Can You Learn Tennis Online?

With the internet becoming a much more iatrical part of many people’s lives it is only natural that people turn to the internet more and more to learn things. This includes even learning about sports, but can you really learn tennis online? Is it a good method or just a waste of time and money overall? What are the benefits and is it really worth your time or would you be better off finding an instructor in your local area to teach you?

For the vast majority of people, the internet contains a wealth of valuable information. However, one of the biggest problems is you need to ensure that you are trying to learn something that is capable of being taught online. For example, you can learn about scoring, terminology and even find tips on tennis but you are generally not going to find anything that allows you to learn tennis from beginning skill level to advanced player. You are also not going to find anything that can replace the value of hiring a good quality instructor to help teach you.

However, with this in mind there are occasions when the internet can help you improve your skills even if they cannot teach you everything that you need to know. For example, if you know where to look you can find plenty of books that will help you troubleshoot some of the problems that you are having in your game style. Whether you are needing to improve accuracy, power or even control you can get a plethora of tips from a book that you have found online which will ensure that you have plenty of ways to improve your game. When combined with the information that an instructor gives you this can be quite helpful.

Additionally, looking around online for the information, you need about terminology and scoring as well as rules can be a very wise decision. This will allow you to focus your time with an instructor on actual playing, rather than learning the more mundane aspects of the game. If you are having to pay your instructor for a vocabulary lesson, you will quickly see the benefits of using the internet to do vocabulary on your own time rather than paying the instructor to help you with it.

One of the biggest parts of tennis is your mental approach to the game. If you look around online, there are thousands of books that are designed to help you turn yourself into a mental monster. You can train your mind to block out distractions, fine-tune your skills and overall improve your game if you are patient. Using the internet for this skill alone can be very helpful, especially since the internet is full of suggestions on how to improve your mental preparation for a good game of tennis.

While you can learn how to improve your tennis skills on the internet, realizing that you cannot actually learn tennis online is important. Many people simply do not realize that you cannot replace a physical human instructor with a computer. However, since a computer cannot correct your swing, nor tell you how to stand for the optimal power in your swing you will be able to quickly see why having a real instructor is quite so vital in order to be truly successful.

Learning ahead of time that you cannot learn tennis entirely online is important. Keeping your expectations reasonable is very important. Yet the internet can help you improve your game as long as you are working with a good instructor. From giving you some new drills, to advice on how to prepare for a tournament to even how you can psych out the competition the internet is packed with plenty of information that can be very helpful to you. Learning exactly what you are doing is essential in order to know how to improve and using the tools that are available to you to your benefit is important.

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Do you concerns about Tennis and Sports Medicine ?

Many people do not realize that beyond the initial beginnings of tennis that the sport can actually be very dangerous. Yet at the same time even those who do realize that it is dangerous often do not realize just how important it is to have a good sports medicine doctor that you work with. Most tennis injuries are caused specifically by the sport itself, which makes the need to have a sports medicine doctor quite large. If you are playing tennis at an advanced level or even professionally or semi-professionally you must have a good sports medicine doctor. Those players who are on the lower levels can typically avoid using a sports medicine doctor; however it is still a wise decision to have a doctor.

If you are injured for any reason due to playing a sport, which includes tennis seeing a good sports medicine doctor can often speed up your recovery time greatly. While you may not realize it, taking the time and effort to find a good doctor can ensure that you are not sitting around in pain struggling to find a doctor that can see you after you have been injured. Being able to simply call someone up to take care of your needs is very important, however waiting until after you are injured is a recipe for disaster, especially since not all doctors take new patients at all times.

You should take your time selecting a good sports medicine doctor. With the list of acute injuries for tennis being rather large it is important to ensure that you are working with someone that you trust. You also need to ensure that your doctor is highly experienced in sports medicine and is readily available in the event that you have a problem. For example, if it would take two weeks for you to get an appointment with your chosen sports medicine doctor it would be a very wise decision to search for a new doctor that could see you sooner.

In addition to helping you stay healthy by treating your injuries a good sports medicine doctor should be able to help you prevent injuries as well. They should be able to recommend specific exercises and safety equipment that will help you to avoid being injured. If you are working with a doctor that barely wants to ever talk to you then again you need to find a new doctor. Sports medicine doctors are typically quite hands on, however there are some that are just not as hands on in their treatment methods. Typically a hands on doctor will give you much better results.

If you do not already have a sports medicine doctor picked out you should consider talking to your coach or instructor to see whom they recommend. Most coaches are fairly well aware of which sports medicine doctors are good and which are not as effective at treating tennis injuries. You may also discover that simply by taking the advice of your coach that you find the absolute best sports medicine doctor that is in the area.

