Grass Court Slide Show, Videos
I've completed the Grass Court slide show processing, and although the weather wasn't that great for tennis, it was ideal for photography! Special thanks to my husband Paul Ballard for all his efforts with the camera last week.
Grass court tennis doesn't lend itself to great videos, with most points being very short, but I have uploaded to my YouTube channel videos of Brooke Bolender, Michael Zhu, Chanelle Van Nguyen and Emmett Egger, in addition to those of champions Raymond Sarmiento and Lauren Davis below.
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6 comments:
Davis is an excellent mover, you can really see the difference vs Bolenger. Brooke seems like a kid who has played way to many matches from a young age instead of focusing on technical training and all around athletic training. That type of player usually has fantastic junior results and then hits the wall at 18.
Well Jon, she has been one of the "chosen ones" by the USTA since she was young, so shouldn't she have gotten that training?
Boleder and Gibbs both left Cleveland for USTA training and academies. Davis stayed in Cleveland and trained with Rich Mostardi a great local pro. She saved lots of time and money, enjoys her family and friends and has superior coaching. She also has Kyle Mcphilips to hit with. Girls and boys there is a lesson in this. And way to go Cleveland.
Even better, didn't Davis play high school tennis? For those of you who "pooh pooh" it for nationally ranked kids, if you saw how much fun the kids had, you'd respect it more. They make friends outside the tennis world, go on trips, and learn that there is life outside of tennis.
I know some high school coaches are ego-maniacs who won't let the strong player play at his/her normal club; they force the child to only play at the high school--that doesn't work.
Most of the smart ones let the kid practice both with the team and with their other stronger competition, so that they can keep improving. It is a win-win situation, which then encourages other strong players to do the same thing.
Thus, our sport grows bigger and stronger.
Agree with been there on HS tennis. My son won his state title 3 years running. The benefits of team camaraderie, social skills, leadership and great fun cannot be underestimated for a tennis player. This is a good preview for him for college tennis next year. The coach allows him to play his USTA schedule as a first priority. Unlike some coaches who demand control and preclude the USTA tourneys, my son's team won their state title for 7 years straight as they have the flexibility to play both.
Just want to remind everyone that each state has different rules as to participation in high school tennis. Some virtually prohibit USTA play during the high school season, so often it makes little sense for the top players to commit to competing.
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