Friday, 07 April 2017 / Published in Juniors

How To Best Support An 8-Year-Old

It’s about today. But it’s also all about tomorrow.

G’day from Austin,

I just got this email from Eric and I let him know I was going to respond in my blog so others in similar situations could benefit from the information.

OK, so here’s Eric’s email…

The biggest message I get from you is to forget about the result. My 8-year-old is training and playing up with 10 and 11-year-old kids regularly, but I fear he’ll get discouraged when losing tournament matches. Delicate balance yeah? Thanks for any words of wisdom!Eric

I want to make sure I directly address Eric’s concerns, so let’s break it down.

Also, my answers are specific to a dad wanting the best for his 8-year-old. If his son was older, and further down the development pathway, I would probably adjust my advice accordingly. So keep in mind, this is for Eric and his budding 8-year-old star…

1. The biggest message I get from you is to forget about the result.

Hi Eric. Your kid is 8. My boy is 10. That’s him in the picture above, taken earlier this week. My boy, Rourke, loves to play soccer, and basketball and flag football and anything else that requires running. Loves to run. I am now just easing him into tennis. He may not play a tournament for 2 years (if ever) and I am completely cool with that.

All that matters now at this young age for both our boys is we keep it FUN. The reason why is that fun is the glue. Yes, we want them to achieve the best they possibly can and reach their potential but at this age, they have 8-10 long years on the court in front of them before things get super serious.

So yes, at 8 years of age, you don’t need to worry about results yet. Results won’t guarantee he stays in the game. Fun will.

Back in 2005 I coached the #1 boy in the U.S. in 12’s. He quit at 14. It wasn’t fun anymore…

Worry about having your kid develop insanely clean technique. That matters! Nothing sloppy. If you are doing lessons, spend more on private lessons than group lessons. Get him that 1-on-1 attention early on. Get the grips and strokes fundamentally sound. Set him on a great pathway.

Yes, Eric. At 8. Forget about the result.

The 25 Golden Rules of Singles Strategy is the ideal starter course for young players to learn the best patterns of play.

2. My 8-year-old is training and playing up with 10, 11 yo kids regularly, but I fear he’ll get discouraged when losing tournament matches.

Firstly, congratulations your boy is able to hang with older players. He must be doing something right.

Ok. Let’s get one thing straight. Your kid is going to lose. A lot. More than he wants. More than you want. And that’s ok. Losing is an integral part of the process. Understanding losing helps you conquer winning. You can’t have one without the other. It just does not happen that way, unfortunately.

Here’s a best-case scenario for his tournament schedule – if he even has one yet.

Play 10 matches. Win 7. Here’s the breakdown…

Play 3 opponents you boy is obviously better than.
Play 4 opponents at the same level.
Play 3 opponents who are better.

You win all three against the weaker opponents. Playing weaker opponents is CRITICAL in the big picture. Winning is winning and winning breeds winning. Those wins are crucial. They also allow your boy to play with less stress and enjoy the competition.

Go 3-1 against the players at the same level. Be at the top of the group of boys that are his peers.

Steal one win out of three from the better players.

That’s how you get to win 7 out 10.

Here’s something else to consider…

If your boy wants to be #1 in the world, he only has to win 55% of all points he plays for a year. Take a 50-50 battle and tip it slightly in his favor and he is the best player on the planet. Being #1 requires he loses 45% of all points he plays. That’s a lot!

Tennis is a game of percentages – not perfection.

The Top 20 player in the world each year wins right around 50% of their points.

Players ranked 50-100 regularly lose more points than they win – and they win hundreds of thousands of dollars.

3. Delicate balance yeah?

YEAH, it is!!! But at 8 years of age, you need to err on the fun side of the balance sheet. Don’t be the parent so wrapped up in winning. Winning is the end result of other good things happening further upstream – like making sure your son has a great service motion and can hit a backhand volley.

Yes, it’s a balance. Yes, your kid is going to lose a lot. Yes, he will look to you to see if he is a failure because he just lost. Yes, the way you react really matters.

Let it go…

The more you think about winning, the less you win. The more you have fun today, the more you will win tomorrow.

Diminish the result and elevate the experience. Your boy will love you for it.

Cheers, Eric!

The practice court is clearly broken. Here’s the proof.

Points are "front loaded". By far the majority of the action, and the winning, takes place in THE FIRST 4 SHOTS. The practice court is full of long rallies. Matches are dominated by short rallies. There is a massive disconnect occurring.

We spend too much time grinding, banging balls up and down the middle of the court – that have no real benefit to winning tennis matches.

There are 3 specific rally lengths in tennis. Here is their percentage breakdown of total points.

0-4 Shots = 70%
5-8 Shots = 20%
9+ Shots = 10%

The First 4 Shots is specifically the serve, return, Serve +1 groundstroke and Return +1 groundstroke. Those are normally the shots that get practiced the least, but matter the most to winning tennis matches.

The net is an extremely high percentage place to be!

