Tennis Rockers

Every school has one - a PTA or parent teacher association but practically no tennis clubs have a CTO (club tennis association), a CPA (club pro association), or a PCA (player club organization.  

Why not?

The PTA addresses collective concerns of the parents relative to that of the schools ongoing activities.  The PTA connects parents and teachers to address their concerns and so could a CTO, CPA, or a PCA.  The PTA requests additional teacher support or school support and so could a CTO, a CPA, or a PCA.  The PTA provides feedback to the school and its teachers as to how things are going or not going and so could a CTO, CPA or a PCA. The PTA brings in guest speakers, brings in book fairs, and conducts fund raisers and so could ...

You get the point, so maybe its time to pursue this helpful association.

Thanks for joining us on our journey!

TR
www.tennisrockers.com
 

Is it really just the mental game of tennis or is there an emotional game as well?

When we make a mistake that costs points in a game or looks silly to our coaches and practice partners are we really just thinking a thought or are we feeling something as well?

If we sing along to a rock song are we just thinking about the words that were said or are we caught up in the emotion of the beat, harmony, or melody and just going with the flow?

In both playing tennis or singing along to a rock song, we're using our heads (the mental side) and our hearts (the emotional side) in engaging with either of these activities.  

Whether playing an instrument or playing with a racquet, we need to employ our "mental" or thinking capabilities in order to know what to do and when to do it.  But once we engage in this play, our "other" capability, our emotional capability, kicks in and starts affecting our play.  

You miss an “easy shot” and chastise yourself with “I suck” or “come on, you’re better than that” or you go old school with your inner coach and tell yourself about how you don’t belong there.  These are thoughts, but they emanate from feelings - raw feelings of disgust or anger at your abilities or sadness at your potential loss of points or the game at the hands of your insufficient skills.  They are feelings that have been built up from years of living life: interactions with family, friends, coaches, teachers and people who have floated in and out of your life.  Feelings that have likely been allowed to fester because you likely didn’t have anyone with whom to talk it through.  You didn’t have a support group.

In this episode, we explore the importance of starting and maintaining your own personal support group to deal with your feelings.

Thanks for joining us on our journey!
www.tennisrockers.com  
96

Where’s the transition plan for all tennis players? 

A plan developed from a careful and considerate evaluation of each players emotional, mental, physical, and tactical abilities to play the game of tennis?  A plan which provides a path forward for each individual tennis player to pursue based on their results.  

Without analysis and conclusion a path and a plan can’t be proposed and a player is left to guess and either overestimate or underestimate their potential in tennis. 

If a child starts playing and taking lessons, what is their path forward in tennis?

• Do they just continue to play as a recreational player?  
• Do they just play high school tennis and then play recreational tennis for the rest of their lives?  
• Maybe they try to play for the college club team or try to make it into a D3 school?  
• Should they even try to make a D1 college team?
• At what point is pro an actual consideration? 

Don’t all players deserve an answer to the question “now what”?

In this episode, we explore the possibilities of creating a national testing plan to help tennis players get realistic feedback on their potential and receive a plan which sets out a path forward.  

Thanks for joining us on our journey!
www.tennisrockers.com

Protein is deified in our culture as THE key element to our diets that will affect our energy, health, and performance levels, but is it really or is it yet another “trend” to latch onto for those in search of a simple answer to complex nutritional needs we human beings and especially we human being tennis players?

In this episode, we spark a nutritional conversation about protein in the hopes of providing a different perspective on the cultural protein push.  

Thanks for joining us on our journey!
www.tennis rockers.com
101

It’s pretty obvious, tennis coaches and clubs stopped asking questions a long time ago.  Questions about their membership demographics, members unspoken needs, the clubs current services approach, and the way all those issues work together to build meaning for the coaches, clientele, and the club.  

Meaning is the magnet which draws people in and makes them want to come back.  But in today’s transactional and mechanistic approach we have favored getting it done and making money to building meaning.  

What brings meaning?

Addressing a coaches or clients emotional and mental needs with a physical manifestation of that meaning.  If players would appreciate a lounge to hang out (like a teen lounge or a Starbucks) then give it to them.  The money you’ll spend in furniture will be made back through sales of lessons, products, or future court time.  

Prototype it, give it time, gather feedback, and implement what works.  The results might just bring the meaning, and eventually the money you were looking for.

Thanks for joining us on our journey!
www.tennisrockers.com

When was the last time you thought about the relationship with your coach or student?  When was the last time you thought it through to make it better for the both of you?

Maybe you don't want to - things are good.  If you're the coach, hey, they come to lessons, seem happy or somewhat engaged and I get paid - done.  If you're the student, they teach me, it's not always easy, but I learn something and sometimes it's really fun.

Kept that way, it works - but on what basis?

The relationship works at its most basic level, but ultimately, is that what either the coach or student want for their entire time together?  And what happens when that relationship breaks down because we don't periodically revisit this relationship?  What happens when we don't communicate?

