One of the most common questions I get from junior tennis parents is should my child home school? Is it the only way they can develop into a division 1 collegiate athlete?

And I get that question not because they’re in love with the idea of homeschooling. It’s because they feel like they’re being forced into it by the current junior tennis structure. Most parents don’t actually want their child to homeschool. They want to keep them in regular school.

Well I have a way to work around part of the issue. I can’t help you with your school being upset about absences due to tournament travel, but I can help you in regards to a better training environment. It’s going to be a huge commitment, but if you’re considering homeschooling, you’re already extremely committed to doing everything possible for your child’s success.

So here we go.

Click here to read the blog associated with this episode!

This can probably be said for most individual sports as well.

Team sports have the advantage of having everything organized for the players. There’s a coach. A season. A set schedule. Set practice times. Uniforms. Etc..

Sure, there’s still a cost to all that, but all the information is put together, and handed out to the parents. They know what to expect, what their schedule is, and then put on their uber hat and drive the kids everywhere.

That doesn’t exist in junior tennis.

www.aubonetennis.com

Junior tennis ranking systems for people to be obsessed with have existed for decades. UTR is just another system with its own advantages and disadvantages. What’s changed is how academies, parents, and players have easy access to seeing the “ratings” thus exposing how much they actually look at them.

Click below for the full blog. Hope you enjoy the episode!

http://www.aubonetennis.com/blog/utr

Ohhhhh I've been wanting to write this one for a while. Innocent well-intentioned actions can do more harm than we think. We overlook the consequences of actions that WE think don't mean anything. But it's not what we think. It's what is.

I've worked with some players and parents who look at the draw and all it is is a waste of their time. It changes nothing for them. I've worked with others who can't help but look at their second round opponent, believe it's an easier match than the first one, and try to use that as motivation to have a focused first round match. They then go on to lay an egg in the first round, making that potential second round opponent non-existent.

Many who know me know I believe in efficiency. If the benefits of doing something are so skewed to the downside, I won't do it. I won't waste my time. I'll put my energy into something where it's better spent. Why risk ruining something if there's so little to gain?

Click below for the full blog. Hope you enjoy the podcast!

www.aubonetennis.com/blog/stoplookingatthedraw

Tennis is far behind when it comes to using video technology in their coaching methods. All major sports are using them and it's time for tennis to catch up! In this episode I discuss the benefits of using video technology, and how it can help in the development of a player.

Click below for the blog portion!

https://www.aubonetennis.com/blog/whyvideoissoimportant

We have a tendency to spend too much time talking about bad calls after a match. Even if they happened at big moments in the match, how did you lose all the other points? How did you get down 5-4 40-30 match point in the third set anyway? How did you lose a set prior to that?

We need to focus on the biggest reason you lost. Was it the 36 forehand unforced errors? Or the 14 doubles faults? 

Let's put our attention there instead of the 4 or 5 bad calls you THINK went against you.

www.aubonetennis.com

Working hard for something we don’t care about is called stress. Working hard for something we love is called passion.” Simon Sinek

When you stop to think about it, it’s incredibly difficult. The balance we ask kids to find, while going through the biggest hormonal change in their life, is tough.

Most parents and coaches (yes, not all) try to preach about not worrying about today’s results. They ask the kids to focus on getting better and not care if they win or lose. “Just give 100% of your energy and focus and make the most out of today” is some version of what they say.It’s the right idea, and the correct thought process that helps athletes improve the fastest.But let’s take a deeper look into what what we’re asking kids to do.

www.aubonetennis.com/blog/thedifficultbalance

Juniors in the United States talk about the pressure to win. The pressure to get their UTR up and get into college division. The pressure to win because success in tennis is unfortunately how they define their self-worth.

Can you imagine having to win just so your mandatory military sentence is not so intense?

In Israel (and maybe other countries too), if you’re one of the best amateur athletes in your sport, you’ll be allowed to continue training while completing your service. If you’re not one of the best, it will be more difficult to train.

How do you work around that pressure?

There’s no quitting to get away from the stress. There’s no “oh just play for fun” or “don’t worry about the rankings.”

Your ranking does matter as a junior. Your success does matter. It can legitimately change your life.

Sure, for American’s, if their ranking isn’t high enough, they might not get to play college tennis where they wanted, but they have the option to go to college, get a job, and move on with their life. They’re not forced to go to the army.

So it’s an extremely difficult balance in Israel. Focusing on winning now has been proven to limit development, therefore limiting success in the future. Focusing on learning, developing, and letting the winning happen when it’s meant to happen is the best way to improve the fastest.

But how do you tell a kid that they need to focus on their development when their success as a junior determines if they're wearing combat shoes or tennis shoes in a few years?

So for the American’s or citizens of a country that don’t have a mandatory military service, please appreciate the life you have. It’s not like that everywhere else.

"Five minutes before entering the central office, I suddenly felt really bad, extremely nervous. I started to cry. I even had to go throw up a bit.” Stan Wawrinka discussing his emotions before walking on the court for the 2016 US Open final. He won the match and the title.

“You know, half an hour before the match I didn’t even want to step on the court, because I just really felt really bad, and I had to, like, lock myself in the physio room and I had to talk to my psychologist. I was actually crying.” Barbora Krejcikova discussing how she felt before her 4th round match at the French Open in 2021. She won the match as well as the singles and doubles title later that week.

“Have no fear” or “don’t be nervous” or any of that junk is the biggest bunch of bologna on the planet. Things like fear, stress, and nerves never go away. There will never be a match where a player feels absolutely nothing but calmness before stepping onto the court. If that happens to them, they probably don’t care enough.

Champions like Wawrinka and Krejcikova are full of all sorts of miserable emotions during big moments. They’ve just learned how to compete with them.

I prefer to work on a few things at a time for a long time. If a player works on too many things at once, they’ll be mediocre at everything, great at nothing. It’s better to master the most important things first, then start adding in everything else later.

1. Footwork

2. A Weapon

3. 2nd Serve

4. First Volley

5. Mental Skills (could be #1!)

Here is the link to the blog!