Remember, one of the biggest keys to preventing injuries is prevention itself. If you want to avoid being injured it is important that you establish a good working relationship with your sports medicine doctor before you are injured. This will allow them to help you in prevention, and help you treat the injuries themselves much faster when they do occur.

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Do you forget about 5 Exercise Tips for Tennis

As you can imagine, tennis is a very strenuous sport that requires a lot of energy as well as a really good physical condition in order to play successfully. This does not mean that you need to be a professional athlete to play well though. Of course the professionals have a physical trainer to help them, but you can achieve some of the same benefits by simply ensuring that you are doing exercises that will help you improve your game. How long you devote to exercise depends entirely on you, but you will be very glad you invested the time.

Running is one of the best things you can do. Whether you run at a full run or you choose to just jog does not matter as much. However the fact that you are running is phenomenal. If you stop and think a lot of tennis involves running back and forth across the court. If you have the energy to do this and do it without running out of breath then you are well onto the right track to ensure that you are in good physical shape. Running from one end of the court to the other and losing your breath in between will make it much harder for you to successfully play.

You are also going to need to work on strengthening your abdominal muscles. Having a good strong core with toned abs will help you achieve a powerful swing. While you do not need washboard abs you do need to ensure that you can control your abdominal muscles while you are playing. This means you are going to have to resort to some sit-ups and crunches to ensure that your stomach muscles are toned.

The muscles in your back cannot be ignored either. Using various workout equipment you can generally tone these in just a few minutes a day or however often you work out. Taking some small weights and focusing heavily upon repetitions rather than the actual weight amount is quite helpful in order to improve your overall back strength. Remember, many of the racquets that are used are quite heavy, so having the strength to lift them is important.

The arms and legs need to be toned as well. To do this some leg curls, arm curls and a bit of lifting weights can help. Once again you need to focus on repetitions since this is going to help you greatly while you are playing. The pure muscle mass is not as important as the ability to maintain your energy and strength during a match. You should strive to work towards higher numbers of reps regardless of which workout method you chose rather than pushing to bench press 300 pounds.

The final thing you need to work at is stretching. If you are doing proper stretches before any workout and before actually playing you are going to ensure that your muscles are in top shape. This will allow you to be a little bit looser in your playing without always being injured if you step slightly wrong. If your muscles are able to bend, flex and stretch without tearing or pulling immediately you will be able to avoid a lot of injuries. Make sure that you are always stretching as part of any exercise routine that you engage in to make sure your muscles are in top condition.

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Do you heard about this beginners Tournament Tips?

If you have decided that you want to try your hand at a few tournaments you are likely to be looking at a very long and hard road ahead of you. While a tournament can be a lot of fun, it can also be a huge hassle if you do not approach it with the right mindset and fully prepared both mentally and physically. However, if you are prepared then a tournament can be a great learning experience for you.

Always get a good night’s sleep before the tournament. Never try to play in a tournament after you have only gotten 2 or 3 hours of sleep. You increase the risk of getting hurt badly if you are overly tired and you really run the risk of making numerous mistakes. All of this compounded together will result in a very bad experience with a tournament.

Pack your bag for the tournament the night before. At the wee hours of the morning, you really do not want to be searching around your room looking for your tennis racquet. If you pack your bag the night before then you are setting yourself up to be successful. However, searching around for items that you need will have you leaving the house thoroughly stressed out and ready to rip your hair out before you even arrive at the tournament.

Eat a good breakfast high in carbohydrates. This will allow you to have plenty of energy to ensure that you can play a good game. If you skip over breakfast, you are going to be more concerned with your empty stomach rather than playing the best game possible. If you are going to be at the tournament all day, you also need to ensure that you take a couple of healthy snacks along as well. This will allow you to keep your energy level up and make sure that you can concentrate on the important aspects of the game.

Always act self-confident. If you look as if you are scared, you are going to be more likely to make mistakes. Realize that you need some experience with competitions and playing against new players in order to really boost your mental strength. If you are not looking confident then your opponent may be successful in psyching you out which can really harm your game. If you act and look confident then you are going to be much more likely to scare or worry your opponent, which will automatically give you the upper hand.

You should also take the time to prepare your outfit at least a day before the tournament. If something can go wrong it will, this means that your cute little dog will run off with your socks, shorts or even chew on your shoes. Preparing ahead of time would ensure that you have an extra pair of shoes on hand in case this comes up and have ensured that all of your clothes are put up in a safe place where you will not have to worry about them becoming the dog’s favorite chew toy. Remember, being prepared will allow you to really boost your confidence, after all there is nothing worse than losing a match before you even start playing because you freaked out over a small problem.