A coach/student relationship can deteriorate and at some points be destructive and the relationship with teenagers can be one of the toughest relationship challenges.  

So what should we consider around these challengers?  We should start with our communication and in this episode we acknowledge and seek answers for coaches, students, and parents to a common situation - a lack of proactive communication.

Thanks for joining us on our journey!
www.tennisrockers.com

What leads to player burnout?

Everyone talks about burnout in the general sense, but not a lot of people put specificity around it.

Maybe, in part, burnout comes from not telling players the whole story - both at the beginning and during their individual journeys - of what it takes to learn the skills involved in the sport of tennis?  If players were more informed, they might have time to “think” about their “feelings” about tennis and in turn work through this complex mix of human byproduct and in turn feel more confident and comfortable in the direction they want their tennis to take.

If a coach communicated the possible paths in tennis then maybe a player might be more informed and develop a more intelligent and in-depth interest.  So what are some of these sample paths: 

• Recreational
• Recreational -> tournaments -> tennis team
• Recreational -> high performance -> tournaments -> college
• Recreational -> high performance -> tournaments -> college -> professional tennis,
• Recreational -> tournaments -> high performance -> pro/am circuit (or futures) -> professional tennis

Could knowing and keeping these paths in mind make a difference and avoid burnout?

In this episode, we explore the concept of clearly communicating the paths available to players as they traverse along their own individual tennis trail.

Thanks for joining us on our journey!
www.tennisrockers.com

A tennis expert (i.e. a commentator, a club owner, or a pro) wouldn't consider or recommend adding a reading session as part of your on court tennis class - likely because reading story or a work of non-fiction is something that's done in a library or classroom, not on a court.  A tennis expert would question why and likely pose objections along the lines of:

* Customers/students are paying for movement, not reading.
* The court isn't setup like a library or classroom, how would this even happen?
* What's the connection to tennis or how is it relevant to the game?
* Nobody else is doing this, why should we

That's because a tennis expert is tethered to their experience, tennis convention (i.e. this is the way we've always done it and this is the way we'll continue to do it!), and the threat of embarrassment and questions, while a zero gravity thinker and contributor (i.e. a non-tennis expert) is not.  Zero gravity thinkers don't have expertise in the area they're studying but they do have experience with creating and other aspects of life which they can bring to tennis.  But only if tennis lets them in, listens, takes action, tries/fails, and keeps the good things which work.  

But because tennis is struggling with attendance, commitment, and programs, we need to find some new solutions.  We need to invite some zero gravity guys into the game of tennis to help build it back into something better.  

In this episode, we consider the possibility of adding a reading exercise to the tennis lesson.  A concept that zero gravity thinkers would consider and tennis experts might condemn.  

Thanks for joining us on our journey!

www.tennisrockers.com
98

Every day, food product companies inundate us with their products messages which bend and stretch the meanings of the very words they use.  Words such as "healthy", "organic", "100% real _____ included", "__ servings of fruits and vegetables", and a "full serving of ______ in every package."  They are the words consumers often rely on to decide whether or not to put it into their cart.  

Promotional words used to "assist" and "persuade" shoppers to purchase their product.  Promotional words which make their product "appear" to be a moderately healthy choice so consumers can justify purchasing and eating it and feel good about purchasing it again.  They are words we see and hear everywhere from print media, to television, and online advertising.  

They are words that build trust in a product that isn't really best for us.  That trust in turn causes us to often overlook the ingredients label and discover something deeper and a bit duplicitous about these words of trust.  We discover a long list of non-healthy ingredients such as: sugars, pseudo-sugars, oils, preservatives, colors, and conditioners call into questions the claims of health printed all over the rest of the package.  

And while there are occasional public service announcements reminding us to read labels, eat right, and be careful about our calorie consumption, these are rare.  But what if the tennis club could help the cause?

Every day, tons of people filter in and out of tennis clubs all across America to learn to play and play this great game.  We have an opportunity to help the eating healthy cause and in this episode, we kick around what that could mean and look like.   In this episode, we contemplate how the tennis club can help provide more balanced nutrition messaging to the people they serve. 

Thanks for joining us on our journey! 
www.tennisrockers.com

We often don’t think about diet or nutrition unless we face constant fatigue or are in a health crisis.  And, our social and work cultures reinforce consumption of “food products” and “convenience foods” so we can “do more”, “keep going”, “make our deadlines”, and “cross things off our list”.    

We have all normalized these food products and convenience foods which are rife with chemicals, enriched flour, oils, preservatives, salts, and sugars but we are feeling and seeing the after effects of such a life style.  

But when we visit a tennis club or facility, we enter into a different world in which movement and health are the main part of the program.  The social culture of the tennis club is a perfect fit for seducing club members into selecting a nutrition class that could benefit both their bellies and your bottom line.

In this episode, we use a food documentary film as a jumping off point for encouraging more clubs to include diet and nutrition classes.

Thanks for joining us on our journey!
www.tennisrockers.com