Ask the Pro: My teenager wants to play US College Tennis. Where can I find out more information?

There are three associations governing US collegiate tennis: The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), and the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). There are over 2,000 colleges and universities to choose from each with different programs, opportunities and some with scholarships and financial aid.

Since tennis is one of the 10 most popular sports in US high schools and is rapidly gaining popularity internationally, it can be difficult for players to gain a place on the better known US college teams. In some cases, NJCAA junior colleges maybe a better option for players to start a college career and get noticed by the higher ranked NCAA and NAIA college coaches.

A good place to start is to answer two key questions of yourself: 1) what do you realistically want for your child out of the college experience (academic, tennis opportunities, career preparation, scholarships and/or financial aid) and 2) what does he/she have to offer to potential schools (tennis ability, playing record, references, scholastic record).

The USTA has written a very good summary of the background, opportunities, and the path to follow.  Click here for a copy of "USTA Guide to Tennis on College Campuses".

(c) Rob Muir, USPTA

Ask the Pro: Why do I choke on big points and then my game evaporates?

According to Dr. Brett Steenbarger, Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, SUNY Medical University, “Elite performers are distinguished by the structuring of their learning process...You need to protect and optimize that practice, learning time… It is important to understand the role of emotions: they are not “bad”. They are very useful signals. It is important to become aware of them to avoid being engulfed by them, and learn how to manage them.”

Pick up on the cues from this week's US Open in New York. Whether you're watching Federer, Sharapova, Blake, Hewitt .., they all have their routines -- and they all fail on big points from time to time.  Sharapova's a text book study of taking time between points, turning her back on the court, and walking up to the base line -- ready to play EACH point. The common denominator -- the match is never over for them until they shake hands. The collaroy then for us mortals is that you're always in with a chance if you stay 'involved in the game'. This is what concentration actually means.

If you watch carefully, you'll notice that better players use heavy breathing to stretch their diaphragms out. Nerves literally collect in your gut and heavy breathing relieves this stress -- actually this is the basic idea in teaching fighter pilots to relax under intense combat pressure (Midwest Research Institute DOD studies). Some players, again Sharapova, actually grunt/expel air to try to achieve the same effect.

The keys then: have a game plan to focus/execute against, find a routine that settles you down, and breathe hard when you feel under pressure! And oh yes, be patient with yourself when you do fail on the big points -- it's normal. It's what's you do after you fail that'll make the difference!

(c) Rob Muir, USPTA

Ask the Pro: Can balls be discarded in mid point?

In our doubles match, our opposition serves with 2 balls. Often in the middle of a point, our opponent will throw the second ball away which is very distracting in trying to watch the ball in play.  After this became a regular occurrence, we stopped play and asked for a let. Our opponents became upset and said that the second ball wasn't bothering them and, besides, it was on their side of the net! We told them it was distracting us and asked them not to discard the ball during play.  When the behaviour continued we had no choice but to claim a point leading to even more bad feelings. Who's right?

You are! Continuing to cause a deliberate distraction during play is not allowed under the rules. Once you gave them fair warning that it was a distraction to you, you were entitled to claim points on subsequent occurrences. Regrettably this will always cause bad feelings particularly if your opposition is not familiar with the rules.  You just have to persevere in difficult situations like this even so, perhaps a quiet word on a change of ends is the order of the day before matters escalate -- and you lose your own 'equilibrium' and it effects your own play!

(c) Rob Muir, USPTA

Ask the Pro: Why do I make so many errors?

Frustration was the order of the day for most players in the Badge playoffs as errors mounted! The common denominator was a tendency to try to finish the point as quickly as possible -- resulting in an error!  With greater experience, you'll start to think at least one shot beyond the shot you are about to hit.

Here are two examples of simple combinations to construct a point and cut down on your errors. For intermediate players, hit short enough to force your opponent to move forward from behind the baseline into the court into ‘no man’s land’.  Then simply hit the next ball deeper than their current position and at least several feet to either side.  As long as your opponent isn't good at putting away short balls, this is a fairly safe tactic and you will win many points. Keeping your shot short and low will make it even safer and harder to put away.

For advanced players, hit a high, deep shot that will bounce above your opponent's shoulders preferably on their backhand. Most players can't generate any pace on a ball above their shoulders on their backhand side, so you'll usually get a high, floating ball in return that's easy for you or your partner to move forward to and volley away at the net. Of course, you have to anticipate the high return and be moving forward to be in the volley position after you have hit your first shot!

Your odds of winning a point are far greater if you set yourself up with simple shot combinations to exploit your opponent's weaknesses rather than going for broke. Remember better players always beat better hitters!

(c) Rob Muir, USPTA

Ask the Pro: How do I beat a pusher?

A: Saturday was a bad day for a host of Badge players. It was windy and they were playing older Badge opponents who hit a lot of no-pace balls! To add insult to injury, they also lobbed a lot to mid court to buy some time when they were out of position -- shouts of "you call this tennis" echoed around the courts as the errors and the frustrations built!

The common denominators: 1) beating yourself by not respecting a canny opponent, 2) trying to go for too much by underestimating the no-pace ball and 3) not playing as a doubles team! 

The solution when you receive a slower ball, particularly a slower ball moving around in the wind, is to look for shorter cross court placements which forces your opponent to move up and sideways from the baseline thereby opening up the centre of the court for your partner at net to hit an easy volley away.

Whether the ball has pace or not, it requires your full concentration and patience to adjust the speed of your stroke to allow you to control the ball. And in the wind, watching the slower biddy ball takes on a different dimension.

You have one huge advantage in playing a no-pace ball -- you have much more time to set up and pick your target.

When you've got your opponent moving wide, anticipate a short ball, move in to take the ball with a volley or a groundie hit on top of the bounce so you can easily hit the ball away to the open court!

(c) Rob Muir, USPTA