Muscle pulls are often the result of muscles nearby not doing their job to assist or stabilize during movement. Low back strains are often the result of weak abdominals and glutes, whereas hamstring pulls are often caused by poor hip extension specifically with weakness in the glutes again.

Injuries to joint structures, such as shoulder tendinitis and ACL tears in the knee, are often the result of muscle imbalances front to back. Athletes that emphasize bench press, but ignore upper back strengthening will often experience an acute shoulder injury, or chronic pain with pressing movements in the weight room and on the field. Quadricep dominated training at the expense of the hamstrings can result in knee joint instability with deceleration and cutting, thus the common cause of many ACL and cartilage injuries.

A smart, balanced strength training program can go a long way toward preventing injury on the football field. I will give examples for some of the major joints and muscles, but remember these key points.

1. Training volume for the back of the body should match that of the front.
2. Football doesn’t just happen straight ahead. Training should include lateral and rotational movements as well. Plyometric and agility drills should address this also.
3. Don’t forget to train the trunk. This is the weakest part of the body in most athletes, but perhaps the most crucial for success.

Neck: First contact in football is often with the head and shoulders, so a strong neck and upper traps are critical for preventing neck injuries and “stingers”. Neck strengthening should be performed in all directions using a machine or resistance from a training partner. The athlete should remember to maintain good posture throughout, and not cheat with his body. The upper traps should be worked primarily with cleans, deadlifts, and the farmer’s walk. Shrugs and upright rows are traditional exercises that really just accentuate poor posture and can cause more neck and shoulder pain.

Shoulders: The shoulders have the greatest mobility of any joint, but also the least stability. The rotator cuff and scapular muscles of the upper back are responsible for joint stability especially during overhead or pressing activities. The scapular muscles are critical to maintain glenohumeral rhythm and joint space preventing impingement. This then allows the rotator cuff muscles to do their job and stabilize the shoulder joint.

The scapular musculature is recruited during pull-ups and chins, pull-downs, dumbbell or barbell rows, and deadlifts. Emphasize good posture throughout to effectively work the muscles, rather than throwing around too much weight. The rotator cuff muscles can be worked using bands or dumbbells to perform rotational movements and diagonal patterns. Using light dumbbells (3-5 pounds) to perform T’s, Y’s, L’s, and W’s are a great way to warm-up prior to lifting and will hit all the muscles of the shoulder girdle.

Lumbar Spine: The lower back is another area that is quite susceptible to injury, but can often be prevented with strengthening and attention to proper lifting technique. Keeping the low back flat during exercises like squats, deadlifts, and cleans is essential to preventing injury. Maintaining that posture against the load being lifted is also a tremendous strengthening exercise for the muscles of the entire back, even though other muscle groups are being targeted (i.e. squats for legs). Exercises like back hyperextensions and good mornings will target these muscles more throughout a greater range of motion.

Another key is abdominal strengthening to support the lumbar spine when it is under high stress. Strong abdominal muscles not only stabilize the spine, but also facilitate the transfer of power between the lower and upper body making your athletes more punishing blockers and tacklers. Explosive medicine ball throws are an excellent way to train the core musculature to stabilize the spine, and develop power at the same time.

Knees: As previously mentioned, non-contact knee injuries are often the result of muscle imbalances, specifically strong quads and weak hamstrings. Performing squats to parallel, and giving equal time to hamstring training will go a long way toward improving knee stability. Hamstring curls, glute-ham raises, and Romanian deadlifts should all be included at some point. Unilateral exercises like lunges, single leg squats, and single leg deadlifts can also be used to guard against imbalances from side to side. Lateral and rotation lunges can be used from time to time, along with agilities and plyos, to prep the knee joint structures for cutting and changes of direction.

Ankles: Ankle injuries are very common in football, and usually will occur with cutting or landing from a jump. Paying attention to strengthening the hips and trunk musculature will actually decrease ankle injuries because of improved body control with deceleration type movements. Another effective way to reduce non-contact ankle injuries is through agility and plyometric work. Stressing the muscles, tendons, and ligaments of the ankles using football specific movements will strengthen these structures, and prepare them to handle the forces placed on them in game situations. Start during the offseason and gradually build speed and increase difficulty of the drills.

