The Challenge for Long Term Success by John Cavill
As a parent and a coach, there are so many things to weigh up when looking for long term player success. Every situation is an individual one, although there are common patterns and observations that can be made, especially when comparing players who win lots of matches at a young age. To set the scene, we must consider what is possible and what is happening before puberty occurs. Initially there isn’t much difference between boys and girls in their body size, composition and physiological responses to exercise during the pre-puberty stage, but there can be massive difference in these areas on an individual basis e.g. extremely large 8 year olds and small 10 year olds. These differences play a huge part in the players physical and psychological performance as mini tennis competition and most training sessions are based on age and NOT the players biological development stage. What furthermore complicates the issue in the UK is the mini tennis rating system which rewards ‘wins’...