Exploring 'Super Coaching' - Any Thoughts?

[don_budge]

Have at it boys...

You know what...I am truly sorry that I said anything. Have at it.

Was this supposedly me, bottle?

"Oh no, these guys are arguing, and it hurts my ears! Make it stop, mummy! Can't people just be polite? Whatever happened to civil discourse?"

Do you think that I would be crying for "my mummy"?

I was referring to the screwing around with the names. It seemed to border on the uncivil. A couple of other comments. You know what? You can have the last word...both of you. Bastions of education.

[bottle]

No, I wasn't thinking of you in particular. But I've become very leery of anyone who makes a big pitch for "civil discourse" these days. It's such a phony longing for Emily Post.

But actually, I myself do prefer civil discourse over war. That's why I suggested no "Kill Bill." And of course he can have his name, "World's Best Coach," just as I can have "Bottle" and you can have "don_budge"-- a very good point. But everything is in a name, I'm afraid.

I love the name "World's Best Coach" because it is so absolutely ludicrous. Should we give Bill credit for understanding that fact? Too much credit? Even if he did understand, he must not have realized that irony doesn't work very well on the web, but as you say, he's older.

Well, anyway, you're right. Bring him on! But he won't discuss why he chose
"World's Best Coach" for his name. Or whether Roger is hitting to the side or out front-- with evidence. Passive-aggressive, I'd say. Like debating a tortoise. Actually, I was thinking of the box turtle that bit the hell out of me one time. A snapping turtle always has its neck out and you can see it rushing toward you from a long way away. But a box turtle seems so innocent and humble all locked up in its shell. Don't be fooled!

I think we're civil enough here. Maybe Bill was just trying to start some discussion in the cleverly fiendish way that well trained (the best!) professional educators know how to do. I prefer that interpretation to all the ego and pomposity that I currently see.

Did I just go over the line? I hope not. I'm trying to stay just on this side, the only place I can not break the rules but still play my game . It would indeed be very sad if Bill and I or just I had to join Nabrug in some Heineken's joint (besides which I don't have money for a flight to Amsterdam).

Yes, World's Best Coach can keep his name, even though he really ought to change it in view of his startling ambition. How will he achieve all those dreams with his present name? O TEMPORA, O MORES. Yes, contemporary tennis instruction, Americano, needs a shake-up. But shouldn't be confused with Tom Allsopp's anti-hereditarian stance. Aren't TWBY (the world's best yogurt) and Tom on the same page in their joint belief that talent is made, not born?

So why do you think Bill tried to ANNIHILATE Tom. Was he trying to kill himself? I'm just wondering, need help in understanding. I remain quite suspicious of TWBY, not just because of his name but because of his talk about consumerism among tennis students.

He's worried that some tennis parent will purchase the wrong slice for Mimsy,
right? Imitation Federer, say? But he himself has never tried to hit slice like Federer and doesn't understand it very well, just knows he doesn't like it.

Me, I'm trying it every day. It's still third choice among my slices, but it's rising fast. Watch the little move around Roger's neck. Slow first, then
bam. Hydraulic, baby. No, I wouldn't sell that shot short, not ever, not even if Roger is reduced to playing in the tennis socials and going "SHORT SHOT SNORT."

Sure, somebody beats up on it once in a while, but the only rational way to view it is as part of Roger's orchestration. And Muscles' shot just wouldn't orchestrate as well. Just watched a match from 2005 in which Roger hit his slice and Rafa hit it right into the net.

Ralph Waldo Emerson covered a speech by his nephew one time. Put his reaction into his notebook, he did. How can we word this? He found his nephew's speech LOUSY!!!!

He felt that every time you deliver a speech or anything else, you have to capture the interest of your audience all over again-- even if you were successful the time before. It's exactly like stepping up to the front of a classroom. You've got to be good THAT DAY. Same as when you're writing a post at Tennis Player. Re/sume/ material can't help you at a time like that.