As a physical therapist, the main causes of non-contact injuries I see are due to muscle imbalances, front to back and from side to side, and a lack of preparation for game-like conditions. The rehab process addresses these flaws by targeting the neglected supporting muscle groups, and stressing muscle and joint structures by incorporating sport specific movements. By applying these concepts to your training programs, many of these injuries will be avoided. That could mean fewer games missed and more wins in the Fall.

Joe Heiler PT, CSCS is a physical therapist specializing in sports medicine and orthopedics in Traverse City, Michigan. As a certified strength and conditioning specialist he has worked with athletes at all levels improving speed, power, and strength. Check out more great articles, exercise videos, audio interviews, and more from top physical therapists, athletic trainers, and sports performance coaches at http://www.sportsrehabexpert.com

Let’s start with your stance and the position of the ball. In general, your heals should be about shoulder width apart, unless you are using short irons in which case they should be slightly closer together, or long irons and which case they should be spread a little farther apart. The club should be aimed directly at the target and on a straight line running between the ball and the target. Your body should be parallel to the target line and your shoulders should be at right angles to the club face.

Your grip on the club should be firm but not to tense. Control is the essence here and not muscle power. The position of your wrists is also essential for creating the maximum impact on the ball at the correct angle and this will do a great deal more for the distance that you achieve than putting power into your shots will.

One of the most common mistakes that golfers make is to allow the lead wrist to collapse on impact with the ball. To help firm up your wrists a good exercise is to keep your arms at your side and practice raising and lowering the club using just the wrist. Each time you raise the club point the toe so that it is parallel with the ground and hold it in that position for five seconds. You should repeat this exercise several times using first one hand and then the other until your forearm begins to become sore but is not strained. You can also try taking a few swings using just one hand. This of course improve your swing by itself, but it will help you to develop control.

Next, take up a normal stance addressing the ball. Now take a club and hold it behind your head and across your shoulders. With a partner to help you, turn as if you were taking a back-swing and ask your partner to look along the line of the club. If you’re turning correctly for your back-swing the line of the club should be pointing four feet or more beyond the position of the ball.

A golf swing is essentially a rotational movement and the key to that movement is to ensure that both your back-swing and your down-swing are both in the same plane. Imagine playing with a round-topped table in front of you, tipped up on its edge and standing on the ball. The rim of the table then forms the arc that your club should follow throughout your swing.

Practice your back-swing and down-swing to the point at which you would normally contact the ball. Look carefully at the club face. Is it square to, and pointing along, the line to the target or have you opened the club face? If you have, then you are rotating your forearm too much.

Take half a dozen golf tees and place them in the ground a few inches apart in a straight line in front of you. Address the first tee as if it were a golf ball and take a swing at it, before moving forward to the next one and so on. With practice you should be able to consistently clip the middle of each tee while remaining within your swing plane.

The final important element of your golf swing is that of rhythm and balance. You’ll find that the two go together and the good rhythm requires good balance while good balance also requires a good sense of rhythm.

With your weight evenly distributed between your feet and with your spine tilted away from the target as you address the ball, take a smooth pull back and an easy swing down. Continue to practice a few swings and, as you do so, have a partner gently push your shoulder blades, your lower back and each shoulder in turn. In all cases you should remain standing firmly and, if there is any tendency to fall, then you’re not in balance as you swing.

An excellent way to practice your golf is to take some time out on one of the many golf vacations available today such as the superb golf vacations in Phoenix. For more information on many aspects of golf please visit Golf-Unlimited.info

I was placing and order for my first ad in the yellow pages when he asked me what I’m sure he thought was a casual conversation booster. “So what are you plans?” he asked. “Open up a school, hire a couple of teachers, then expand and open up a couple more schools?”

Yeah, right. It’s all just that easy.

Ever wonder what motivates a martial arts instructor to open a school? Money? Recognition? A chance to show off your skills in front of a captive audience four nights a week? Hardly. Every good martial arts instructor—and I mean the good ones—is motivated by something much less tangible and far more valuable than money or fame. I call it the moment of “Surprise Achievement.” It’s that special experience when something you’ve been teaching clicks in a student. It’s when they “get it.”

And you can’t put a price on that.

