For the Love of the Game
There is always something great to read for you, a real treasure chest for tennis fans, players, coaches or parents.
Mark Booras shares success story of Dominik Koepfer: From Number 6 Freshman to Nation’s Best Senior
Discover the inspiring journey of Dominik Koepfer from a number 6 player to the best in the nation, as recounted by Mark Booras. Learn about how Dominik took charge of his development and worked tirelessly to build his confidence and self-belief.
The Unconventional Path to Success: How Marc Recruited Dominik Koepfer to Tulane Based on Potential”
Discover the inspiring journey of Dominik Koepfer to Tulane University, thanks to a tip from Edgar Giffenig. Mark saw potential in him and took a chance, despite his unconventional path as a competitive skier.
Practical Mental Toughness
Are you looking to develop mental toughness? Discover how to stay focused and calm under pressure by embracing uncomfortable situations.
Talking about College tennis with Marc Booras
Marc Booras was named head coach for Tulane men’s tennis in 2008 and tasked with rebuilding a program that was discontinued for four years as a result of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Since then, Booras has orchestrated the program’s improbable return to national prominence as a top-25 team in the country. He has over 150 career wins and coached Dominik Koepfer to number 1 in college tennis.
Carl Maes: The Former Coach of World Number 1 Kim Clijsters and Top Players in Belgium Shares Decades of Coaching Experience
Discover the coaching journey of Carl Maes, former coach of world number 1 Kim Clijsters and top players like Xavier Malisse and Justine Henin. From leading the Belgian Fed Cup team to working with Wickmayer and Flipkens, Carl shares his wealth of experience in this tennis talk with Edgar.
They are Never your Players
The truth is that players will seek your expertise as long as you are providing what they need at the time and will change training venues as soon as they believe someone will offer them a better training environment.
Do not Forget the “Bad Ones”
High performance coaches seem to have selective memories when recalling with whom they have worked. Over and over you hear coaches mention all the great players whom they trained, excuse me, not only trained but “made,” as if players were gingerbread men.
Improving the Mental Skills of your Players
There are thousands of sport psychology books in the market dealing with this topic and offering advice to help athletes optimize performance, and any extended discussion about sport psychology techniques would be beyond the scope of the book. However, at the very least, a coach should constantly address these three areas to help players become better competitors:
Keep Working on your Game
Continually striving to improve as a player will make you a much better coach. You are a role model so being in shape and displaying good racquet skills will definitely improve your credibility and self-confidence.
How to Get out of a Slump
If you are a competitive tennis player, sooner or later you will find yourself in a slump – a time period when nothing seems to work, when even the simplest shots become a problem, when confidence is nowhere to be found.
On Feeding
A few years back feeding drills came under attack as the industry shifted to a more tactical-based approach in which players learn to play tennis by playing with each other. The goal was to make learning more dynamic, fun and closer to the reality of the game.
Enjoy the Process
High performance coaching is a very emotional endeavor with constant ups and downs. Just when you think everything is going well, and all your players are performing fine, disaster is only one tournament away.