[worldsbestcoach]

not out in front

Bottle, as I watch the video of Fed slicing, his arm is pointing to the sideline as his strings touch the ball. Fed's wrist angle and weak grip are almost opposite to what I would teach. I am sure that after Fed listened to me, he would have confidence in my observations, and could also improve his slice thereafter. I stand by everything I said about Fed. There are so many things wrong with his slice, but it is not worth my time arguing with your brainwashed outlook now.

If you want to see the research on the Socratic method, search for the Abt Associates' and Stanford Research Institutes' evaluations of the national Follow Through programs. Follow Through was the biggest, most expensive educational experiment in this nation's history. The testing and evaluation of programs were done by neutral parties. Compared to educational sites that used many different teaching models, the sites that used a Socratic method or a discovery method finished the absolute worst, on both basic and higher-order academic skills, and on evaluations of the students' self-concepts. The Socratic method finished far far worse than even the traditional mediocre instruction that comparison groups of students received.

The bottom line is that I do not think that the "super teaching" that was demomstrated by Tom at tpatennis.com was even close to good teaching. There was no real improvement by the student. Neither teacher nor student had a clue as to what a good slice entails. Tom was waxing ecstatic about the value of his "super teaching" style, using the exact words at tennisplayer.net as he used in the tpatennis pay site. But a look at the teaching in the video that he took from that pay site does not impress, despite the flowery words that Tom uses to describe his Super Teaching.

I truly would enjoy seeing more videos from tpatennis Tom.

[worldsbestcoach]

frame by frame

Yes, I went to the tpatennis site.

Also, I viewed the video of Fed's slice that you shared, bottle, frame by frame. I manually shifted the video forward and back, split second by split second. Note the position of Fed's racket arm at the instant his strings first touch the ball. His arm is pointed sideways, towards the sideline. The angle between his arm and the racket forms the letter I...which means he is not hitting the ball out front, but rather to the side of him.

I would rather Roger immediately react quite differently to the incoming ball. And he has a complicated motion that requires him to make all sorts of adjustments during the swing. I could describe more, but I do not really want to give all my insights away for free, at least right now.

I think baseball coaches and golf coaches can think more clearly about the flaws in Rog's slice than most of today's tennis coaches can. It is not a good stroke that Roger has, even though I know most coaches today say good things about it. The adjustments that Roger must make during his motion are the sign of an unsound biomechanical stroke. I stand by that comment.

I have seen Roger and Rosewall both in person, many times. This year I was close to the sideline for one of Roger's matches. I had a sightline that was kind of an extension of the baseline. I was looking at Rog's chest and arm as he was hitting backhands. I could see that he does not hit his slice in front of his body. Your video confirms my real-life observation of Roger, and my evaluation of his slice stroke.

I think that all observers who have seen both slice backhands in person would unanimously conclude that it is laughable to consider Rog's backhand to be the better one. For more thorough comments on Fed's slice, feel free to my other posts. I stand by them. I admit to holding back on some of my insights, for now, as they apparently rare, and thus valuable, in my eyes....so that I do not want to give away all of my knowledge for free.

[10splayer]

It is easy to see that many of Roger Federer's slices sit up for the opponent to blast for a winner. To my eyes, Roger hits his slice to his side. I do not like Roger's angle between racket and forearms as he prepares for and later as he makes contact for his slice. He has a weak backhand grip, so that is why his strings are too open to hit his slice hard, except for sometimes when the ball is coming to him low. But the weak grip makes his drop shots and drop volleys easier sometimes. I stand by my comments about the weaknesses in Roger's slice backhand. But Rog's slice backhand is not close to being in the same league's as Rosewall's, or close to Conners' 2-handed slice.

I am also lucky to have had a new high school teacher my senior year in high school. He became our tennis coach, and turned our team from a joke into a regional and state power. He was ahead of his time. He had ideas that were revolutionary, even by today's standards. He was not afraid to disagree with the statur quo of coaching. He went on to coach national championship teams and individuals at the college level, coach the American team in the Pan Am games. and become USPTA coach of year in one of America's most important tennis regions.

