THE PRODIGY MAKER

Dear friends and tennis minds,

Spanish tennis culture stresses learning how to suffer on the court. Players are taught at a young age to run, grind, and chase—to endure pain and work like animals in practice, and to fight and persevere in matches.

I believe these are healthy character attributes for a young competitive athlete to learn.

Data from the pro tour indicates that average rally length is possibly getting shorter than in decades past—even on clay.

We can debate why this is trend is occurring, but my focus is on what relevance this data has to how we train young children in their formative years.

I think there is a danger in telling young kids that most points are short and that they do not have to suffer to win. If that’s true, let them learn that when they are older.

Coaches—do you believe suffering the Spanish way is a relic—an antiquated approach to teaching tennis?

Or are the habits and character traits I mentioned above timeless values that all players should learn when they are young?

Thanks for sharing in the discussion.

Chris Lewit

ProdigyMaker.com

Statistical Averages Are Deceiving!

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