Re: Career Path for Aspiring Tennis Players (Article)
Posted: Wed May 13, 2015 4:58 am
Amazing article. I loved the information you have shared it with us.
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1. Yuki Bhambri 105
2. Saketh Myneni 168
3. Somdev Devvarman 181
4. Ramkumar Ramanathan 251
5. Sanam K. Singh 271
6. Vijay Sundar Prashanth 376
“You can’t think about Federer, you can’t think about Novak (Djokovic), (Andy) Murray, about me....You can’t think that high. That’s too much pressure. You need to think of real things,” he explains, with a shrug. Nadal believes that it’s about doing things step by step and doing them systematically. “When I was a kid, I never thought of winning one Grand Slam. I (was) just thinking of improving everyday and be (a) better player. That’s the way (in) my opinion.”
“If you have the right people around you, they know how much you need to work, how much you need to rest, how much you need to work on your physical performance.”
“Important to work well on court. That’s the most important thing. On court, you work on the physical performance and off court, you can do crazy things but you need to have fun.” He stresses the fun bit; sport, according to Nadal, can’t be all work, it needs to be more about play. “(It’s) important to have fun, to be happy. You need to do things that make you happy. But at the same time if you have to work, you work 100%...”
“(Legs) is everything. Without good legs you can’t hit the ball well (laughs), that’s for sure.” From strength of limb he instantly switches to strength of mind. “...and without mentality you can’t compete at the highest level. It’s a combination of different things to become a professional tennis player.”
Nadal’s connect with India has got stronger since he took budding junior Adil Kalynapur, former Davis Cup player Vishal Uppal’s ward, under his wing on scholarship. “He (Adil) is practising well at Mallorca with my uncle and coaches. He plays so good, no? I practised with him (a) few months ago. He has good potential and needs to work hard as everybody (needs to) when you are a young player. He is doing well so we have confidence.”
Ramkumar says, "One of the industry norms for a coach is 1,000 a week as fees, travel and stay expenses and 10-15 per cent of the prize money. But it varies depending upon the scale of the tournament." Last year, Ramkumar played over 20 tournaments, from the qualifiers of big shows like Wimbledon and French Open to smaller events in places like Ho Chi Minh City, Samarkand and podunk towns in America. If he had a coach with him, he’d have paid $25,000 in fees. He made nearly $78,000 in prize money last year, of which about $8,000 would have been the coach’s cut. In all, he’d be paying the coach about $33,000 (Rs 22 lakh plus). Add travel and stay expenses for the player and the coach. And in an ideal world, a physical trainer should travel with him too. Maybe a crore a year would al low him to travel with a trainer as well. But it is not an ideal world. So, Ramkumar says, "Rs 50 lakh would be a good budget."
Joint effort so far, Ramkumar has been financed, at various points, by his father, his own earnings, the International Management Group (IMG) and the Tamil Nadu Tennis Association (TNTA). The TNTA’s vice-president is Karti Chidambaram, an outspoken tennis buff and the son of P Chidambaram, the former finance minister of India. (Karti once said Ramkumar wasn’t easy to get along with. Asked about the comment, he tells ETPanache, "I said that but that’s his personality. We are not looking for a son-in-law. We are looking for a tennis player.")
AITA’s criticism In the recent past, Somdev Devvarman and Bhambri have lambasted the All India Tennis Association (AITA). Karti, too, said the federation had failed in supporting promising players. He says that India can easily afford to back its players, but the AITA hasn’t shown the will. "You need to spend about Rs 3-4 crore a year on about six players. It’s doable," Karti says. "Yuki was a huge opportunity wasted. He was the world no. 1 junior and junior Australian Open champion. Any country with half a tennis federation would call him and say ‘Hire whichever coach you want and we will pay for him’. What did the AITA do? They don’t have any program to nurture talent.".
Really good article, hits all the points well. I like his belief in spinach too- "if only I had just worked that bit harder, and ate more spinach!"jaydeep wrote: ↑Thu Sep 28, 2017 3:28 am Really great article by former futures player and coach - David Mullins.
WHY I FAILED AS A TENNIS PLAYER
Yes, with so much of spinach usage, we better be on a highprasen9 wrote: ↑Thu Sep 28, 2017 5:55 pm lol! So, people have realized the importance of spinach. We on this board are pioneers. Maybe given the number of times we have talked about spinach in this board, we will come up high in the Google ranking if someone searches for spinach and sports (actually not ).
On another note, even spinach tested positive!
Sorry to quote the entire article but the original article is the first post on this thread and a few pages back.jayakris wrote: ↑Wed May 11, 2005 2:49 pm I will post this article by Sunil Yajaman, former AITA junior development officer, with his permission! -- Jay
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Career path for aspiring players
Sunil Yajaman, Dec 2003
Whenever I have asked any junior player what his goal and ambition is, I have only received one standard answer: I want to win Wimbledon; few vary when they say I want to become a Professional or I want to play Davis Cup. In this aspect, I am yet to hear what I feel could be the most appropriate answer: I want to be the best I can be or I want to go as far as I can.