If you love playing tennis for fun, spend as much time at the baseline as you like. But if you compete – if the score matters – then you must turn your attention to the net to maximize your potential.

The “herd mentality” in tennis thinks it’s too tough to approach the net in today’s game. The conversation starts with improved string technology, more powerful rackets, and finishes with stronger, faster athletes. The herd think approaching is a relic of the past. The herd is WRONG!

AVERAGE WIN %
Baseline = 46%
Net = 66%

Data from ALL Grand Slams provides the facts about approach and volley, and the data is crystal clear – it’s immensely better than staying back at the baseline, grinding for a living.

The baseline is a tough place to create separation. Here's how to do it.

At the 2012 US Open, only 7 men and 14 women had a winning percentage from the baseline. At Wimbledon 2016, Andy Murray won the title only winning 52% of his baseline points - and he is one of the very best at it in the world!

Num3ers deeply explores the data that rules points, especially from the back of the court. Take a "deep dive" into all three rally lengths (0-4, 5-8, 9+), and winner and errors totals from the elite level of our game. The numbers will shock you!

All 4 Grand Slams

Forcing Errors = 41% Men / 37% Women
Winners = 32% Men / 29% Women
Unforced Errors = 27% Men / 34% Women

Num3ers is very much like putting a jigsaw puzzle together. It's about bringing together different data sets together to create the big picture.

Every recorded match from the 2015 Australian Open - Rd2 to the final.

There is a lot happening on a doubles court. Situations and strategies are constantly being adjusted to create mis-matches with court position. It's hard to keep track of - until now. Dou8les Num3ers is the most comprehensive analysis of doubles data in our sport. The focus is on how a point ends, and it's broken down eight ways to Sunday. Specifically, you find critical information on:

Winners rise to the #1 way a point ends (over forced & unforced errors)

- The last shot of the rally is overwhelmingly struck at the net.
- Center Window: the most important part of a doubles court to control.
- Stephen Huss: an in-depth interview on Wimbledon's Centre Court with the 2005 Wimbledon Doubles Champion.

Dou8les Num3ers leaves no stone unturned. Percentage breakdowns of how often the server or receiver hits the last shot highlight the dramatic influence of the serve. The last shot of the rally is significant, and is broken down into the following categories: volleys, overheads, passing shots, lobs and groundstrokes.

When you play a match, you actually play two matches.

When you walk out onto a tennis court, there are two matches that you are about to play. The first is during the point - a part of the match that you have spent a lot of time preparing for on the practice court. But there is a second match, that takes place in the 20 seconds between the points. This is where the mental and emotional aspects of our sport kick in.

Let's face it, there will be adversity in almost every tennis match that you play. The storm clouds are coming. How bug they are, and how long they last for, are up to you.

Between the points is very tennis specific. It provides a roadmap for the 20 seconds between the points, teaching how to handle the adversity that will surely come, and how to build on the successes that will also be present. Your mind is your biggest asset in a match, and Between the Points takes your hand off the self destruct button and stops you beating yourself.

You don't have to be good at everything, but you have got to be good at something.

You can break tennis down into four key elements - serving, returning, rallying and approaching. Each part has specific patterns of play that consistently deliver higher winning percentages than the others. No more guessing. No more opinions. All facets of our sport are covered in this exceptional product, clearly outlining what patterns to gravitate to, and how to best construct the practice court. Data comes primarily from the 2015 Australian Open.

Building Blocks

MEN = 70% errors / 30% winners
WOMEN = 74% errors / 26% winners

Forcing errors is the best way to construct a point.
You can simply break tennis down into primary and secondary patterns of play - and they are all covered here. Primary patterns include serve and return direction, forehands v backhands, and the best way to approach the net. Secondary patterns include drop shots, serve & volley and 1st volley options. If you play tournaments, this product will greatly help you simplify the singles court.

The conversation starts & ends with the Center Window.

The doubles court is like an hourglass. There are two big ends, but a small neck in the middle where all the action happens. Once you learn the power of the Center Window, where you stand to start the point will take on a lot more significance.

Doubles is a lot more about situations, with four people on the court all "dancing" with one another. Learn all the best doubles patterns, broken down for the server, returner, server's partner and the returner's partner.

Doubles Situations

The "J" - the most ideal movement for the returner's partner to attack the net.

The "V" - a better way of understanding where the server's partner should move to.

Volley Targets - there are four main areas to attack. Know which ones are higher percentage. Beach Volleyball - the idea of a "setter" and "spiker" is ideal for the doubles court.

There are certain parts of the court that the ball travels to a lot, and other low percentage areas that you really don't want to cover at all - like the alley! In general, the serving team wants to keep the ball in the middle of the court as much as possible (to help the server's partner), while the returning team benefits from hitting wider and creating more chaos in the point.

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How To Best Support An 8-Year-Old

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It’s about today. But it’s also all about tomorrow.

G’day from Austin,

1. The biggest message I get from you is to forget about the result.

3. Delicate balance yeah?