USTA's Focus on Player Development

"We want to help them with the resources.  USTA has given us in player development resources, and we want to use the resources that we have" - Patrick McEnroe, Sep. 6, 2010. 

As a follow up to this interview as well as its outlined roadmap, CAtennis.com thought it'd be wise to look at how the USTA is spending its available resources in order to "do what's best for the players". With a "we report, you decide" attitude, we looked at the USTA's latest publicly available tax records (tax year 2009) in order to determine how the USTA is utilizing the resources on player development. 

Here are some interesting nuggest of information (2009 figures):

Revenue: $193,278,828 (Part I; Line 12)

Expenses: $184,592,013 (Part I; Line 18)

Total Assets: $180,852,047 (Part I; Line 20)

Net Assets: $120,699,832 (Part I; Line 22)

Revenue Derived From Tournaments: $168,508,214 [query: is the USTA pushing for more junior tournaments - regional, sectional, national, local - because competition is good for players or because more tournament fees is better for the organization's bottom line?]

...breaking fown the expenses (Part IX)

Organizational Grants: $45,209,977

Individual Assistance: $1, 793, 770 

Officer/director compensation: $4,871,145 

Other salaries and wages: $32,796,359

Travel: $10,136, 808

"Other" (???): $10,504,496

... breaking down the Assets (Part IX):

Cash: $293,937

Savings: $32,051,051

Investments (public securities): $109,508,516

Land/buildings/equipment: $36,839,238  [i.e., vast majority of the USTA's assets is in fairly liquid form - easily convertible to cash or cash equivalents]

$1,120,340 of the total individual assistance expenses ($1,793,770) goes to player development grants (Schedule I, Part III). In other words, 00.5796% of the total revenues go to actual individual player development. On the other hand, Patrick McEnroe's total compensation was $1,106,853 (i.e., 00.5726% not counting items such as travel, lodging, etc. that may fall into the USTA's expenses - PART IX). 

Your thoughts? 

Today Has No Bearing On Tomorrow

The day before the tournament:
Player: "Can you feed me one more ball?"
Coach: "Sure."

One more ball turns into 50 more balls. With each extra shot, the stress starts to build, striving for perfection. With the tournament just around the corner, everything has to be perfect. Any innocnent bystander can recognize the player is starting to overthink things, needing things to fall in place exactly how they imagined. The player hits 4 fantastic shots, then misses by one by a foot, "one more, one more." The missed shots were no big deal a week ago, but today, those irky "feeling" shots start to irratate the player.

Everyone starts to feel a little insecure the day before the tournament. Doubts start to creep in and its only natural. Don't give it any value, just be aware of it. The rookie player will keep asking for "one more coach, one more." The veteran player pays no attention to any poor play because they understand today has no bearing on tomorrow. A great practice doesn't guarantee a great tournament. Often times, it can be negative if one has the best week of practice leading up to the tournament (it doesn't have to be negative, unless you let expectations build).

Sometimes the best tournaments are the ones where players have had a lot of adversity leading up to the event. Why? Low expectations and not needing things to be perfect. Tennis is a game about fighting, clawing, scratching to get your points- so just taking things as they come can really help a player relax and let their game come out.

The winning and losing in tennis is not controllable (if it were, you would win every match). This is why stress builds because one can never be certain of the outcome. If the match is a 50/50 match in your favor, the stress level is high. The player who needs things to be perfect is often times the player who loses- they overplay, berate themselves, and make poor decisions throughout the match. Emotions are flying out of control because they want to escape the stress. They want to get off the court (ie: tanking).

The next time you ask for "one more ball," please catch yourself. If you miss the last ball, call it a day. The sooner you can make peace with this type of reaction to a miss, the better off you will be.

Why Are you Hitting Yourself? Huh? Why Are you Hitting Yourself?

Why Are you Hitting Yourself? Huh? Why Are you Hitting Yourself?

- if you've grown up with older siblings, the questions above are likely to send shivers down your spine. If only I was bigger, she wouldn't grab my hands and make me slap myself with them.

Let-chords, lines, bad calls (http://parentingaces.wordpress.com/2011/11/15/99-out-is-still-100-in/), wind, sun, cold/hot weather, loud noise, frames, balls rolling on your court from other courts (especially on "big" points), etc., sometimes all combined....at some point, a player will run into some of these "unfairness" factors at critical points in the match. Heck, if you've played long enough I'm sure that you will remember when the opponent framed the ball that ended up clipping the tape and dropping on the line for a winner. You may have actually lost the match because of this "unfairness." Is there a way to win in spite of such luck - good on the opponent's part; bad on your part?!

