coaching

A successful coach must be able to play as many roles as are required to assure the player has their best chance of success

Coaching women poses significant challenges due to differences in perspective between men and women.

4. Parent-Student Relations and Their Impact on Player Success

Both parents and students require orientation to the many pitfalls and challenges of professional tennis

A parent's world view can be the players best asset or their greatest enemy

5. Character, Commitment and Leadership

 

Part TWO

The Physical Dimensions of Tennis

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1.Fundamentals of Tennis

What is a stroke?

There are three basic elements of match play

There are five grips in common use and each has a legitimate function

The moment of contact between the racquet and ball is the most significant event in a tennis stroke

Through the use of extension it is possible to greatly increase the probability of making good contact

Grips and elbow positions are closely related and support one another

Voluntary actions are the key to good stroke production

Involuntary actions can easily disrupt stroke production

Stability of the body during stroke production is essential to making clean contact which effective

There are three energy systems in the human body and each plays a role in tennis

The use of a wide stance during stroke will greatly improve stability and reduce unforced errors

Aggression and intensity are natural aspects of human performance that can greatly improve match play

Developing power requires special drills for which there are no exercise substitutes

The ballistic reflex is a technique of using a natural clasping reflex to improve the level of energy that the racquet deliverers to the ball

Human visual processing has two forms that each serve a different function in tennis

The ideal racquet motion is not a swinging circular motion, but rather a linear motion that has some resemblance to the motion a whip

Understanding the organization of the human motor systems will make it possible to expand one's options in selecting strategies and tactics

Repeating performance such as defeating a specific opponent can be much harder than the first performance

Human motor systems tend to operate from memory rather than operating in the moment resulting in a degradation of performance

2. Technique

There are five basic tennis strokes: forehand, backhand, serve, volley, overhead

There are seven specialty strokes that are needed in the advanced game

3.The Player's Physical Development can be Organized into Exercises and Drills

Exercises are activities designed to build strength, endurance, coordination and the muscular development needed for tennis without the use of a racquet and ball

Anaerobic conditioning will fade in as little as two weeks

The ab roller builds the back, abs, deltoid strength and endurance needed in various stroke situations

Core development is essential for stability

Cone exercises are designed to improve footwork agility

The dot matrix is designed to improve concentration in patterned foot movements

The sixty foot ladder exercises are designed to improve agility, common footwork pattern execution and endurance

Plyometric exercises are needed to develop and increase burst movements needed for quick starts and jumps

Rotation exercises are designed to improve rapid burst like movements needed to rotate the body during stroke execution

Hyper extension exercises are designed to build the back's suspension system needed to return wide balls on the run effectively

The reverse hyper extension exercise is designed to develop ham string strength needed during fast sprints to difficult ball positions

The limbo exercise is designed to strengthen neck, back, leg, and foot strength needed for the serve and overhead

The leg lift exercise is designed to increase core strength and quad strength needed for precision movements

The hurdle and jump exercises are designed to build concentration and endurance in rapid leg movements

The bench jump is designed to increase explosive jumps and first step movements to the ball

The leg lift with a twist is designed to add strength and endurance to the abdominal's that are need for rapid rotation

55 degree crunch and ball lift are designed to build the explosive movement to hit heavy top spin shots

The one-leg ball lift is designed to build strength, balance and endurance for hitting wide balls on the run

Wobble board squats are designed to develop control of balance during movement

Wobble board ball lift is designed to control balance while on the run

Plank is designed to build back strength

Sammy Exercise is designed to develop lower abdominal's

Bungee cord forward and backward and one-leg exercises are designed to build anaerobic endurance,arm strength, and quadriceps power

The five medicine ball exercises are designed to build endurance in explosive power movements in arms, legs, and core

Drills are activities designed to advance the strength factors developed in exercises while hitting a tennis ball