As a final preparation, you should ensure that you spend some time practicing the day before the tournament. This will allow you to practice your skills and ensure that you have mastered your killer backhand before you show it off to everyone at the competition. If you are able to practice the morning of the competition even better, but be careful not to overdo the early morning practice. You need your strength and energy for the competition itself. Always ensure that you have practiced any skills that you plan to use at the competition, because this is not the appropriate time to try out new skills that you have not had time to thoroughly practice.

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Do your Children like to play tennis

Parents are always looking for a good sport for their child and more and more parents are starting to turn to tennis as the perfect sport for their child. The benefits of tennis go far beyond simply learning good sportsmanship skills, it also goes deep into learning good skills in terms of eye coordination and even hand eye coordination just to mention a few. Deciding if tennis is the right sport for your child is sometimes easy and at other times a bit more complicated, but you should always take a cue from your child as you make the final decision.

The first step should be deciding if your child enjoys playing with large groups of people such as with football or soccer or if they prefer to play solo sports. While tennis is not so much a solo sport you are playing against another three people, rather than an entire field like many team sports involves. If your child does not like the idea of playing by themselves then tennis may not be the best match for them.

Children should also feel comfortable having a ball flying at them at high speeds. While nobody really sets out to walk onto the tennis court and be hit in the head with a ball, it is a possibility that is entirely possible to happen. If your child is quite shy they may not be comfortable with this idea, however if they are not easily intimidated then you may not have any problems with your child being upset over this. Many children take this as the perfect time to get started really improving their skills and technique in order to protect themselves from the ball.

You should also look at the benefits that tennis can provide. It is a great form of exercise that allows your child to move around the tennis court a very great deal thus providing them with plenty of exercise. At the same time, it is also possible to practice improved hand eye coordination, teamwork skills and even learn how to make quick decisions as a split second. A child who has issues making a decision is generally not cut out for tennis, however a child that is able to just jump in and make a fast decision will generally do very well at tennis.

Another good benefit of tennis is the ability to practice on their own. While many sports need a child to interact with numerous other people in order to actually practice a solid wall, tennis ball and racquet can allow your child to easily practice almost anywhere, even at your home. This allows your child to have the time to practice that they need which can be a huge help if you are looking for the best sport possible that will not potentially damage your property.

For parents who are looking for a competition sport tennis makes a wonderful choice, you can choose just how many or how few competitions you are comfortable with your child participating in and ultimately they can even play in the Olympics or as a professional if they are skilled enough when they get older. This can allow you to consider that tennis is a great sport because it has a serious future ahead that is very much possible for virtually anyone to learn.

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Essential Considerations for Your Tennis Bag

What you may not realize is that while having a great racquet will help you on the court, a good tennis bag will help you to do just as well off of the court. This is the primary reason why it is so important to have a tennis bag and will leave you wishing that you had a good bag on the days when you discover that you have forgotten an essential item. There are several things that you should keep in mind when you are picking out your tennis bag and if you are careful in your decision, you will have a bag that makes you very happy and lasts a long time.

You need to first ensure that you select a bag that is a good size for your needs. If you only need to carry a few things with you then an oversized bag will be a pain for you to deal with. However, if you need to carry a lot of equipment with you then it will be important to look for a bag that is much larger to ensure that you can carry everything that you need. If you just need a small bag then an oversized bag will just be a huge hassle that you will likely not take with you like you should. In order for your tennis bag to be effective, you need a bag that fits your needs without weighting you down.

If you are looking for a bag that will carry everything that you could possibly imagine and it is necessary to have it rather large in size then you will need to ensure that the bag that you select is constructed from very strong materials in order to ensure that it does not break. Many of the problems with cheaper bags is that they tend to break under the weight and pressure that a full bag will bring. You need to look for something that is reinforced and constructed with at least two layers of material in order to ensure that it will not tear up.

If you can use a much smaller bag then it is generally a good decision. This will allow you to carry fewer items with you, which reduces the amount of things that could be lost or stolen, plus it reduces the weight that you are carrying around to a level that you can comfortably handle. This can be a huge help when you are trying to ensure that you do not overweight your body.

The choice of color, brand and even style is something that you can decide upon based upon your personal preference; however ensuring that you have at least a shoulder strap on the bag will be a good idea so that you can comfortably carry the bag without hurting your hands. If you try to use a bag that only has hand straps you are going to be looking at a lot of weight and pressure on your hands, this is completely unnecessary and should be avoided at all costs before a game or even practice.