Well, if you're like me, you will have heard numerous times that tennis is a lot like life. As a matter of fact, all sports are a metaphor for life. For example, if you're a lawyer you can make the best possible arguments - apply the law to the facts as best you can and communicate the argument, in writing or orally to judge/jury - and still lose the case. It happens ALL THE TIME! It happens all the time to the best lawyers! Sometimes, the judge will rule for the exception as opposed to the general rule. Some other times, the jury will simply decide based on sympathy (regardless of instructions). Is that "FAIR"?! If you're a doctor, you can prescribe the best possible treatment and the patient will not respond to it resulting in death. Is THAT fair?! How about getting into a car accident due to no fault of your own and getting sued for damages that you didn't cause?! That's fair, right?! Wait a second, I know: no good person has ever contracted a terminal disease, right?!

Well, the fact is that life is full of unfairness...some people win the lottery; others are better looking; some may be born into wealth; some may get straight A's without studying; some may be naturally bigger/faster/stronger; etc. Unless you're either very young or very dense, you should know this. However, when the same person steps on the court, s/he often forgets this concept (i.e., that unfairness happens) and does not know how to handle an unfair situation that is not favorable to her.

If you're the type of player who's prone to mentally breaking down when things don't go your way and allow matches to slip away, you have three choices: (1) quit ("Bye-bye! Thanks for playing. This sport's too tough for you"); (2) keep doing the same thing and hope that things will magically go your and that all of your opponents will have discovered religious enlighterment (good luck with that); or (3) accept that unfairness happens and prepare your mind to deal with these situations and bounce back. Hopefully, you will have chosen what's behind door #3. 

For example, one way you can mentally prepare to deal with unfairness is by setting up the court to contain certain zones which results in automatic points FOR your practice partner if s/he happens to hit them. They don't have to be in specific locations - they can be anywhere (middle of the court, close the baseline or off-center). The purpose is to practice tempering your mind to unexpected consequences favoring the other side. After all, adversity builds character and it's your character under pressure or unfair situations that counts.

This drill can be performed where only one person plays with the handicap or both players play with the handicap. Another drill is threading a broom-stick (or plastic tube) through the net a playing points. Sometimes, a player will hit the broom-stick/tube and the ball will ricochet for a winner; other times, it will bounce back on your own side. All these outcomes are unfair but they will turn you into a more mentally-tough opponent. It is particularly important, for purposes of this drill, that the slightly weaker player is handicapped - after all, isn't it amazing how, sometimes, the best players have all the luck?! With two even players, both can take turns handicapping themselves.

Another way to toughen yourself up is for one player to grant the a other a couple of "bisque" points. These handicaps can be used on big points (or any points) - where the "hooks" tend to happen. How about playing tennis points with distractions? Ilie Nastase used to practice - when he actually used to practice - with stereo blasting. He said it reminded him of crowd noise. Maybe he just liked the music but he certainly had the advantage when the fans got rowdy at a big match. When was the last time you played a practice matchwith a leaf-blower blaring?

You think that this is crazy or unnecessary? How about this: go talk to someone who's served in the military and has gone through basic training. Ask him/her about his/her uniform or bed-check experience. How many times did s/he have to redo the bed or re-polish his/her boots despite being perfectly in order the first time around? Or, how about the push-ups that he had to do because of someone else's screw-ups? On the one hand, these punishments are intended to build team unity. But they are also intended to teach the soldiers how to stomach unfairness because (1) sometimes bad things happen to good people, and (2) sometimes good people have to follow orders that lead to unfair consequences. So if practicing for unfairness is good enough for the military (and ours is the best), it should certainly be good enough for someone playing with a yellow ball over the net.

What's WRONG with YOU?!

How many times have you, as a parent or coach, asked your child or student this question? Instead of focusing on the player, it may be becoming for the inquirer to look at himself first. When it comes to relationships, we've often heard the importance of chemistry. Chemistry is the ingredient that attracts two people to each other. Although chemistry can take many forms, from a tennis point of view, it's the ability to complement and supplement each other's qualities and characteristics that is significant. And here is where an understanding of various personalities comes into play. But rather that starting with the student, it may be important for the teacher to look at him/herself first in order to figure out his/her strengths, weaknesses, likes, dislikes, motivations as well as emotional and logical characteristics. We all see ourselves as certain people, with specific characteristics. However, the way we perceive ourselves is not always the same as we come across to other people. Often times, on-court clashes can be avoided by understanding the personality conflicts of the various parties. 