But, like it or not, the difficulties of trying to build a prosperous martial arts school threaten every school owner’s success. Most instructors know there really isn’t much money to be gained in teaching the arts. Given the costs of maintaining a facility, a web site, creating and printing flyers and brochures, promoting or entering tournaments (including travel expenses), and buying books, DVDs, and magazines to stay up on the latest trends (not to mention sorting the genuine ones from the hoaxes), a good instructor stands to make only nominal financial profit from a martial arts school.

And then there’s the time investment. All of the above eat away at valuable time spent with family, friends, or just about any other hobby you might have thought you were going to stay active with. Or for that matter, the hobbies your own kids might have. Try balancing your teaching schedule with cheering your kids on from the bleachers at their baseball games, hosting birthday parties, taking family vacations, and attending parent-teacher conferences.

Of course, we can’t forget the expectations of your students, either. If you’re claiming to be an “expert” in some area of martial arts, you better plan to spend as much time as possible doing your own grueling workouts. After all, no one would respect a martial arts instructor who can’t demonstrate at least basic techniques with black belt proficiency!

Which can also take a toll on your body. Balanced correctly, a martial arts instructor’s own practices—including the workouts you get while teaching—should leave you in perfect physical and mental harmony with the rest of the universe. Right?

Should, but…

The fact is, instructors face two big realities with regard to their own practice: 1) We age, and 2) Accidents happen. Believe it or not, we’re not perfect!

Those are the downsides in terms of money, time, and health. I’ll just briefly mention one more thing that every martial arts instructor experiences, few know how to really talk about among their peers, and is probably the number one reason people quit the business: Frustration.

Imagine spending hours at your computer creating and printing promotional brochures, doing good, hard workouts to stay in great condition. Now your in the dojo, the lights are on, the doors unlocked, you’ve carefully prepared tonight’s lessons—and no one shows up. For a martial arts instructor, it’s an experience that can quickly drain all your commitment—and fast.

Most students have no idea how many hours the teacher has spent just preparing for classes. Along with teaching, there’s encouraging commitment, motivating hard work, cultivating students’ beliefs in themselves, and nurturing a belief in their own success, often just to see them hop down the road to newest McDojo to learn the latest technique for dropping your opponent with the tap of a finger.

So what are we, crazy? Sometimes I think so! Yet something keeps us leaping out of bed each morning and trying again. It’s that peculiar experience called, “Surprise Achievement.”

It’s that moment when you struggled to help a confused and frustrated student to understand how a technique works. He tries it once, and gets a painful bruise on his arm; he tries it again and again, but it doesn’t seem to have any valid effect on his opponent. Then, just when you thought there were no more ways to explain it, demonstrate it, or get him to commit to the repetition drills, he gets it. You didn’t expect it to happen at that moment. Neither did he. And his face turns to you, the expression of disgust and frustration replaced by the surprise of an unexpected achievement. It’s spontaneous; it can’t be planned, and it’s never easy to get there. But it’s worth it.

In fact, it’s so worth it that I often remind my students that our greatest rewards arise from our greatest difficulties. When you know that they grasp that concept, and they invest their valuable time and energy into what you are teaching, the moments of Surprise-Achievement become more frequent, and your own reward as a teacher, immeasurable.

Every dedicated martial arts instructor knows there is a lot more to teaching than giving a couple of quick demonstrations, explanations, then just sitting back and watching students work their way to a black belt while you count the money.

Every martial artist who decides to go into teaching has had a taste of some kind of success. Maybe it was experienced in tournament competition, and you want to share that feeling with others. Or maybe it was just the atmosphere of the dojo, or the fascination with the techniques and strategies you’ve learned. But none of those experiences will sustain a good teacher for very long. Believe me, for every moment of success, there are ten moments of frustration that threaten to overwhelm you.

So forget the sales reps. They mean well, but what do they know? And forget the critics who think you’re just in it to feed your ego. Forget all the frustration. In the end, all that matters is what you and your students think. And that light in his eyes, that sudden beaming smile, that certain, “Aha!”

…more than makes it all worth while.

