About the course
We believe in an innovative way of developing tennis players, advise, teach and coach being ahead of the game and create trends vs following the existing ones.
To do so we challenge the status quo and break some of the rules also by using the reversed pedagogy, play tests, videos and match data analysis in a kind of alternative way.
Teaching is still, up to know, a carry on of false beliefs and traditions coming from the past. Science is giving us more tools nowadays to better understand how the brain and the body work!
Game awareness, ball and body feel are the keys to improve your game.
We suggest to learn from champions without copying them, you can only become the best version of yourself; get inspired, but your way it is only yours!
“A player can only be as good as his determination and ability to improve, all along the path.“
- Luca Appino
All the top players have in common, expressed at different degrees, and with a personal style, such essential "ingredients". Each athlete has different qualities and a different path according to his personal individuality and situation. Having clear such key aspects of the performance, related to player, family, and environment, we observe and analyse facts, so we can advise and/or drive your path towards your goals, suggesting your best personalised mix.
It is about your personal recipe, not a one, fits all method.
Our work is mainly oriented to develop young players, in particular the ones between 10 and16 years old, who have the dream and the goal to do what it takes to become top professionals and for this reason need a personalised guidance to express their best.
The observation and the analysis of strengths, weaknesses and concrete facts (test results, videos, match data analysis, logistics, family, team, other influencers, etc) on and off the court, helps us to define the individual priorities to work on, according to:
Effectiveness
Efficiency
Organization
Environment
Goals
From Dynamic Systems Motor Learning Theory through Reversed Pedagogy, we guide the player's development in a non conventional way, within a customised project.
From training to tournament schedule, according to your personal situation and goals, our advise and/or coaching, can optimise your tennis path.
The career of a tennis player is like a marathon, the fact you are the best after one km doesn't mean much. You have to train putting the proper foundations to be competitive when it really matters. So your goal as player is to acquire all the competences to become as complete as possibile in all strokes, and according to your characteristics express more consistently the ones that fit you better.
Player’s evaluation
At a given time, for a beginner as well as for an advanced player it is important to have a clear picture regarding the level of abilities, at a given time, in order to decide what to do, in particular, the priorities to start from and how to move forward.
First of all, it is essential to observe the way of playing, submit the player to a certain number of tests that provide data and information, including match data analysis, about skills, strengths, and eventual weaknesses.
A Q&A session with the player and the parents is also needed to be aware of the goals, will, and overall situation.
Player’s project
Goal setting and guidelines to follow
Knowing many relevant details of the situation and the will of each player/family, it is possible to suggest an appropriate program that can go from a simple to a more structured one. We advise to give you as much information as needed to help your choices.
High-performance path
Based on individual priorities, according to the goals set and the player's evolution (development, results, family, eventual injuries, etc.), we create a personalized spreadsheet that contains what is needed for a proper follow-up.
Player’s development
There are 4 key steps to go through:
- IMPACT ACCURACY (hit the sweet spot)
- BALL FEEL (Control of trajectories - speed, direction, spin, depth, height)
- EFFICIENCY (Master acceleration with a relevant minimum effort)
- EFFECTIVENESS (Expression of skills that produces results).
The steps above include all the aspects of the performance:
- PHYSICAL (Motor skills)
- TACTICAL (From strategy to shot selection)
- TECHNICAL (Execution of the strokes/shots-patterns)
- MENTAL (Beliefs, purpose, determination, and self-control)
- ENVIRONMENT (Situations and/or people that can have an influence)
- LOGISTICS (Where to train and compete)
- FINANCE (Investment according to the goal and the needed resources)
- ORGANIZATION (Choices made considering what above)
For a proper development, it is essential to be coherent: goals, beliefs, choices, actions and plans have to match.
Method
"PLAYER + TASK + CONSTRAINTS + ENVIRONMENT = OUTCOME"
Holistic approach aiming to develop each player skills as a unique individual based on:
- RULES OF TENNIS
- PHYSICS
- BIOMECHANICS
- COMPUTATIONAL THINKING
- DYNAMIC SYSTEMS MOTOR LEARNING THEORY
- NON-LINEAR PEDAGOGY
- SENSES STIMULATION THROUGH DIFFERENTIATION
- PYGMALION EFFECT
- VIDEO REVIEWS
- EVALUATION TESTS
- TARGETED MATCH DATA ANALYSIS
The aim is to create situations, that can be match play related, and work on them. So we stimulate ways of playing vs teaching standard, one fits all, strokes. The aim is to develop your technique without affecting your personal style.
Tennis is going more and more towards an increased speed of thinking, moving and striking.
Your training will be focused to achieve more STABILITY OF YOUR TECHNIQUE in the different TACTICAL SITUATIONS together with stimulating your EMOTIONAL CONTROL.
Where a ball goes it's the combination of 3 physical element happening at the impact between the ball and the racquet (in the sweet-spot). In particular:
- the direction of the swing
- the speed of the swing
- the inclination of the racquet head
to these need to be added to other key factors:
- THE INTENTION (where and how to play)
- THE PLAYER's FEEL
That's the direction that we follow to make you a player the better version of himself.