5 Ball Drill

30 Ball Drill

30 Ball No Bounce Drill

100 Ball Drill

Abhi Drill

Bench Drill

24 Progressive Drill

Two On One Drill

One Leg Drill

On-The-Run Drill

Tight Top Spin Drill

Air Rally Drill

Wide Ball Drill

Deep Ball Match Drill

Habituation Match Play Drill

Speed Drill 01 (ARTT)

Rebounder Drills

Fence Trainer Drills

Wobble Board Serve

Power Forehand

Bungee Cord Forehand

Bungee Core Backhand

Bungee Cord Volley

Bungee Cord Medicine Ball Drills

One Leg Serve

Volley Rally

Volley Rally Side-To-Side

Volley Rally Double Hit

Volley Rally Offense-Defense

Franzie Drill

Short Court Lob-Overhead Drill

Serve Contact

Bungee Cord Abhi Drill

Volley-Overhead Drill

 

4.The Player's Dynamical Development

Timing

Positioning

Positioning to the ball

Out of Position Adaptations

Precision Movement

The role of movement

The movement cycle

Complex positioning requiring precision movements

The rally is the backbone of a tennis point

The Function and Purpose of the Rally

Technical aspects of the rally

Standard Patterns of Movement

 

5. The Statistical and Probabilistic Factors of Match Play

 

Part THREE

The Mental Dimensions of Tennis

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1. The Nature of Winning

2. Mental Fundamentals of Match Play

Good on-court habits can aid in the control of the autonomic functions and thus player performance

Preparation for a match begins with preparing the mind

The great contrast between play and practice can be traced to the structure of the human brain

There is a logical order to the selection of strategy and tactics that supports effective match play

Mental toughness is a metaphor that can be easily misunderstood, leading to poor decisions by coach and player

3. The Neuropsychology and Neurobiology of Match Play

The brain is not well organized to support maximum performance in match play

The brain is adapted to promote confidence and security through habituation from repeated exposure to environments

4. The Sociology and Psychology of Match Play

The player's world view will be reflected in their style of play

Match play unfolds within a social context that can shape a players actions, decisions and skill level

Responsibility comes with winning and can make winning difficult to bare for some players

A player's attitudes are reflected in their match play and can greatly diminish or enhance their performance

Emotions can surface during match play that have no relation to the course of the match, but can affect its outcome

Dehumanizing women within their private life will affect a player's chances of performing under the stress of match play

Aggression is a natural dynamic of all animals and can be a significant asset in match play

Body language can reveal a player's mental disposition and either support or degrade their performance

 

Exam Questions

References

Allen Fox

[1] Think to Win

[2] Tennis:Winning the Mental Match

[3] The Winner's Mind

Roetert and Ellenbecker

[1] Complete Conditioning for Tennis

Roetert and Kovacs

[1] Tennis Anatomy

USTA

[1] Tennis Tactics

Flegel

[1] Sports First Aid (American Sports Education Foundation)

Martens

[1] Successful Coaching (American Sports Education Foundation)

Laver and Collins

[1] Rod Laver's Tennis Digest

Kriese

[1] Coaching Tennis

Collins

[1] History of Tennis

Gould

[1] Tennis Anyone

Tilden

[1] Match Play and the Spin of the Ball

Jody Belsher

[1] Tennis Workbook

Dinoffer

[1] Winning Rotations

Etcheberry

[1] Training in Power & Endurance, Coaches' Edition (DVD's)

Yandell

[1] Advanced Tennis Research Project (Slow motion video of top players (DVD's))

Agassi

[1] Open

Plagenhoef

[1] Fundamentals of Tennis

[2] Patterns of Human Motion: A Cinematographic Analysis

Goffi

[1] Tournament Tough

Gilbert

[1] Winning Ugly

McArdle, William D

[1] "Exercise Physiology: Nutrition, Energy, and Human Performance )"

Dr. Jack H. Wilmore

[1] "Physiology of Sport and Exercise, Fourth Edition"