Picking the right bag will ensure that you are organized, as well as not hurting yourself carrying a bag around. However, if you are trying to pick out a bag that is bigger than you are then you are likely setting yourself up to be injured. Choose a bag that is small enough that you can reasonably carry it, in addition ensure that the bag has a padded shoulder strap so that you can protect your shoulder from enormous levels of strain. If you are unable to protect your shoulder then you are putting yourself at risk of an injury simply from carrying your bag, which will cause you several problems.

A great bag is essential, but choosing the right bag will be a process that generally takes a while to decide. In addition, you should avoid the idea of purchasing the cheapest bag that you can find. This will almost always result in increased amounts of frustration because the bag will break, rip, or even hurt you as you carry it. A good quality bag is well worth the price.

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How Easy to Improve Your Tennis Serve

There are a few quick and simple steps that you can do that will help you to dramatically increase your tennis score. However it is important to actually practice the steps rather than just read them. If you take the time to practice these quick steps you will see an almost immediate improvement in your tennis serve and you will notice that you entire game will improve overall.

The first thing that you need to do is to always relax your arm and your wrist. If you are tense, stressed out or easily excited you will notice that your arm will be quite tense. This will actually hinder your serve. Rather than acting like a wound up arm with more power, you will notice a definite decrease in the power that you have in your arm. This is the opposite effect from what you want. It is essential that you relax your arm and wrist. It is considered that as much as 20% of the power in your serve comes directly from the wrist, if your wrist is tight or tense you will lose as much as 15% of that power immediately. This is a huge hurt when you are trying to squeeze as much power as possible.

The next step is you need to practice your arm motion until you have a nice smooth and fluid movement. If your serve is jerky you are going to lose some of the power that you have gained by relaxing your arm and wrist. You need to practice this over and over again; however you should not practice this if you are overly tired. When you are over tired you will notice that your arm is much heavier and it is a lot harder to get the smooth and flowing movement that you really need in order to successfully serve the ball.

Jumping during your serve is also important. In fact this is one of the single most powerful movements that you can do in order to improve the overall power of your serve. If you are trying to really maximize your serve then you need to ensure that you are jumping as you serve. However, you also need to ensure that you are wearing a good pair of sturdy tennis shoes with plenty of cushion in the soles to protect your foot as you come down on impact with the court. This can provide a lot of relief to your knees as you land and will soften the blow to your body while still giving you the most power possible in your serve.

The final thing that you can do the most to maximize your serve is ensure that you are lining up your body with the service box that you are aiming for. If you are turning your body towards the stands or even the field across the way you are simply not going to be able to hit the service box like you need to in order to have a successful serve. This is something that is not negotiable; you need to aim the ball and to do that you need to turn your body in the direction of your target. This may take a bit of practice but if you practice your body facing you will see that it gets much easier over time and your serve improves dramatically.

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How to Avoid Tennis Elbow??

If you have ever heard anyone talk about tennis elbow then you surely know that it is not a pleasant situation. It can be rather painful and it is quite possible to do a lot of work to help prevent the injury. However, if you do not treat your body nicely you are putting yourself at a much greater risk for the injury as well as others. This is something that you should work hard to avoid, after all tennis elbow can cause serious pain that is not just whisked away with a heating pad.

You are first going to want to focus on prevention and in this spirit; it means that you need to ensure that you are getting the rest you need between playing. This means there is no reason that you should go out and play a 4-hour tournament then turn around and practice for another 2 hours. No matter what you think, this is not a wise idea. Rather a better idea would be taking the day off after you have finished the tournament so that you can give your arm the rest that it needs.

Take some time to get into good physical shape. This includes ensuring that you strengthen your arms and back. If you ensure that your arms and back are in good physical condition you will have the muscle strength built up that will help you to prevent the injury. However, failing to make sure you are in good physical condition can make you exceptionally vulnerable to problems. If you have problems with getting into good muscular shape, you should talk to your instructor or coach if you have one. If you do not then turn to the internet to help you develop a good exercise routine that will effectively allow you to strengthen these essential muscles.

For those who do not play tennis for hours a day it is important to pace yourself. This means no playing for four weeks does not give you the right to run out and play for 4 hours straight suddenly. You should play for much shorter periods after you have had a long period of time away from the court. Your arm is abused in the process of playing tennis and suddenly jumping in with both feet will put you at risk of wearing it out badly. Instead, play much easier on your body and work to get back to the game that you prefer to play. Remember, pushing yourself to achieve the results that you want may seem like a great idea, but pushing too hard will leave you with an injury.

