I spend a great deal of time trying to prove the worth of Red, Orange and Green to others. But recently I decided to stop trying so hard. You see the fact is that it makes sense. It’s the other side of the coin that doesn’t!

When JP McEnroe stepped out with the Max 200G a few said … “Hey that’s crazy .. get your wooden MaxPlys out!!”  So where are we now! When they changed tennis balls from white to yellow because it helped players see them better no one batted an eyelid.

When new acrylic surfaces were introduced, and hawkeye, and sports orthotics, and polyester strings the same reaction, and yet after a few sniggers people had to eat their words. We must grasp the fact that the world does keep spinning every day and it spins forwards, not backwards and what was in the past gets replaced by what will come, a better and more considered option!

The fact is we make changes.. or as we prefer to say “evolve” all the time. So I am throwing the ball back and saying … this ROG system makes perfect sense to me and most every coach that has tried it so you “Yellow Ball Purists” .. show me why kids tennis should not evolve!!

Finally let me leave you with this quick (slightly altered) statement

“The greatest limit to mans potential is not fear or lack of opportunity, but the illusion of knowledge!”

From Dave Colby – Manchester Athletic Club, MA, USA

For me this was a week to remember. I had a group of kids that play two times a week and are 6 and 7 years old. They all play on a red court and are developing quite some skills. We started the lesson with picking a pro player that they wanted to be that lesson. Of course Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are mentioned, but one of the kids wanted to be Pete Sampras (my idol when I was young). The funny thing is that Pete Sampras officially retired in 2003, the year this kid was born. When I asked this kid why he chose Pete Sampras, his answer was: “Because you told me to look at some tennis clips on tv or on YouTube and I liked the way how he hits his serve…”. To be honest I forgot that I gave them that assignment a couple of weeks before and this kid just did what I told him to do.

Let your kids be a proplayer and see how it improves their tennis, simply by having a role model/tennis hero and being inspired, even when they are 6 or 7 years old.

Another group lesson I had this week, was a group of 8 kids that are 5 and 6 years old and are playing once a week since 6 months now. This was my first lesson that day so I set up the court with 4 little nets (I just hadn’t put them in the right positions) and a couple of buckets with balls. In each bucket were different type of balls. One with red, one with orange, one with green and one with yellow balls, meant for the other lessons I had that day. I started talking with one of the parents and some of the other parents started playing with their kids. When I finished talking to one of the parents, I looked at the kids and they were placing the nets into the right spots, they were making little courts with throw down lines, grabbed the red balls (they could have grabbed yellow balls, but they didn’t) and started playing with their parents. They were calling the lines and keeping the score. They understand the rules and were even giving feedback to their parents to stand behind the lines and getting in a right ready-position. THEY WERE ALL TENNISPLAYERS!

This reminds me of something Abraham Lincoln said: Do nothing for your child that they can’t to for themselves. (In this particular case, setting up the courts). Now I know for sure they can play on a proper court, even when I’m not there. These kids made me very proud that day!!!

Next task; getting them to bring a simple tennis bag (backpack) and let them be prepared for the lesson by taking a bottle of water with them and a couple of other things. To be continued!

Kind regards,

Tim de Rooij,

Headcoach TV Nieuw-Vennep, The Netherlands

FROM JASON LINDERMAN, HOT SHOTS AMBASSADOR….

The following email was received from a parent from Jasons program. At 10am on a rough day it made me smile and cry all at the same time! Dont ever underestimate your capacity to change lives!

From Jason!

Below is an email I recieved highlighting the success of what I learnt from you. I am  having great success with Hot Shots and really enjoying working with this age group Its working and we have loads of enthusiastic kids and parents!

Thanks!

From a Mum!

“My 7 year old lost his way this year. He was unwell and admitted to hospital for a ti m e. He lost some of his motor skills, and his confidence. His behaviour became very difficult due to frustration.  He lost his enthusiasm for ball sports. Everyone who knew him felt  sad for a little fellow who was regarded as being a happy boy with a real spark for life; who rollicked through his days at 100 m iles per hour. Through the support of his Hot Shots coach and the suitability of the programme for development of ball skills, he has regained his ” mojo” and is focussing again. He recently enjoyed participating in the December RED BALL Challenge 2010. He (and his 9yo sister) beca me so enthused about tennis that they would get up at 6a m , have their beds made, set the breakfast table and pack their school bags on tennis days. The best thing for him about the Red Ball Challenge was being part of a team and helping each other and going out and having fun together. I wonder if this is what Pat Rafter is after for the next generation of kids that wants to play for Australia …being able to bottle that enthusiasm for the team ; playing well individually but also being able to celebrate a team mates’ success as well.”

From a very appreciative mum .

#1 Right Stuff – Courts and Equipment are scaled to the appropriate size of the child. When children are just starting out we want to make it easier for them to play, not more difficult. Using the yellow ball on the full sized court makes it much tougher for them, especially as they are smaller. In no other sport is a six or seven year old child expected to play on an adult sized field or court!

#2 More Skills – Balls bounce lower and some (red) fly slower also, allowing players to develop technical skills faster. Using these balls means that children can learn more not less. As they develop they transfer these skills, as they move
from court to court, adding more coordination and complexity.

#3 No Extremes – As balls are hit in the appropriate strike zones more often players are less likely to
develop extreme grips and techniques that might limit their future development both tactically and technically.

#4 Play Quicker – Players can serve, rally and score faster. This means that children feel like they can really play the game and have more fun. They are also much more likely to practice as they can play without the coach, can play with you, and with their friends.

#5 Play and Stay – Players Stay in the game because they can actually play it (not a bunch of random other games). They learn the real skills required to play, and the coaches don’t have to makeup games that involve a ball and racquet but don’t actually resemble tennis at all.

#6 More Balls Please – As they can rally they will hit over 100% more balls than a player standing in line, being fed balls by the coach. No longer do children have to spend more time picking up than they do hitting. As a result they will improve much faster and also develop the essential tracking and receiving skills required for tennis.

#7 Tactical Mastery – Players develop a greater tactical awareness of the court and opponent sooner as they have the time to integrate the position of the opponent into a decision making process rather than just “winning the collision” with the ball. In short they get to “make the ball do what they want it to” and not just “cope” with the oncoming ball.

#8 Ticking all the Boxes – Red, Orange and Green tennis provides a systematic approach to developing different skills as ball trajectories change and court dimensions requires new or more advanced levels of technical and tactical skills. Players learn skills in an order meaning that they develop fewer gaps in their technical and tactical skills, or game styles.

#9 Move it – Players movement patterns are more realistic. For example 85% of shots on the tour are hit within 4 steps of the starting position. On appropriate sized courts this is very similar. Players can learn to be “on balance” and use realistic footwork and movement patterns. Also as more balls come back and rallies are longer they learn that recovery and being ready for the next shot are essential.

#10 No Robots – Players can develop a variety of game styles and skills that better suit their personality. The slower balls and smaller courts mean that players can play in all areas of the court, coming to net more often and learning to attack and defend more appropriately.