He took me under his wing. I am grateful to him for inspiring me about tennis and teaching, and for showing me that it is sometimes wise to go against the grain.

So I not great. I was just smart enough to listen and keep my eyes open, and to learn to think for myself. The great Bjorn Borg, in his autobiography, essentially says that whatever you do, don't listen to coaches. Although he had flaws in his game, also, I agree with his view about not going along with the consensus line without question. Skepticism is often good.

For instance, who came up with the idea of hopping up from ready position? I see all the time players are still in the air as the ball is already coming at them, the ball already crossing the net. There is no way that players can react quickly to the ball. It is almost impossible to time that hop perfectly everytime. Outfielders and linebackers do not utilize that unwise, esaggerated hop. But some tennis coach originated that idea, and most other tennis coaches followed the leader like sheep.

You state that Fed has a "weak" grip which i can only assume means forehand biased. If that is so, why would you "advise" fed to hit the ball more in front. Do you even understand basic grip structure principles and how they effect contact points?

Also, do you think the speed and bounce of the current game would effect the shape of the swing compared to yesteryear?

[bottle]

http://www.tennisplayer.net/members/high_speed_archive/phantom/Roger_Federer_HD_HS/Backhand_Slice/RF_BH_Slice_Arm_Action/RF_BH_Slice_Arm_Action.html?RF%20BHSlice%20ArmAction%20Side2%20250fps.mov

If I were you, I'd put an enormous price on all that precious knowledge. And on your precious bodily fluids, as well. (See the movie "Dr. Strangelove." The role in question is played by George C. Scott.)

Okay, if we stop this video at contact, we can see how someone who calls himself the world's best coach might say that Roger Featherer is hitting the ball to his side.

A more sober person, however, might say that he is hitting the ball with a large separation (which means the same thing), in front of his leading thigh, and not even with his navel or his left ear.

After contact, the racket continues toward the baseline even as it goes sideways and downward, so I was wrong when I said it went backward.

But the shot-- THEREFORE-- is flatter and more solid than yogurt (which is never solid) would have us believe.

As for the rest of it, the door is in the same main direction-- out front.

[worldsbestcoach]

topspin and slice

I am sure that you can see from photos and videos that pro players' single-handed topspin backhands are hit more out in front of the body (with a stronger backhand grip), compared to pro players' single-handed slice backhands. By the way, when I talk about "out in front," I talk about towards the net. Perhaps when you talk about out in front, you talk about in the direction that the player is facing towards the sideline. It is ok for us to disagree.

I like a comparatively strong backhand grip even for the backhand slice. For the slice, I like a positioning of the body in relation to the ball at least somewhat kinda similar to the positioning that players use for topspin.

Of course, the arm motion for the slice is different than the arm motion for the topspin. The topspin has a backhand punch (so lethal that it is illegal in boxing) motion to it. The slice is similar in motion to chopping a tree with a hatchet or axe. Such a hatchet motion, although very powerful, is especially useful in reaching for wide and for short balls. (It is so useful in so many other situations, as well.)

For a 1-handed topspin backhand, the angle between forearm and racket is the letter "L" at impact point. Even for a slice backhand, I like the player to attack the ball out in front, even using close to that L angle, if possible. In that way, the slice can be hit hard through the court, rather than a fluttery sit-up shot as so many pros today hit slices.

Today's common slices by pros are similar to the flop shots that the great Phil Mickelson hits in golf. They are very effective for dramatic drop shots and drop volleys, but they are difficult to hit well on a consistent basis for rally purposes. And today's slices are not good for crisply blocked service returns, for bumping lobs, for balls that jam the player, for balls that need to be blocked quickly into an opening, for slices that consistently will skid on the surface of the court, or for an attacking slice with pace.

Nadal's slice has some good elements about it. However, Rafa has a weak backhand grip, so that his slice cannot handle all situations well -- for instance high balls, hard serves, etc. And he has in his mind to always go high to low with the slice motion. But sometimes when the ball is low, he should still get his strings under the ball more & he could still put backspin on the ball.