Always stretch before you start playing a game or even practice. In addition, you should stretch after you are done playing as well. This will allow you to keep the muscles surrounding the tendon as supple as possible. Often tense muscles can help factor into a tendon injury and will have you in pain quite quickly if you forget to stretch one day. A few minutes of stretching can go a very long way towards keeping you in good shape and injury free.

The last major consideration that you should take into account is you need to avoid continuously repetitive movements that drag on forever. If you are practicing a swing or a serve then that is wonderful but at the same time, you need to ensure that you stop on occasion to take a break. This will be quite helpful in working with you to avoid injury. If you are overworking your muscles without a break, you are putting yourself heavily at risk of an injury and you are not likely to enjoy the results. Taking care of your body is the primary thing that you need to be concerned with, not trying to stress over practicing your serve for another two hours straight. The time you spend on the court will be much more effective with a few small breaks sprinkled into the day.

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How to Differentiate Tennis Balls ?

Who ever knew that there was a lot of decisions involved in picking out a tennis ball? After all, they are green or yellow and fuzzy. The biggest decision that you would think you should have to make is picking the color that you want to use. Yet there is actually so much more that people generally do not think about. This is an amazing discovery to most people, because honestly a ball is just a ball right? Of course a ball is a ball, but at the same time you could not play tennis very effectively if you were trying to use a basketball or even a football and vice versa. This has created the need to have specific balls that are specifically designed for the sport you are playing.

The differences in the types of places that you can play tennis has also made it very necessary to take the time to really go in and ensure that you have the right balls for the type of playing that you do. For example, there are two primary types of balls. This is aside from the slight differences in color; the difference tends to lie in how the balls are constructed. There are pressurized balls and those that are pressureless. The difference is inside of the ball, for example, pressurized balls are filled with either air or sometimes nitrogen inside. However, pressureless balls are just a solid core that has no air or gas inside.

The primary benefit is often the costs, if you are just beginning to play then the pressurized balls are generally much cheaper, however they tend to lose their bounce as the air escapes slowly about a month after they are opened. This means that after a while you will need to replace them, pressureless balls on the other hand do not lose their bounce, but after a while the fuzzy felt that provides some friction when playing will wear off. This means that they will still need to be replaced, however they can be used much longer before needing to be replaced.

Now that we have covered that you are feeling as if you are a tennis ball expert, however, there are still something’s that you need to know. For example, each pack of tennis balls is clearly marked with a label that says either High Altitude, Extra Duty or even Regular Duty. The difference in the balls at this point will have a huge impact upon the actual way that they play while you are using them. Using the wrong ball at the wrong time can create a bit of a problem, however choosing the right ball is important.

The first type is the High Altitude; these are designed to be used in places that are very high above sea level. The pressure inside of the ball has been adjusted to provide the optimal bounce at a level of approximately 4,000 feet or higher above sea level. This type of ball would be highly inappropriate for use in a tennis court that is deep inside a valley or anywhere else that is not high above sea level.

Another type is the Extra Duty; these balls are designed to be a bit more durable than Regular Duty. The primary purpose of an Extra Duty ball is to be used on tennis courts that are grass or even asphalt. They tend to hold up much better against the very tough surfaces and ensure that even on a grass surface you can get the bounce that you need to be able to play effectively.

The last type of ball is the Regular Duty ball; these are designed to be used primarily on surfaces such as indoor tennis courts and even those that are made from clay. Typically, these balls are designed for the majority of players to get used. It is important to realize that if you do play tennis on a hard surface or even grass tennis court with a regular duty ball that you will be lucky to get a single game or two of use from the ball before it is necessary to replace them.

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How to Improve Your Tennis Technique?

One of the biggest problems that people have when learning how to play tennis is learning how to improve their technique. This can be done through practice and by learning what you are doing, but if you do not know what you are doing it can be very complicated to master the technique. If you have any doubts about what you are doing, then working to follow a few small tips will greatly improve your overall game and ensure that you are playing a much better game. However, having a good hitting technique is not the only thing that you will need in order to play a good game, but it will certainly help you.

Your first step is going to be the tried and true tip of practice and practice some more. If you never practice your technique then it is not going to improve no matter how many books you read or how many tutorial videos you watch. Learning how to improve your technique by reading some books and articles can be helpful, but you must take what you have learned and actually put it to use on the tennis court in order to actually reap the benefits that are available to you.