Marshall Buchholz is a Martial Arts instructor and school owner. He teaches the Wu Ying Tao style of Martial Arts. Visit his school’s web site at: http://www.professionalmartialartsofsalem.com

Unless you love football as much as your partner, your best bet is to make a plan to not only get you through the day, but have a great time too. Why should the football fans have all the fun? Here are three ideas that are simple to do and may just become an annual tradition:

1. Switch Houses. When you’d rather be doing something else, staying at home with your partner while they watch the pre-game, game, and post-game highlights is a surefire way to start the embers of an argument. If the Super Bowl drives you nuts, it’s time to get out of the house.

Put the word out and offer to host a Super Bowl survival party for your friends. The switch part of the deal is one of your friends has to open their home to all of the fans. Those who love football can spend the day in one house, while you enjoy your own gathering with friends – and a clean house! (You may want to split the cost of a cleaning service for your friend that gets stuck with the Super Bowl mess!)

2. One For Him and One For You. If, on the other hand, you don’t mind the Super Bowl as much as you are bored by it, why not host two parties in your home this January? Set up one space to watch the game and another space for your own festivities.

This would be the perfect time to hire a caterer. While this may seem like a splurge, having a caterer (or at least an attendant or server) on hand, will save you from the constant requests for refills and snacks.

If a caterer is not in your budget, ask each of your guests to bring an item. Then set up a buffet for the football fans near the television. Make sure you have everything they could possible need: coolers with ice and beverages, extra bags of chips, snacks, napkins, cups, and utensils.

Choose an activity for your own party, so that you will be too busy to get involved in the other party. You might have a mini-spa day, a film fest, or your own game day of board games or card games you like to play.

3. Take a Mini Vacation. If you’ve felt the need for some down time, the Super Bowl is the perfect excuse to get away from it all. With your partner firmly ensconced in the family room, you can easily slip away for a day – or even for the entire weekend. If you plan it right, you might not even see one commercial, or a glimpse of a halftime show.

The timing of the Super Bowl, just a few weeks after the holidays and school vacations, makes it the perfect time to get a little much-needed pampering. Visit a spa resort or bed and breakfast that offers in-room massage. Many inns and resorts in cold weather climates offer winter discounts that make a weekend getaway affordable.

Shopping trips, theater trips, or a food and wine adventure are also great ideas that will restore your energy and take your mind off the game. Wherever you choose to go, make sure the trip is one that will relax and inspire you. Choose something you wouldn’t otherwise do for yourself.

This January, however you choose to “get through the day”, approach it with a new enthusiasm. With a little planning, the Super Bowl can promise as much great fun for those who don’t like football as it does for diehard fans.

Karen Fusco is co-founder of http://www.SilkBow.com which supports Busy Moms with free gift ideas and helpful tips to meet the challenges of motherhood. She is also co-founder of http://www.WellnessArticles.net , a directory of articles covering many areas of wellness. Karen can be reached directly at: karen@SilkBow.com

From the bottom to the top it’s about two or more inches. Most players associate all of that space with teeing the golf ball high. We even have three-inch tees now.

So, that isn’t true. You don’t need that. Some of you might, but most of you don’t.

So, here’s my rule of thumb for how high should you tee the driver: If the mistake you make is that you constantly top the golf ball, that isn’t always the answer. You could fix your posture and bend over a little bit and that would fix topping the golf ball.

If you always hit underneath the golf ball, this isn’t always the answer, where you tee it down so low. Maybe you simply need to get your chin up.

So, a great rule of thumb is that the golf ball should be slightly higher than the center of the club face.

If the golf ball sits much higher than the center of the face, the swing tip to improve your golf would have you hitting the golf ball on the upswing. If it was teed down close to the ground, and you tried to hit the golf ball on the upswing, you might wind up hitting a little grass behind it. Instead, you would have to hit this one on a little bit of the downswing, which is defeating the purpose of the driver. The driver’s swing is a sweeping swing. And you want to catch the golf ball at the bottom of the arc.

At worst, you want to catch it on the way up but not too much on the way up.

Experiment with your tee shots. Play a whole round of golf where you tee it a lot lower than normal, then the next round a little bit lower than normal. And then play the third round where you tee it real high.

Now, I have a great golf strategy for you. I recently played 18 holes on a little bit of an odd golf course.

It was a good golf course, but the first nine holes, there was out of bounds on the entire left side.

On the back nine there was desert on the entire right side, the first nine holes, trouble left.

The golf strategy I used was that on the first 9 holes, I teed every golf ball exactly the same height, as close to the ground as I possibly could.