Federer's slice backhand is too much unlike a hatchet motion. Fed's immedate preparation for the slice sets his wrist angle into a reverse L, rather than the strong L angle that I favor. Then, Roger must do all sorts of adjustments during the stroke to get his wrist into a stronger angle at impact. In baseball and golf, players go from a V angle to a strong L angle. V to strong L is what creates the power. But Roger in tennis does the exact opposite: Fed goes from a reverse, weak-wristed L to an I angle (l angle). That is why Fed's slices are usually not hit hard, and often cannot skid on the court, and for the most part do not penetrate the court.

I think that Rafa and Fed would take seriously and apprciate these insights.

But it is ok if your thinking is different than my thinking.

[don_budge]

Super Coaching and Slice backhands...bottle, worldsbestcoach and Tom Allsop

I have been following the conversation with great interest...ahem.

Seeing as the subject of this thread is "Super Coaching" which the originator introduced as a participatory technique wherein the coach is engaging in a question and answer dialogue with the student about their slice backhand, I was wondering if you guys wouldn't mind reconstructing this conversation in this vein.

Allow me to play the part of the coach...you all know me, and trust me so that should not be a problem with any of you. I hope. I am only going to ask the question. You have read my comments on this thread...I had some misgivings about using this coaching technique with a child. I wanted to initiate a discussion about slice backhands because there were aspects in this student of Tom's that I wanted to discuss but he didn't seem overly interested for whatever reason. But I think that we can really accomplish something here using this method with participants on the forum...in terms of learning and education...and meaningful discussion.

My question to all, including worldsbestcoach, bottle, tennis_chiro, licensedcoach, gsheiner, 10splayer, llll, johnyandel, westcoast777, geoffwilliams, julian1, stumphges and Tom Allsop, all others feel free to join in too...is this:

Technique aside, please describe for the forum what your tactical objectives are for your slice backhand? I always think that you are putting the cart before the horse when discussing technique without clear tactical objectives in mind.

[bottle]

Do I have to answer? I want my opponent to faw down and go boom. I want him to say, "Should I pull the trigger now? Now-- now?" I want him to say,
"omigod, that was low and fast and deep and venomous, and it sizzled. And it broke away from me!" I want to bop the ball down the line and follow it in hugging the line (slow sometimes fast sometimes) and get an easy volley preferably cross-court or an overhead.

My friend, Jim, the pro, used to watch sometimes when I played Gary Rogers, a much better player with 800 trophies in his rec room. I'd slough the ball straight and deep in the corner-- perfect.

A perfect lob would then soar over my head and catch the court six inches inside of the baseline.

"That's Gary's way of telling you," Jim would say, "that you hit a nice shot."

[worldsbestcoach]

don budge...a slice should....

don budge....I think the slice backhand motion should be a motion that enables the player to do many things. A player with a truly great slice can:

- hit hard and deep, offensively, with good pace, with ball skidding on the court after the player hits it
- bump a low, surprise lob over the net rusher's head, with relatively flat trajectory
- bump a sky-high defensive lob
- hit where the player aims for, with control, and with a flight path similar to how the player envisions
- crisply block back a hard-hit serve
- reach wide or short for an incoming ball ... with a resultant good shot instead of a meek shot
- be able to hit the slice shot without the slice becoming a fluttery sitter for the opponent
- bunt the slice backhand into an opening
- block back a ball hit towards and into the player's body
- hit even a high slice backhand with force
- bunt or chip a ball at the net player's feet
- control & place the ball well during cat & mouse situations close to the net
- half-volley a shot that lands hard & deep near the baseline at the player's feet
- hit a short ball to the opponent, but a short ball that skids & stays low, forcing the opponent off-balance, and forcing the opponent to move forwards when the opponent is uncomfortable doing so.

If a player can do all those things with a slice backhand motion that has some common elements from situation to situation, across circumstances, then the player has a foundation for a nice slice backhand.

[don_budge]

Super Coaching, Slice Backhands, Sideways stance and Elmira...

