Mental Toughness, A Life Lesson

Federer outlasts Roddick and wins a dramatic victory in the longest match played at Wimbledon. How did he do it, how did Roddick hang in there? Mental Toughness, focus, are all synonyms for the same thing. Our ability to continue to move forward when our body says no.

This is not something unique to tennis. It is necessary in all sports and in life. The runner who hits "a wall", the boxer who "runs out of gas", the pitcher who has "no stuff", are all examples of an inner drive, a force which pushes us to rise to the occasion. Even non athletes face these challenges in life, whether its school, business or health. The ability for families to survive when the economy says no.

Many times a patient is given a poor prognosis. You need an amputation, you will never run again; one year later the patient is in a road race. You have 6 months to live, and 2 years later the patient is still alive and well.

A drive to succeed, a drive to survive, a drive to persevere is in all of us, not just athletes. We need to find this strength and utilize it in all we do. We all have the ability to move forward when obstacles are put in our way. We can be satisfied with just being there or rise to the occasion. Roddick was not just satisfied, to be in a fifth set, he rose to the Moment. He just fell short, but he can always hold his head up high. He gave everything he had when his body said otherwise.

As sport fans and members of society, we should always try and rise to the occasion. Take the lessons from sports, school or work and apply them to help uplift others.

Tennis Racquets for Kids.org does this on a regular basis. Whether its bringing encouragement to those that need a positive word, or collecting racquets and distributing them to those who are less privileged, this tennis charity is there for everyone. While the country is in a recession, many individual requests from families who want to put their kids in a park program, but have no racquets, have been honored. An old Wilson, Head, Prince, Babolat, Yonex tennis racquet is a special gift to someone in need. Help us , help others in their quest to play the game of tennis, when the economy or the environment says no. Break from your daily routine, to take the modest time, to help others.

Nadal's charity

Rafael Nadal's foundation is to open a tennis school in India, in the state of Andhra Pradesh. The school will be a joint venture between the Rafael Nadal Foundation and Fundacion Vincente Ferrer, the Spanish arm of India-based non-governmental organization. Nadal also became a board member and Spanish advocate for the best buddies organization after capturing gold at the Olympics.

Real Equation to a Tennis Pro

In my opinion, to be great in tennis you cannot miss a step in the following formula. I have derived this formula from being around tennis at all its levels as well as other sports. Recently, I came accross several blogs discussing the benefit of crazy tennis parents to the probability of the kid turning pro. It is an interesting topic and I think it is an absolutely essential part of the formula.

1. Kid's ability to learn, interpret instruction, correct mistakes and maintain discipline - not without talent and a work ethic
2. Parent's 100% obsession with tennis and devotion to their kid and I mean pushing the kid to a great extent, teaching them how to work hard
3. Money for lessons, equipment and travel as it gets super expensive
4. Good coaching and good early basics because fixing bad technique takes away precious time
5. Homeschooling because its impossible to keep up a serious level in both, and I mean tennis should come first with school a close second
6. A setting with a great variety of players and a program such as a tennis academy
7. 100% parental supervision even if the kid is at an academy because that parent has to be there to connect the dots for the kids when they question their priorities
8. Thousands of hours of practice, everyday, since age 4, 5, 6
9. The earlier to start the better, sure there is a risk of burn out, but there is also the reward of developing necessary skills while kids absorb information like a sponge and the rest is just repetition and experience...10 years to be exact...so earlier you start, earlier they will break out
10. Name one top pro without a crazy, dedicated parent or uncle or someone close? Or someone who started tennis at 10 or later? Or someone who went to public school their entire life? You can't. There's your proof.

You have to read this awesome article looking closer into the role of crazy tennis parents and former/current pros!

And this really old article on burning out due to parental pressure.

Vote to end grunting

Here is an interesting article from Martina Navratilova's speech in Paris on things that should be done to improve tennis, like penalize players for a bad toss, and outlaw grunting during rallies...I think its too much, but hey, some one must agree with her. I think to stop grunting there should be an emphasis on teaching kids to breathe the right way when hitting early on. It isn't the easiest habit to break...and maybe there is a medical reason for it. We will need to look that one up. What do you think?

Wimbledon 2009 pre-preview

What is more exciting than grass court tennis? Tennis that showcases tradition, craftiness and mastery of the tennis game, British flags, tea time, all white, the Royal family and well...the mental toughness following those long rain delays. Wimbledon is it, the trophy all players want because it means history, it mean so much more than just another tournament or just one of the four grandslams. And this year, is no exception. There is a lot to look forward to following the French in terms of uncertain results and upsets and more history made, but one thing that is for certain, is that technology has allowed us to review our calls and move that retractable roof around so fans and players alike don't go crazy waiting out all the London rain delays.

