Coaches Corner

Tips from coaches

1. Keeping it Fresh: These activities are ones that are designed to get your athletes moving at the start of a practice but are not simply running laps or lines around the court. The ideas can also be activities you have found successful to just keep the fun going later in the season when your other drills and ideas seem to be wearing thin. Use the following links to add an idea and to see what others have contributed: click here to add your idea, view what other coaches have added

2. What to do on a rainy day: These ideas focus on the problem many coaches have had, particularly during the spring. Whether you are a new coach looking for an idea for your first rainout practice or are a veteran who is seeing the fifth day in a row of rain or snow, there are lots of ideas out there. The overall use of these responses is to keep players practicing instead of cancelling, even if you don't have an indoor facility you can utilize. Use these links to add an idea and to see what others have contributed: click here to add your idea, view what coaches have contributed

3. Tryouts: These ideas will help you decide how to narrow down a large group of players into those you'll keep for your varsity, or help differentiate between players in a fair way. Use these links to learn how others conduct tryouts and to share your ideas for others: click here to add your ideas, view what coaches have contributed.

4. USTA: Click here to go to the home page, then type "high school tennis" in the search bar for resources.

Articles (click on article title to read)

Please click on the links below to read articles written by Wisconsin coaches. If you want to contribute, please do so! Email your article to vogtj@elmbrookschools.org. The topic does not matter, but here are some ideas: most effective drills, personal experiences with playing tennis, attendance at a professional tennis match, interesting/funny story, suggestions for younger coaches, etc....

"Tennis Websites" by Bill Zigmund (Green Bay Preble, Green Bay Southwest)

"Why I Love Tennis" by Jon Vogt (Brookfield Central)

"Two Minute! Effective Efficient Player-Coach Communication" by Suellyn Schellpeper Rohrer (Oconomowoc)

"The Two Handed Backhand in Fifteen Minutes: Point, Pocket, Pose" by Bill Zigmund (Green Bay Preble, Green Bay Southwest)

"Challenge Matches" by Andrew Andress (Hartford Union)

Videos

WTMJ's Lance Allen interviews Tim Smyczek about his past and future tennis success

Audio

620WTMJ's Doug Russell interviews Tim Smyczek during a recent trip to Milwaukee