Thanks bottle and worldsbestcoach for a rather lively and entertaining debate and discussion with regards to the slice backhand and the concept of Super Coaching. This thread is loaded with fodder for development...some real food for thought. Provocative questions and statements generate provocative thoughts. That is what this process is all about. Provoking thought. Thank you.

Let's see if we can sort this thing out.

Super Coaching...

This is an interesting discussion in and of itself. The idea of the teacher engaged with the student to lead the student to make discoveries is a very good one. One of the most basic goals of my teaching tennis to my students is to get them to think for themselves. I am not programming them to think like me...unless it is their ability to fly by the seat of their pants. Whether it be at home, at school, on the future job or functioning in society...tennis is one great training ground to get people to learn how their bodies and minds are integrated and to think for themselves...particularly under pressure. Learning to make the right decisions.

My comments initially were that this student seemed a bit young necessary for the full engagement in a complex discussion of something as subtle as a slice backhand. But why not? Maybe she doesn’t get it this lesson...maybe not even this year...but just maybe in the future, it's entirely possible that it is only a matter of time. On the other hand...a teacher should not be shy in asserting themself, even at times if it appears to be authoritarian. Afterall, the teacher is the authority...or at least they should be. I would avoid putting too much responsibility on the student to come up with the answers, especially at such a young age. This is one of the pitfalls of trying to search the kindergartens for the next prodigy...these kids are just to young to grasp the complex concepts of the world of tennis. No arguments so far...this planet needs a population that is engaged with every little tiny detail of our survival.

Slice Backhands...

I love this topic. One of my favorite all time shots because of it's inherent elegance, the flexibility of tactics that can be produced from and perhaps most importantly, the built in safety and accuracy of the shot. So much has been lost in the transition from classic tennis to modern tennis with all of the emphasis on brute speed and power technique shifted away from arty subtlety and clever tactics.

The modern slice backhand has been engineered to the likes of the video efforts of Bernard Tomic and Roger Federer models that are more likely to be shown these days rather than the comparatively tame looking in appearance efforts of John McEnroe, Ken Rosewall and Richard Gonzales for instance. The long sweeping model of the over the top chopping approach to the ball seems to be in vogue in comparison to the classic slicing approach of a McEnroe, Rosewall or Gonzales.

The chopping motion of the modern backhand looks to be the product of a very strong grip that is being used by the players these days and perhaps that strong grip goes hand in hand with the overemphasis on speed and power. I say strong grip because it certainly looks strong to me...this grip is employed to drive the ball and not to caress it, or knife it, like the classic slice backhand. Most of the tactical objectives that you have submitted are either defensive or countering shots, therefore the emphasis for these plays have traditionally been choices that could normally be accomplished with a weaker grip such as McEnroe’s classic continental or Rosewall’s and Gonzales' less extreme eastern.

With regard to the grip on the classic one hand backhand here is another point that is worth pointing out...a one handed backhand player may be changing their grip depending upon which sort of shot they intend to play. My model one hand backhand has all of the elements of the McEnroe backhand plus the topspin drive which is produced with the thumb placed squarely on the back of the handle...ala Don Budge. When I refer to the McEnroe backhand it would be just as easy to substitute the name of Richard Gonzales as both shots were very similar in their production, implementation and tactical use of.

Being the most versatile stroke in the bag, while not necessarily the most powerful, many backhands may not be prepared to be struck the full shoulder width early out in front of the body that is necessary to drive the ball with impunity. I know myself, that as I get older this becomes more and more of an issue, there isn’t enough time to prepare early enough to drive the backhand so I rely on the old trustworthy slice as my primary option. By choosing the slice it gives me that split second extra that I desperately need to prepare myself and to get in position...therefore I find myself striking the ball at a point that may range from slightly in front of my front hip to a point slightly behind my front hip. This I find that I can do in my comfort zone by merely adjusting my grip to my ball position. For you golfer/tennis players out there...it is like converting your nine iron into a seven iron...or even vice versa.

Sideways Stance...

