Tennis Methods Around the World: Get off your high horse, and quit acting like a big million dollar baby!

Many coaches don't have the opportunity to travel "on the job" and to discuss our trade at the many conferences around the world. I am fortunate to have had to opportunity to learn from and share my views and philosophies with many organizations and federations. The more I travel around the world, the more I realize that tennis, tennis coaches, tennis philosophies and methods are different in different locations, but in some ways they are also very similar.

I had a very interesting conservation with my sister in our office the other day, about tennis methodologies, when she made an excellent analogy. She used the analogy of "scrambled eggs" oddly enough, but it fit perfectly. Our discussion went something like this: to make scrambled eggs (tennis method) you need eggs (player) as the main ingredient. What makes your scrambled eggs different from another person's (tennis organization, federation) is "the way you prepare them." Some people like to first heat the pan, place the eggs in whole then stir and scramble them in the pan. Other people like to separate the egg whites, toss the yolks, add milk, beat and then cook in the pan. Still other people take the egg whites, spice them with pepper and salt, put in onions and then cook at a medium heat. There are many special techniques that are used, such as cooking with olive oil, sunflower seed oil, preheating the pan, cooking on high heat, and covering the pan with a cooking cover. All of these methods work, and they all end up with scrambled eggs. Some boast that their eggs are the best--they say that they have scientifically diagnosed the egg and it's composition, whilst others say that they themselves are responsible for actually making the egg!

Who is right who is wrong, which is the best, which is most scientifically correct, which is easiest to understand, which is holistic? The controversy goes on and on. My opinion is that whatever works, whatever inspires the student to learn, whatever motivates the student to come back for lesson after lesson to improve, is a good method. Can your method help a child, teenager, adult to love the game for life? Sometimes there is too much politics and too many overblown egos out there overshadowing those people and organizations who simply want to "sincerely grow the game." There are also gadget equipment people who encourage coaches to use this product or that product, just like those that might claim that using a special eggbeater will help make better scrambled eggs.

So, what can we learn from the many methods for teaching tennis in the world? We need to be able to take the various bits and pieces of knowledge from each method and mold them to fit our own specific needs as coaches. There is no one method to date in my perspective that is the best! The truly funny thing is that in my view the creators of the methods themselves know this, but it is those who "jump on the band wagon" and who "sit closely beside" these people that are the ones who do not keep things in proper perspective. I don't think that there are truly bad teaching methods in our tennis world, although some methods may take longer than others to help a student improve, other methods may provide little motivation, and still others may provide only enough information to develop a player to a certain level.

Did you know that there are continual (international) tugs of war competitions out there between many tennis organizations? They spend millions of dollars on campaigning that their methods are the best. Couldn't their money be used in more helpful ways? Can't we all just do our best to spread the joy of the game without so much name calling and backstabbing? Let's work for the good of the game, not just the good for ourselves. After all, eggs taste better in the tummy than on your face!

Till next month,

Reg

This column is copyright 2001 by Reggie Vasquez Jr., all rights reserved.

Reggie Vasquez Jr. is one of Canada's leading tennis coaches for juniors. He is actively involved with Tennis Canada's grassroots player development. A frequent and enthusiastic speaker at tennis conferences, he is certified by the U.S.P.T.A., Tennis Canada and the U.S.P.T.R.. For almost 7 years he was a head coach for the Canadian Davis cup Captain's Academy at the Canada's National Tennis Center. He has been a Tennis Canada - National Youth Tennis Center Leader for over 8 years and is presently a head coach of an Elite Tennis Academy. He has experience working with juniors from the absolute beginner to the international caliber tennis player. Reggie is also a published author on junior tennis. His personal web site has additional information on his book, the Tennis for Kids. The Tennis for Kids can be ordered directly at a discount using this link to the Amazon.com online bookstore.

Questions and comments about these columns can be directed to Reggie by electronic mail at reggie@tennisserver.com.