Your next concern should be making sure that you are using a tennis racquet that is appropriate for your skill level as well as physical size. If you are using the wrong racquet then no matter what you do there will be no way for you to hit the ball effectively. If you work very hard to ensure that you are hitting the ball then you are certain to ensure that you are making progress. A good appropriately sized racquet will make it much easier to hit the ball and ensure that you are able to play the best possible.

For actual tips, you want to always hold the racquet as if you were going to hit the ball with your palm for a forehand swing. This will allow you to easily get the grip on the racquet you need to connect squarely with the racquet. If you hit from the side your ball is likely to land in the alley and unless you are playing doubles this is not a god idea at all.

For a good backhand, you need to hold the racquet with either one hand or two depending on how you are most comfortable. If you do hold the racquet with two hands you need to ensure that you are not overlapping your hands as this will cause you to tilt the racquet slightly which will again hinder your technique and likely result in numerous balls that go out into the alley. You need to also ensure that you are not using a racquet that is too heavy; if you are, it will pull down either forward or backwards and make it difficult to get a good solid square connection to the ball.

Your stance is also going to be very important. If you are standing around casually slouching when the ball is coming at you and slowly yawning as you lift the racquet you are not going to get the impact that you need. You are likely to not care about your technique either. However, since you are reading this you are telling yourself that you do care about your technique, which means you care about your stance as well. Ensure that you are properly balancing the weight between your legs to get the best results possible.

The last step is to always ensure that you watch where the ball goes. If you are wrong about where the ball goes and are having to suddenly bolt across the tennis court to barely touch it with your racquet you are not going to have as good of a return as if you had anticipated exactly where the ball was going. The skill of always watching the ball will involve a bit of careful planning and practice both on the court and off in order to be truly successful at improving your technique.

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How to Selecting the Right Tennis Instructor for Your Child?

As you can imagine there are numerous considerations that you should take into account if you are trying to select a suitable tennis instructor for a child. What is suitable for an adult is not always the best match for a child and this can sometimes be a very difficult difference to distinguish. What you determine as the first criteria is obviously someone who is skilled and talented as a player themselves, yet there are other criteria that should be considered as well.

Some of this criteria should include someone who is willing to offer up generous amounts of praise to your child. While of course some criticism is necessary in order to actually improve you do not want an instructor that only criticizes your child. Look for someone who also gives honest praise. If they are simply dolling out praise just to make parents happy, you want an instructor who is handing out praise because it is deserved. This will also go to show an instructor that pays close attention to the activities and behavior of the students as well which shows that they are highly attentive to the needs of your child.

Your next criteria should be an instructor who has patience with children who struggle to grasp the concepts set forth for them. You need an instructor who is willing to work with your child whether they catch on perfectly after the first lesson or it takes then 20 lessons to learn how to swing the racquet without hitting someone. The kind of continuity that this offers your child is very important and ensures that they will be able to really grow and learn with the same instructor and it also shows that an instructor is capable of adapting their teaching style based upon your child’s particular needs.

For children one of the key things to look for is an instructor who places the highest priority on having fun. Of course producing star tennis players is great, but an instructor who is more concerned with his next Olympic entry than having fun is likely to drive away the hobby players, which is where most children fall in the spectrum of players. Once your child grows older if they want to train for the Olympics then a different coach may be necessary but young children need to first have fun and improve their skills before moving onto worrying about being the best in the world.

As a good rule of thumb, you need an instructor who places a highly emphasized level on mastering all of the basics before moving onto advanced techniques. What good does it do to sign your child up to 10 tournaments if they are unable to even properly swing the racquet? You need to ensure that the instructor is willing to spend time on the basics until they are firmly mastered. If they insist upon moving your child along without the basics fully mastered then you need to find a new coach. Your child should never be pushed to a level that is beyond their capabilities for the time being. They may suddenly have a breakthrough and rapidly advance, but the lessons need to follow their own individual skill levels.

Your final consideration should be finding an instructor that is certified. This goes to help prove that they are capable of playing themselves. It also allows you to feel comfortable knowing that they have to adhere to a specific set of rules and guidelines in order to actually be certified. Many instructors that are lesser quality will not want to bother with the requirements to be certified, so this works as a very effective method to help weed out the instructors that are not as suitable for your needs. Always ask about certification before you ask any other questions about their teaching style or even prices. Without a certification, you do not want to work with them, and you should never send your child to them.

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Is Tennis Camp a Wise Investment?

If your child is training to be the next great tennis player then you may be wondering if a few weeks at a tennis camp is a good idea. The plain facts of the matter are that each child is different. What is best for one child may not be best for another, but some general guidelines will usually be quite helpful in deciding if sports camp is a good idea. Making a good decision can mean encouraging your child, making the wrong decision could turn your child against tennis for life and may be potentially devastating so always proceed with caution.