In the video, Tommy Allsopp is trying to get his student into a sideways stance and with his version of “Super Coaching”, he is attempting to lead her into the discovery that when she assumes a more sideways stance she is more apt to stay on line with her shot. In the classic one hand backhand ala McEnroe, Rosewall and Gonzales the stance is definitely sideways and the finish is also more of a sideways alignment, although when you factor in the follow through and the resulting motion that returns the player back to their ready position it often appears that they too are swinging past their sideways stance. But the fact is, at impact and shortly afterwards the stance is sideways which insures that the racquet head is staying with the path of the ball...resulting in a true slice.

The proper position to swing from the backhand side should take into account the body parts and how it works best. Perhaps here I need bottle’s penchant for describing motion...and body parts. I like to see three lines...what a surprise, in the player’s position to go to the ball and make their swing. The feet are placed in a position where the front foot is approximately six inches in front of the back foot, shoulders are approximately on the same line and the racquet is too. The front shoulder is pointing somewhat at the ball and this will help to get the hips into position as well. From this position the arm and racquet can swing freely from the shoulder socket which will make for a rather nice sweeping motion through the ball. If you can get sideways to the backhand a very powerful swing can be generated with very little backswing because of the position of the front shoulder being in front of the body, which means the body is behind the shoulder to supply all of the juice necessary for some rather remarkable effortless power.

Tommy Allsopp is making a most wizened choice in his attempts to get his student in position...which is at least sideways to the ball, realistically perhaps past sideways. By implementing the body in the swing...less arm motion is required to generate power and to maximize control.

Elmira...

If Tommy Allsopp has been the instructor behind the development of this young ladies strokes he is to be commended on a job well done. Very well done. Somehow, he has in his coaching technique found the necessary stimulus package to motivate this student to such a level of striking the ball at a very young age. Is her technique perfect? No. Is anybody’s technique perfect? No again.

I have personally reviewed everything on the tpatennis website. By everything, I mean the things that I found to be of interest. This included many videos and articles by this young, talented and aspiring coach. I am impressed at least to the point to say that this young man has a lot of potential to do what he is setting out to do and that is to become the best coach that he can possibly be.

Elmira is in good hands I believe, because young Allsopp is a resourceful and ambitious young coach and I am convinced she is getting her money’s worth...as are her parents and sponsors. Allsopp, in all probability, is working overtime on his pet project here, possibly unbeknownst and unappreciated. Pet tennis projects are like that...coach’s see that diamond in the rough and because of their devotion to teaching and their excitement in seeing a student advance...we extend ourselves without compensation. It's the love of the game!

But simply put...I think that Elmira would be well advised to adhere to her coaches advice and stay more sideways. She is too erratic on balls that are being hand fed...when she hits a good patch she is staying sideways on the ball which effectively keeps the racquet on track through the path of the ball, no surprise that the ball begins to behave commensurately with the path of her swing. It appears to me that the arm gets a bit disconnected from the body on the backswing...I like to see the racquet arm sort of tucked against the chest so that the body can be used to propel the arm and racquet forward with less effort. When the one hand backhand becomes too much of an arm swing it can be prone to inaccuracy and less stability.

So in the end...Super Coaching? Yes and no. Most of the time clear, authoritarian instructions are what young, impressionable minds are in need of...but eventually they must be trained to think for themselves. They are going to be the Captain of their ships...often times in uncharted waters. A recipe for making difficult decisions in life.

Grips and ball position? Well, that sort of depends on the shot, doesn't it?

[bowt]

one things for sure there is alot of nutcase coach's out there

[bottle]

Bot to Bowt:

This is an overly broad attack. We think you mean US. You're in danger of alienating everybody!

To get more right brain, look at the stars, desert, mountains, etc. and don't hang with dullards.

Over and out.

