USPTA Southern Division: Where Excellence is STANDARD

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cardioCORNER
Pump Up Your Cardio Classes
By now, most facilities see the benefits
of running Cardio Tennis clinics throughout
the year. They provide the membership a
no-hassle way to play during the week, an
intense work out, opportunities to meet
other members at your facility, and they
are great for stress relief. The most difficult
aspect of running a successful Cardio
program is variety. It is easy to get trapped
running the same formats each week. Below
are some ways to“PUMP UP” your Cardio
programs and keep participation levels high
One Good Idea!
FROM THE SOUTHERN CONvENTION AT THE RIvER CLUB
Mark Kovacs’ serve presentation: Having players practice their
service toss by tossing a ball in the air and catching it is ineffective
because the players can vary their toss height by as much as a foot and
a half. It is better to have them work on their toss by executing a full
service motion. Using low compression balls can allow students to work
on their toss and service motion while minimizing strain on their arm.
On the serve to simulate the proper knee bend and hip position,
have players take a service stance and then place a ball by the heel of
their back foot. Once the ball is in position, have them reach down, pick
up the ball and throw it almost straight into the air.
Mark broke the serve into 8 segments of synchronization with three
subcategories. (Preparation) 1.Start 2. Release 3. Loading 4. Cocking
(Acceleration) 5. Acceleration 6. Contact (Follow-Through) 7. Deceleration
and 8. Finish. It is interesting to note that the common phrase we
use in the “cocking stage” is “shoulder over shoulder”. However, “hip over
hip” is critical as well. Mark noted that players that do not reach these
two positions on their serve will have ineffective serves and will suffer
from bad ball tosses and will open up their hips too early in the service
motion. Hips and shoulders become parallel to the baseline as opposed
to perpendicular to it. The non-dominant hand is tucked by the waist
at 90 degrees, which is very efficient within the overall service motion.
These deficiencies will result in a loss of power on the serve and erratic
and inconsistent performance.
Stroke Preparation: It is a hip turn, not a shoulder turn. The hips
must turn first on any stroke, the shoulders will follow.
Butch Staples 10U presentation: Have players who are 8 and
under use a continental grip on groundstrokes to start. By using a continental
grip players naturally have an open racquet face, which helps
them get the ball over the net, and it helps them get comfortable with
throughout the spring/summer.
Incorporate the following into your cardio
classes
• Steps
• Balance discs
• Jump ropes
• Resistance tubing
• Medicine Balls
• TRX suspension system
• Segment your class offerings
Ladies Group - These work great for
women who participate in leagues in your
By Chris Chopra (excerpt from the
Midwest Connection)
club. You can cater the drills and point play
to work on their specific match play needs
and improve their fitness at the same time
Seniors Group - This allows the instructor
to cater the clinic to seniors and provide
exercises and drills at a lower intensity level
to prevent injuries for senior players
Level of Play - Offer specific classes to
certain levels of players so you can adjust the
intensity, exercises, and drills to match the
groups’ needs
the continental grip.
Relate, relate, relate with the kids. It’s not “use the continental grip”,
its “use your ant smasher grip”. Its not “keep your racquet up as you do
your unit turn”, its “get your racquet to the top of the roller coaster”. Its
not “put topspin your groundstroke”, its “make a rainbow with your
racquet and finish it in the pot of gold”.
Michelle Skelly on using questions: Teach by asking questions.
Having your student answer questions that are tailored to the lesson
correctly, confirms not only that they were listening, but that they
understand. Give them two options to pick the correct answer when
asking younger juniors. However, older junior and adult students must
come up with the correct answer themselves. This teaching technique
will engage the student more in the learning process.
HEARD AROUND THE CONvENTION
Eric Wammock Interviewing tip: When interviewing prospective
employees, ask them about their past experiences at former jobs.
Encourage them to elaborate on relationships among past employers
and staff. If they have negative comments about most of their employers
and staff, a red flag should appear. The common denominator in all
of those work relationships was the employee. I’m not suggesting to
skip this candidate, but you should definitely dig deeper.
Todd Upchurch Hitting Topspin: When teaching the topspin forehand,
remind the player to hit like they would a good stock market. Buy
low and sell high and start low and finish high.
Ken DeHart EEE of shot making: Remember the 3 E’s of shot
making. Enter, Execute, and Exit. Many pros work on Enter (getting to
the ball and preparing). Execute (the hitting of the ball), but do not
continue with the Exit. This is the return to a ready position for the next
shot. Unlike golf, the shot is not over once the ball is contacted.