As a pre-preview, we will review the events of the past week. For starters, #9 ranked teenager, Caroline Wozniacki won her 5th singles title in the final of Eastbourne (AEGON International) that pretty much all the big shots played. On top of that, designer Stella McCartney decided to drop Maria Kirilenko in favor of Wozniacki. McCartney's beautiful designs rarely made it past the first round on the beautiful Kirilenko and her patience came to an end in terms of promoting her brand, so Wozniacki, already sponsored by Adidas, has been relayed the special edition Adidas baton.

Another winner of the week is #42 Tamarine Tanasaguran. At 32, she is a tour veteran and two time champion of the Ordina Open. She defended her title, making it her 3rd career title by beating Safina in the semi's in two sets. A new champion this week is Slovakian Magdalena Rybarikova who won her first title at the AEGON Classic by beating Li Na, who beat Sharapova. Li Na was last year's Wimbledon semifinalist and Rybarikova got a straight entry into the main draw with this win. Jankovic and Ivanovic continue with poor results, both being ousted early in their tournaments.

And now.... to the men's side of things. Dmitry Tursunov, the tour prankster, even while recovering from a May ankle surgery, won Eastbourne defeating Frank Dancevic. "Whether it's winning Wimbledon, Eastbourne, a Challenger of Futures event, or beating your grandmother in checkers, winning is always better than losing - so it's great to get through the week like this," is a straight quote from the guy with the sense of humor. This was Tursunov's first title on grass. Benjamin Becker beat a wild card Raemon Sluiter, to win Ordina Open. His win made him the 1st qualifier to win a tournament this season.

As for Wimbledon, what can be more disappointing than Nadal withdrawing and giving up chance to defend his title. He played two exhibition matches and the pain was too much, so he made the decision to withdraw from Wimbledon. As a silly statistic on the side, he will be the first since Ivanisovich not to defend his title. "I’m here and I'm just not 100%. I'm better than what I was a couple of weeks ago but I don’t feel right," Nadal said in his press conference. "To not play Wimbledon is one of the toughest decisions of my career." Of course the media jumped on this and the Federer Nadal rivalry and asked Fed what he thought. "Well, I mean, it's a little bit similar to Paris. We played the last four years against each other in Paris. We played the last three years against each other here at Wimbledon. So we definitely won't see the same finals again. So that's disappointing for me, of course, because I'd love to play him. He's my main rival. We've had some wonderful matches over the years, and especially the one here last year was the one that obviously stands out. So that we can't potentially maybe repeat that, uhm, is obviously sad. But it gives me it just shows me how lucky I've been, you know, that I haven't been injured over all those years, you know, that I've been able to keep it up. Even though I was No. 1, the one people were going after, I was there, I was not injured very often, and I was able to keep it up. It just shows it goes so quick. So it's unfortunate. I'm sad for him, because it must have been a very difficult decision to make," is what Roger Federer gallantly told the press.

A 6th Wimbledon for Roger and Venus? Perhaps!

Coverage starts Monday June 22cnd-July 5th, but if you work and don't have DVR, there is ESPN360.com. They will be covering 9 courts through the semis, live, thats 650 hours of tennis online!!!! Yay =) WimbledonTV will be broadcasting too, but with a subscription.

CHECK OUT THE DRAWS ON THE OFFICIAL SITE

50,000 balls - a formula for tennis

ESPN chose to air an hour long documentary film on father's day about junior tennis. A special gift no doubt for tennis fathers who invest time, money, hopes and patience into the process of teaching your kid to play tennis and win. To them it may have reaffirmed that they are not alone in doing so much all the time. Reality is, as a parent you have to do that much all the time and so do your kids. The documentary focuses on 4 junior tennis boys around 12 years of age and discusses the necessary steps it takes to understand the game. Judging by the title, one of the things it discusses is the formula of hitting 50,000 balls in your lifetime to just arrive at the "I get it" stage. For some that stage is reached by 12, for some 18. It is fair to say, the earlier the better and I would have to say it is true. Check out the website in case you missed the airing.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY, FATHERS!

A reunion with Grass

The tennis caravan has traveled once again and this time the battles are to be won and lost on grass, another love for some and foe for others. Maria Sharapova got through her first round at Birmingham and a lot of people are looking to this tournament to really see where she stands as she herself claims grass to be her preferred surface. Andy Murray is through to the third round of Queens and is looking tough. So are Hewitt and Roddick, who are to play each other. Meanwhile Safin and Monfils withdrew due to injury - for Safin, the back and Monfils, the wrist. Some went to Germany for their reunion with Grass, like Tommy Haas, who seems to be on fire. He took out Tsonga to get to the quarters of the event. Djokovic is also still holding on to the Gerry Weber draw. French Open champ, Federer, pulled out of Queens and Gerry Weber and is recovering before his official debut. Rafael Nadal confirmed that he is having pain in his knees but also that it would break his heart to miss Wimbledon and that he is thinking he will be playing it this year. Watch out for a lot of good tennis coming your way this summer! So exciting!