[don_budge]

BTW... WBC, bottle, llll and bowt. Elmira!!!

don budge....I think the slice backhand motion should be a motion that enables the player to do many things. A player with a truly great slice can:

- hit hard and deep, offensively, with good pace, with ball skidding on the court after the player hits it
- bump a low, surprise lob over the net rusher's head, with relatively flat trajectory
- bump a sky-high defensive lob
- hit where the player aims for, with control, and with a flight path similar to how the player envisions
- crisply block back a hard-hit serve
- reach wide or short for an incoming ball ... with a resultant good shot instead of a meek shot
- be able to hit the slice shot without the slice becoming a fluttery sitter for the opponent
- bunt the slice backhand into an opening
- block back a ball hit towards and into the player's body
- hit even a high slice backhand with force
- bunt or chip a ball at the net player's feet
- control & place the ball well during cat & mouse situations close to the net
- half-volley a shot that lands hard & deep near the baseline at the player's feet
- hit a short ball to the opponent, but a short ball that skids & stays low, forcing the opponent off-balance, and forcing the opponent to move forwards when the opponent is uncomfortable doing so.

If a player can do all those things with a slice backhand motion that has some common elements from situation to situation, across circumstances, then the player has a foundation for a nice slice backhand.

This was truly an intelligent and analytic answer to a rather broad question. I particularly like the last comment..."that has some common elements from situation to situation, across circumstances", one can build on a solid foundation, can't they? Thanks worldsbestcoach.

Thank you bottle and llll for both of your replies also. It's very cool that you responded. Someone or others on the forum may be looking down their noses at us but that doesn't bother me in the slightest. Personally, I feel like something of significance was accomplished here and hopefully we use it to propel us forward in our quest for enlightenment.

Unless they are willing to elaborate, unless they are willing to put their asses out on the line, their comments are as meaningless as the time it took to post them. It's very possible that many coaches are "nutcases" as it was so eloquently put...but I have not met one on this forum. It seems to me that there are more "nutcases" running the country than anywhere else. How about that, bowt? We tennis coaches and players are merely harmless and hapless fools musing about one of our favorite pastimes. What's the harm in that?

bowt...use your analytic skills to dissect us, to psychoanalyze us, to show us where we have fallen short so that we may live up to our potential. Your oblique reference to "nutcases" is hollow, we don't know who you are referencing to or why and it rings of a simpleness that is not a true reflection of your potential as a thinking human being. If there is something you wish to share with us...even if it is the harshest critisim imaginable, I am most curious to know what it is. Do not short change yourself...or your potential to provoke thoughts from the rest of us here on the tennisplayer.net forum.

Just one more thing about Elmira...it looks to me as if she is too upright in her position to begin her swing and she appears to step across too much. I would like to see more of that catlike, feline grace as exemplified by Richard Gonzales as he is making his move to the ball...and stepping towards the ball. Butt back and head forward...better balance always has a positive effect on the swing. You must be down in this semi-crouching position to get the pendulum action in the shoulder and arm collaboration. Get in position! Elmira!

[tpatennis]

The Worlds Best Coach Is In The House!!!

I feel extremely fortunate that the worldsbestcoach would give me personal advice, but you really have no idea how good I am or what I know or don't know about tennis, so the insults make you seem like a d***head. If you want you can come and watch me for a full session and then I will listen to what you have to say.

I wasn't interested in much advice on her slice from other people because this was a year ago and it has obviously changed a lot since then. If there were not so many hero's on here I would post a recent video and ask for your opinions..... but I really don't need the help or the headache.

I didn't invent "super coaching" or master it, or even use it a lot. Although 'Elmira' is very easy to talk to and get feedback from, it wouldn't work with some of my other clients. However I do try to engage them in conversation and ask them questions to understand what they are thinking and feeling. Not only does it surprisingly help me a lot but it makes them feel responsible for there own learning.

But as I say.... I am by no means super at super coaching, I just wanted to see what people thought about the idea, but as usual someone had to come along giving it the big Iamtheworldsbestcoach.

You definitely do not know enough about me to say that my clients are not getting enough for their money etc so stop being such a massive tw@.

......happy Don_Budge? That is as nice as I am getting. This is how I talk to people that disrespect me....maybe it's an English thing,

Tom Allsopp

https://www.tpatennis.net