In this regard, I recommend that both pros and players (and perhaps parents as well) take a basic Jung-Myers Briggs personality test and summarize each other's specifications. I recommend the test and analysis on www.humanmetrics.com although many other online tests may be of similar quality. After taking the test, the coach will have a better understanding of who s/he is as a person and how the coach comes across to his/her students. Thereafter, it is important for the coach to understand the game of tennis from the player's point of view by looking at the player's personality profile. For example, is the player more rational than emotional? Is the player the type who can stay focused for long periods of time on specific tasks? Is the player a natural leader? Is the player rigid v. flexible? Does the player like to be the center of attention? Does the player have the tendency to get bogged down by stress? Is the player sensitive to other people's feelings? Is the player energetic? Does the player have an adventurous spirit (i.e., action oriented)? Does the player live in the world of ideas and strategic planning? Is the player interested more in the theoretical concepts of endeavors v. the practical application? 

In other words, in order to teach a player you must understand the player. And in order to achieve this objective the coach must first understand himself and his own personality portrait. Too many coaches (and parents) think that there's one way to teach a student - "come h$#@ or high water"; "my way or the highway" - and cannot understand why the player doesn't see things their way. As any good educator will tell you, not every student thinks the same or can be taught the same (but, then again, the vast majority of pros - certified or certifiable - have no background in education). For example, some players view the game of tennis as a battle of wits...a strategic affair; others see it more as a personal, gladiatorial contest; others still see it as a scientific experiment. And then there are those who see the tennis court as a canvas and the game as art. They are all right since tennis is all these things (and more). In addition, it is important to note that some players (like students) thrive in a group setting; others, may become disoriented with too many people around and lose focus. Furthermore, some players may be interested in the theoretical aspects of the game; other players are more interested in the practical approach (perhaps, these latter players are the "competitive" types). Lastly, there are those who need to be on center court in order to perform their best (i.e., be the center of attention) while there are others who like to grind their practices on the back-courts...away from public scrutiny. 

As a good coach, it's important to either (a) modify (if only slightly) your method to fit the student; or (b) if unable to do so, advise the player to seek assistance somewhere else. Anything less is a great disservice to either the player or the parents and will result in frustration and dissatisfaction on all sides. Of course, some coaches and players will have a natural fit due to their personality match. That's great when it happens. But if that aspect isn't present, don't be too quick to blame the player. Understand her and yourself and work together towards a workable solution or guide her towards someone who may be a better fit. 

NOTE: FOR ADDITIONAL REFERENCE, SEE ALSO http://parentingaces.com/2011/12/02/energize-your-childs-tennis-game/

Steal This Drill: High Backhands

Are you tired of the same old baseline game drill? You know, the one where one guy feeds the ball...then the other guy feels bad that the ball is coming right to him so he hits the ball back to the middle. Since the ball is coming to the middle the feeder feels awkward about hitting a winner so he returns the ball to the opponent's middle of the court...the process continuing with the intensity of two old men watching the sunset from their porch.

The simple baseline game is one of the most useless exercises in tennis. In terms of preparing you for an actual tennis match, it's about as realistic as fireplace DVD and as genuine as a dinner invitation from the cannibal tribes of Papua New Guinea.

If you want to get something out of the workout (besides using tennis as an excuse to not do homework), you have to use some imagination and simulate real life situations. Otherwise, you're better off sitting on your porch and watching the sunset; no need to wait to get old.

Here is a drill that simulates a live match situation: the high backhand game. The rules are simple - the feeder moon-balls the feed to the receiver's backhand; after the bounce, everything goes. That's it. The receiver can step in and take the ball off a short-hop or she can move back and let the ball drop. The receiver can hit a winner off the feed or, if she misses, she loses the point. This game kick-starts the intensity right away and the pattern resembled what goes on in a match quite often - one player pushing the opponent deep into the backhand corner and, consequently, opening up the court for the kill-shot. The feeders can alternate feeds so that everybody can have the opportunity to defend or be on the offense. The picture above shows the bounce of the ball (at least 6-7 feet high - that is, above the opponent's shoulder). This is another example of understanding the external stimuli and learning how to be comfortable under pressure. Furthermore, by noticing the level of discomfort that a high ball creates to you, you will grasp the importance of turning the tables on your opponent and utilizing this strategy in a match.