You need to first consider your child. If you have a child who is ready and determined to train for the Olympics for example then working towards finding a suitable tennis camp is a good idea. However, if your child merely enjoys tennis as a hobby then finding a tennis camp for much longer than a couple of hours a day may have the result of burning them out on the sport. Ensure that your child is participating at a reasonable level, this means if all year long your child is practicing tennis for a couple of hours each day that perhaps a few weeks off in the summer will be good for them.

You should also carefully look for the perfect camp. Never choose the first camp that you find. You want to look around and see what the focus of each camp is, whom the instructors are, what type of safety precautions they provide and you should also ask how they screen the staff. It is especially important to be cautious now with so many horrible adults gaining access to children. You need to know that your child is safe if you send them to camp.

Additionally you need to compare the costs of the camp with what you are getting. If the camp costs more than several months’ worth of lessons you need to be assured that they are going to have plenty of time to work on their skills. If all they are doing is sitting around a campfire singing and dancing then there are better uses for the money. However, if you are looking for just a fun camp and they also offer some tennis classes then this would be much more acceptable. A camp that is geared specifically towards tennis needs to provide some good reasons why your child should attend in order to really earn your business.

One of the last things that you need to consider is your own personal schedule. If you are planning another family trip at the same time then perhaps skipping the summer tennis camp is a wise idea. Spending time with the family is much more important than getting a few extra hours of tennis practice worked in. Take the time as a family to get away from everything and then allow your child to pick back up on classes when you return.

This will work wonders towards giving your child a much needed break, allow your family to bond and help everyone ensure that they have time for some other activities as well other than those they engage in all of the time on a normal daily basis. Work to make time for a few family activities and you should see your child improve on the court.

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Please Don't Get This Common Tennis Injuries

There are several things that you need to be well aware of as you consider how you are playing tennis. The body is susceptible to so many different potential injuries in the process of playing tennis that it is very important to be careful about how you play so that you can avoid as many injuries as possible. Yet even the most careful player will likely have an injury at some point in time. Learning to avoid most injuries and also learning which are most common will give you the advantage in a fast treatment, which will ultimately lead to a quick healing process.

Of course true to the name tennis elbow tends to be a very common injury. This is an injury that occurs to the upper arm on the inside close to the elbow itself. This tends to create problems with the way that you use your arm overall and if you are not careful you can badly injure your arm even further. The best for of prevention for tennis elbow is some rest as well as ensure that you are stretching thoroughly both before and after any time that you play. Even if you are only playing for a short period of time while you practice a good stretch is still useful to avoid injury.

Another highly common problem is tendinitis. There are several different types that tend to strike at tennis players and they include shoulder tendinitis, rotator cuff tendinitis, Achilles tendinitis and even wrist tendinitis. Tendinitis itself is defined as inflammation of the tendons. This means that for each area where tendinitis can occur for a tennis player that the tendons have become inflamed, irritated or even swollen. The exact amount of time it takes for tendinitis to heal generally varies greatly but it can be anywhere from a couple of days to several weeks.

Another highly common problem is osteoarthritis that occurs in the knee. Because of the huge amount of impact that occurs to the knees it is very important to ensure that they are as strong as possible as well as the shoes that you wearing are very strong. If you wear shoes without proper cushioning and do not take good care of your knees then you are at a much higher risk for osteoarthritis.

The biggest thing that you need to always keep in mind is that most tennis injuries are either acute or cumulative. This means that either they occur over time due to being over used or they occur suddenly due to trauma. Regardless of the exact type of injury taking the precautions necessary to ensure that you are wearing the appropriate safety equipment will go a very long way to ensure that you avoid as many injuries as possible.

It is also a wise idea to look into finding a good sports medicine doctor that you can work with in the event that you get an acute injury such as a torn rotator cuff, shoulder separation or even an Achilles tendon rupture. Taking proper care of injuries quickly is very important so knowing exactly who you will see if an injury occurs is a very wise decision to have worked out that will help you ensure that you stay as safe and healthy as possible no matter how long you play tennis.

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Selecting the Perfect Tennis Shoes.What's on your mind?

As you can imagine tennis is a very high impact sport, this alone creates a huge need for a good pair of highly appropriate shoes that are designed to last a long time and ensure that you have the durability as well as comfort that you need. If the shoes that you choose are not good for your skills then you are going to be looking at very sore feet and legs, potential problems with your back, a less than stellar game and massive discomfort. This is simply not acceptable during the middle of a match. You do not want to be uncomfortable so the need to have a good pair of sturdy shoes is greatly important.