The last nine holes, I teed every tee shot as high as I possibly could.

On the first nine holes, when I teed it down low, if you tee a golf ball as low as possible to the ground, it’s very difficult to get the club face to cross over and to hook it. I never hooked one ball out of bounds for the first nine holes.

The last nine holes, trouble right, this is very difficult to slice from here. The golf club will cross over and you’ll wind up hooking the tee shot way before you’d slice it.

I missed one fairway on the front nine and I never missed a fairway on the back nine.

The golf strategy to use here is instead of changing your golf swing, change the way you tee it: low for fades of slices and high for draws of hooks.

Thanks and the next time out, give that a try.

David Nevogt writes golf instruction material that helps golfers of all levels reach their full potential and lower their scores. David is the author of “The Simple Golf Swing” which guarantees to have you shooting 7 strokes lower in only 1 week from today. You can find more of his golf instruction by going to http://www.golfswingguru.com

All you think about is hitting the put and you pull it to the left
of the cup.

You did so many things wrong.

The biggest sin while making this put was that you had a look to
see how the ball was getting on far too soon.

If you do this, your head comes up and you hit your ball to the
left a bit.
Just try this and have a look at the putter head when you lift your
head to look.
You will see that the putter head moves off line to
the left.
If you watch Tiger Woods put, you will notice that there are no
moving parts at all.

So the first major must is that you must keep your head and the rest of
the body perfectly still, as though carved in stone.

Even listen for the ball to fall into the hole.

The slightest movement of any part of the body not involved in the
swing of the put will push the ball off line and it only needs a
couple of degrees to cause you to miss the hole.

You have been practising your putting stroke, and now you have a
stroke with a very even tempo.

You take your putter head back the required distance and then you
apply the smooth even stroke that you have developed from
conscientious practice.

So the second major must is that you have to develop such a stroke.

You have done the above but your ball fell short of the hole.

What you did was forget to follow through.

Your beautiful stroke with its excellent tempo needs the final
flourish of a follow through to get the ball to its expected
distance.
Not to follow through is like not taking your putter head
back far enough because not to follow through means you are
deceleration as you go through the ball.

Do you see what I mean?

The force of the put is that of a lesser back swing.

So, don’t forget that a good putting stroke demands a good follow
through.
It is imperative to follow through or you will quit on the
shot instead maintaining the speed of the putter head through the
ball.

So the third must is that you must follow through so that your putter head
maintains its speed through the ball.

The fourth must is to take a little care when you read the green.

Have it fully worked out before you stand up to hit your put.
Then hit your put with confidence and trust what you have just worked
out about borrow and distance.

The fifth must is that you must expect the ball to go into the hole
or at least go close if the put is a bit long.

Always think that you will sink your put.
In other words, have confidence.

I think you will agree that Tiger Woods expects to sink every put no matter
where he is hitting it from.
He always looks so surprised when he misses, and a little disgusted with himself too I think.

I believe this is a major factor in his brilliant putting ability.

So when you hit your puts do not expect to miss.

Bill Maitland is a thinking, inventive golf guru.

What ever your method, you will know exactly how to put each time
you step onto the green if you put in same way every time.

I mentioned in a recent article that you should look carefully for
a putter that suits you, and then stick to it.

Bad putting on some days is the fault of the person holding the
putter not the putter it self.

You have to make sure that it is not too heavy on fast greens.

Therefore to slightly contradict what I have just said, it may be a
good idea to have a very suitable light putter for fast greens and
a heavier one, just as suitable for slower greens.

This way, your swing tempo will not have to change.

Nor will the length of your back swing have to change much.

Having been on the practice putting green before your round, you
will always be able to fine tune your back swing before you set
out.

To find a putter that feels so right for you may take a little
while.
Keep looking until you find it.

Then have a look at the sole of the putter when you take up your
putting stance.
Is the sole flat on the ground or is the toe sticking up a bit, or
is it the heel?

If you have either problem, take the perfect in every other way
putter to your pro shop, where the club will be bent a little to
make sure the sole of your putter is flat on the ground.

Now you line up as I have shown you in a previous article and you
will sink your share of puts.

Bill Maitland is a thinking, inventive golf guru.