Who is responsible for making a realistic decision in tennis for a player? Is it the parent, coach or the player? The parents and coaches are responsible for giving the right advice and setting a realistic and attainable goal. It is only that the parents and coaches are supporting the player to go where he wants to and it can be the other way. So, truly it is a combined decision of all three. It is important for Coaches & parents to understand that the most important aspect here is how the CHILD feels & it should not be the other way. Understanding the player will be a major task for both.
Following is a planner which players, parents and coaches can use while shaping the career of a tennis player.
When a child starts Tennis: Ideal age 5-7 yr.
1. This in fact is the most important stage for a player.
2. Introduction to tennis with lot of fun.
3. Ideally, 2-3 days a week, 45 min-1 hour session in group.
4. Allow the child to develop the interest; do not push him too much. If he doesn’t want to play any day, don’t worry.
5. More fun games and he should enjoy going to the tennis court.
6. Work mainly on co-ordination & motor skill development.
7. Introduce other sports like swimming, football, basketball
8-9 yr.
1. Make tennis more regular, maybe 4/5 days a week.
2. Make sure the child is enjoying tennis, should be in a group.
3. Be encouraging always. They actually start dreaming now on their future in tennis. They usually get hooked on to tennis now.
4. Be relaxed and always show positive emotions.
5. Introduce competitions – weekend and club matches, round-robins and similar events.
6. Ensure kids are involved in other sports also.
10-11 yr
1. Training becomes a bit more intense but fun is still a major aspect.
2. Tournament Analysis: Emphasis on Performance rather than outcomes
3. Tournament Participation: 30-40 singles matches, 15-20 doubles matches in a year
4. Continue playing other sports
12-15 yr
1. Technical corrections are less emphasized. More work on the tactical and physical development of player.
2. The player should have learnt all the strokes in tennis by the time he/she is 12 yr.
3. Mental and psychological training introduced.
4. Girls can be introduced to weight training.
5. Plan out player yearly training and tournament schedule.
6. Tournament Participation: 60-70 singles matches, 20-30 doubles matches.
7. Ensure they are involved in other sports.
15-17 yr
1. Tennis training: approx. 2-3 hr daily.
2. Fitness training: About 2 hr daily.
3. Weight training introduced for Boys.
4. Mental/psychological training: 1 hr daily.
5. Tournament participation: 70-80 singles matches, 30-50 doubles matches
6. Tournament Types: 10 – 12 ITF Juniors, Introduce Professional Tournaments (to get a taste of it): Girls: 6-8 / year Boys: 4-6 / yr
17-18 yr
1. More emphasis on fitness and mental training.
2. A good tournament and training Schedule.
3. Tournament participation: 80-90 singles matches, 35-55 doubles matches
4. Tournament types: 12-15 ITF Jr. World Ranking events (Group 2 upwards), 12-14 ITF/ATP/WTA Pro Tournaments.
19 Plus
1. Beginning of the professional life of a tennis player.
2. Importance towards results and rankings are given in doses with outcome Goals.
3. Select tournaments which push the rankings up along with improving the player's game.
4. Should have a personal traveling Coach for 10 weeks.
5. Should be on the threshold of Davis/Fed Cup.
6. Tournament Participation: 80-90 singles matches
4. Tournament types: 15-20 ITF Satellites/Futures matches ($15,000-$50,000), 8-10 Challengers, 4-6 ATP/WTA Tour matches
21 Plus
1. Concentrate on moving up the rankings.
2. Stress on physical and mental training.
3. Personal traveling coach for 20 weeks.
4. Good management from a reputable Management agency
5. Tournament Participation: 80-90 singles matches.
6. Tournament types: 10-12 Challengers, 15-20 ATP/WTA Tour matches
The above table is only a guideline to players who are aiming at reaching the highest level in Tennis and not a guarantee to success. There are many examples of players who have started Tennis at a late age & gone on to reach a good level in National / International scene. The most important aspect is perseverance & the hunger to excel combined with proper guidance / support.
The AITA Junior tournaments should be used in a positive manner to develop a solid game and not with an aim just to move up the rankings or getting selected to a team.
It is very important to keep the enthusiasm alive in the child and avoid burn out or boredom. Tennis is for life, let it be that way. The coaches / parents should avoid being over protective. The kid has to go through the grind & understand what the game is all about by his own experience. Coaches should learn to ‘let go’ of a player when the coach or the player feels that the player should move on.
Some important Factors to be considered:
- It is important that the coach determines a ratio of 2:1 win to loss ratio.
- Often, the coach/parent places a lot of emphasis on performance at junior level. It is important to think about developing the player's game and aim at the senior level.
- Usually, as girls mature earlier than boys, the age for girls in the above table can be reduced by 2 years.
- Until the age of 19, the following percentage of mixing up different levels of tournaments can be used:
25% matches where the player wins easily for increasing confidence.
25% matches where players try out new techniques without the fear of losing and to try new strategies.
25% matches against players of equal level playing under pressure.
25% matches against players who are much better where they play without any pressure and raise their level of game and thinking.
- This selection of tournaments helps the growth of a tennis player who is aiming for the future.
Sunil Yajaman
Dec 2003