You should first always ensure that you know the exact size of your foot. This is not a case of guessing that your size is approximately an eight is good enough. You need to know the exact size, without this information you could purchase the wrong size, which could cause your feet to be pinched, or could cause blisters if the shoes are too large. If you are not positive on the shoe size that you wear you need to see a professional at the shoe store to determine your shoe size before you do anything else.

Your next step is to determine what type of foot you have. The three major types are ideal, pronated and supinated. Depending on the exact type of your foot, your choice of shoes will be impacted. Not all shoes are suitable for all feet types. If you have a supinated foot then you should not pick out a pair of shoes that are designed for the ideal foot type. You need to know exactly how you stand on your foot in order to know the type of feet that you have. An ideal foot would wear the shoes evenly all across the bottom. Someone with a supinated foot would wear the shoes on the outside heavily, while the inside of the shoe was virtually untouched. A pronated foot would wear heavily the inside of the foot and often the arch area is badly worn as well. A pronated foot typically has a much higher risk of injury so having the proper shoes is not a luxury but a requirement.

Once you have determined shoe size and foot type you can then move onto finding the shoes that are most suitable for you based upon style and comfort level. Many tennis players decide to wear a particular brand of shoe and only wear that brand. This often happens simply because they find a brand that fits their foot well. You should always stick to the brands that fit well before you start looking at new brands simply because you know how well the brand will perform.

If you can afford to purchase them, you should also look to purchase brand name tennis shoes. While a lesser known brand is the perfect opportunity to save some money, they are not likely to be as comfortable nor last as long, which will ultimately make them a very poor decision. Tennis is a sport where you are on your feet the entire time you are playing; this combined with the sudden movements means that shoes is not an area where you should be pinching pennies.

You also need to look for a pair of shoes that provides a great amount of lateral support. This is what will help prevent your ankle from twisting as you run back and forth sideways across the court. If your shoes offer no lateral support, you are increasing the risk of a sprained or twisted ankle. Always ensure that you have plenty of lateral support before you purchase the shoes.

Your last consideration should be finding a pair of shoes that are lightweight. Remember you will be moving quickly across the court so you need to ensure that you have plenty of energy, heavy shoes will weight you down and make it quite difficult to move as fast as you need to move. However, a good sturdy pair of lightweight shoes that provide ample cushioning and lateral support will be your best investment.

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Should You Teach Tennis?

If you have ever considered yourself a stellar tennis player you may have had the idea of teaching tennis cross your mind. The freedom and flexibility that this provides can be almost unmatched and it also provides a great excuse to play more tennis. If you thoroughly enjoy the sport then this is the perfect thing to seriously consider. However, before you go jumping into a new career there are some things that you should take into consideration to ensure that it is a good match for you and your personal goals in life.

The first consideration is do you really like tennis. Some people simply tolerate tennis; if this is you then teaching tennis may not be the best idea. Someone who is successful at tennis absolutely loves it and there are few things that they would rather be doing than play tennis. This love is part of what drives the most successful instructors and it is also what has been known to produce the best coaches at the higher levels. Ensuring that you love tennis is a great first step because as a teacher you will need to practice yourself, plus spend time on the court teaching others.

You should also consider your people skills. While a teacher certainly does not need to win a popularity contest based upon their individual style it is important that they at least know how to successfully talk to people. Having good people skills will ensure that not only can you teach people, but you can also gain the trust of people as well. Someone is not going to be likely to pay for an instructor whom they dislike. It is important to treat people well in order to have students who return after the first lesson. Of course you could always have poor people skills and still attempt at teaching; however you are not likely to be very successful, have few good references and also have problems with students returning after the initial lesson.

You are also going to need to look into the certification process to become a certified teacher. This may seem frivolous if you only plan to teach occasionally, but it shows that you are dedicated to teaching the proper methods rather than simply turning someone loose on the tennis court with a racquet and a few balls. By being a certified teacher you can command higher rates for your time, plus you show your perspective students that you care before they have even met you.

The final thing you need to consider before taking on a new career is exactly what your skill level is. If you are just a beginner at tennis yourself then it is impossible for you to teach someone else. This means you are going to have to wait on your career change until you have the skills necessary to really successfully teach someone else. If you are a highly skilled player then this is not a concern for you, but the old saying of the blind leading the blind is never good. Especially in the situation where someone is paying you to teach them a skill, if you do not have all of the techniques mastered yourself you will not be able to teach someone else. If you are at least an advanced player you generally have enough skill, there is no reason to not teach just because you are not a professional tennis player.

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