I’ve come to the conclusion that nature probably plays a greater role in this drama than the fishing, but who’s to say for sure? I know I don’t put my waders on and just go out and stand in the middle of a river in order to be in nature, I can take a walk for that. So the fishing must have something to do with it. Nature is no doubt an integral part of this process. I think Emerson said it best, when he said, ” Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.” According to Emerson, nature’s secret is patience, and in my opinion it’s probably no coincidence that an angler’s secret is patience as well.

So I spend much of my time, as much as I can as a matter of fact, doing exactly what this article is titled. I stand in a river and mentally search for the truth. I usually manage to catch some beautiful trout as well, which is obviously all in order.

I suppose the biggest question for many people would probably be something along the lines of……..So have you found the truth that you were looking for? I would have to say no, because what I’ve realized is that it’s not about finding the truth or catching a trout for that matter. It’s about the act of searching, and I personally hope that I never find it.

Trevor Kugler – Co-founder of JRWfishing and founder of yourmoneyconnection.com
Trevor has more than 15 years of business experience and currently raises his three year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country – Montana.

To remedy such situations and to prepare rescue workers for handling horses in emergency situations, the Connecticut Horse Council initiated the Horse911 project—a series of workshops geared toward teaching Connecticut’s firefighters about basic horse-handling techniques while promoting fire prevention and preparedness among barn owners.

According to a recent article in Connecticut’s Journal Enquirer, more than 70 firefighters from six Connecticut firehouses attended a recent three-hour workshop on saving horses from barn fires. With the help of accomplished horsepeople, firefighters learned how to approach, halter and lead nervous horses amid the noise and bright lights emanating from the fire trucks.

Facilitators described horse behavior and anatomy so that firefighters would have an understanding about how a horse is affected by smoke inhalation or in its reluctance to flee a burning barn. The workshop facilitators hope that the training will help firefighters feel comfortable handling horses in situations other than barn fires such as loose horses or in the event of a trailer accident.

The Horse911 project is conducted in partnership with the Connecticut Horse Council, the Career Fire Chief’s Association, the Connecticut State Fire Academy and the Connecticut Animal Response Team. In addition to providing firefighter training, the Connecticut Horse Council also offers seminars in fire prevention and emergency response for horse and barn owners. At the request of a barn owner, the council can also arrange for an area fire chief’s inspection of a local barn to further fire prevention safety procedures and practices.

The Connecticut Horse Council began in 1969 to defeat proposed legislation that would have banned the use of bits and spurs. Since then, the group has been involved in all areas relevant to horse industries in Connecticut. The council’s motto is “Horsemen United in Leadership, Service and Education.”

Considering the spate of trailer and loose horse accidents across the nation, Connecticut has the right idea in getting its area firefighters more horse savvy. One would hope that more horse associations across the nation find example in Connecticut’s Horse Council’s initiatives.

Michael Albert is an expert by profession but he is also writing articles on horses, stallion, and trailors for a long time. He has done his research work in the same field within the organization of Horse Chit Chat. To know more about horse chit chat, horses for sale, horse trailers, horse forum, equine forum, horse articles visit horse chit chat.

A special feature of development in tennis is the tennis-typical early entry into high-level competition already in the child age 9-12 year olds. For that the ambitious new generation is already training in situations that usually are very high performance and normally in areas where only physically mature grown-ups would be.

The need for such an early start grows in dimension even more because tennis in the last years took a notable growth development and it is demonstrated by the high numbers of active players and by the high level of professionalism in the ATP & WTA tennis circuits.

As a Teacher and Coach I have been often confronted with parents with high expectations but who do not have a clue of the hard reality of high level competitive tennis.

The dilemma I am faced with is often; “am I going to tell this parent that unfortunately his son does not fulfill the high athletic, coordinative, mental or competitive standards of a future professional”, or… “should I shut-up and say to myself, this man is an adult he should know better and offer his “lame” son 5 times a week training plus conditioning and the works to cash in on a cool $20 000 or $50 000 a year”….and in 3 or 4 years comes daddy and asks; “why is my son not improving and so and so who started 3 months ago has already eclipsed him?!?”

Even though I am always as diplomatic as possible I choose the first option and I try to persuade the parent to go easy on the kid; give him more time to develop, keep the weekly training to one or two sessions a week and have a wait and see attitude.

Some parents have come to me with 17 and 18 year olds (not even ATP ranked) and when I try to dissuade them from the “professional” 5 hours a day training, they tell me; “but Marat Safin or Roger Federer only started to be sucessful at 21 or 22 years old!”

Trying to be nice I tell them, “well, Safin at 17 years old in 1997 – Won his first Challenger title and at 18 years old in 1998 – Finished in Top 50 Qualified and reached 4th RD at Roland Garros and US Open!”

“Roger Federer at fourteen years old, became the Swiss Junior champion for all age groups. At 17 years old in 1998 Federer’s last year in the Junior circuits; he won the Wimbledon Juniors title and the prestigious year-ending Orange Bowl. He finished the year as the ITF World Junior Tennis champion, N#1. Earlier in July, 1998, he had joined the ATP tour. In 1999-Youngest player (18 years, 4 months) to finish in Top 100!”

Some of these parent’s feel offended or think that I am “unprofessional” (how dare you say that MY SON is not going to be a champion!) and seek the next “famous” or “infamous” teacher that will sing them the song they wish to hear. Others stay, ask more questions, follow my advice and often consult me on the progress of their children. I feel very comfortable with this kind of person, they want to see their children improve but, they also understand that I am foregoing huge amounts of money by giving them an honest assessment. Therefore we strike a balance between high expectations and reality. On the other hand, from my side, I am more than willing to do all I can to help their children be the best they can be.

In many cases if the youngster has reasonable qualities, but not enough for an ATP or WTA career, I often suggest the second best choice that is to improve their tennis and conditioning between 15 and 17 years old and than apply for a tennis scholarship in a US University. This often is the best compromise with an excellent perspective of a diploma for a future successful professional life and a continuation in the sport of tennis.

Surely many of you are pondering the same questions, whether it is with your personal tennis, your children’s or as a teacher/coach.

To help teachers, parents and players make informed decisions, I put together some links that show how most of the players we see in the top hundred (if you want to make a living out of tennis you need to be in the Top 100!) WTA or ATP made it through.

(Copy and paste the links below onto your browser)

http://www.tenniscruz.com/ITF_Junior_World_Champions.htm

http://www.tenniscruz.com/Junior_Grand_Slam_Champions.htm

http://www.tenniscruz.com/Tennis_Grand_Slam_Finalists.htm

http://www.atptennis.com/5/en/rankings/entrysystem/

http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/2/rankings/singles_numeric.asp

Carefully compare the WTA or ATP rankings with the junior careers of tennis players and you will realize that with very few exceptions (Pete Sampras for example) almost every player in the top hundred was either top of their junior year or among the top five in the ITF world rankings or was a winner of either the Junior French Open, Australian Open, Wimbledon, US Open or Orange Bowl!

Most of the players are precocious in their development and often are the N# 1 in their countries and some of them win the National 14’s old at 12 years old the 16’s at 14 years old and 18’s at 16 years old. There are exceptions Pete Sampras being one of them, but, you must keep in mind that as a junior Pete Sampras goes practically unnoticed, because he played all his junior career in an age group or two ahead of his age and he was competing with the likes of Michael Chang, Andre Agassi, David wheaton and Jim Courier!

Another exception are the William sisters Venus and Serena two superb athletes who developed themselves without a junior record, but at an early age were beating mediocre pratice men partners on a regular basis and that played their first WTA tournaments in their 14s!!

If you want to get scared, think about Martina Hingis at 12 years old won the adult Swiss Women Nationals and that at age 13 won the French Open (Roland Garros) 18’s!

Not all top players are junior super-talents such as Pete Sampras, Roger Federer or Martina Hingis were, but they are pretty darn close!

There is a place for everyone in tennis, good or bad players they all love the game. What is important is to help young boys and girls within their possibilities without installing false expectations in their minds and ultimately avoiding large disappointments that in the end lead to many totally deserting the game of tennis.

It is better to develop 3 or 4 happy for life young tennis players, than 10 “wannabe champions” who sooner or later will quit disillusioned with the game!

Happy 2007!

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Sergio Cruz is ex # 1 National Champion, Davis Cup Player from Portugal and former Coach Jim
Courier ATP World Ranking # 1