b. Coaches | oncourt.ca

Craig Mercer: “Decline of the Tennis Superpower?”

3. May 2013

In my previous article on Spain I outlined my general conclusions on "Why Spain is so Good: The Seven Spanish Secrets to World Tennis Dominance". There are many things to be learned from our Spanish friends about developing players to become professionals; however there are some potential weaknesses and threats which could lead to a decline in their success. In this article I will share a few thoughts on why Spanish tennis development could suffer a decline.

TTA wins first U10 Ontario Team Tennis Championship

26. April 2013

0 Comments

TTA wins first U10 Ontario Team Tennis Championship

The inaugural U10 2013 Ontario Team Tennis Championships hosted by ACE Tennis last weekend, April 20-21, was a resounding success! It is certain that the players who participated will never forget their first competitive team tennis experience. From the eleven teams [ACE Burlington and TTC, Toronto Tennis Academy, ORC, Niagara Academy, Oakville Tennis School, Veneto Tennis Center and Ottawa] which competed, Toronto Tennis Academy #1 team emerged as the winner.

Peter Straub: “Five Ways to Stay Happy Playing Tennis”

26. April 2013

1 Comment

Peter Straub: “Five Ways to Stay Happy Playing Tennis”

This article is primarily for tennis competitors, but it can be used by anyone to make every area of their life more enjoyable. My reason for writing about this topic is that I want everyone to be happy and to play great tennis. We all have two basic wishes: to be happy and to be free from problems and suffering. We have these wishes all the time, including when we play tennis. When we compete we hope that we will: play great; win; stay in the lead; not get nervous; not lose; be seen as a good or great player; etc. If some of these things don’t happen, we view this as a problem and become afraid and tighten up.

Craig Mercer: “Fuel the Dream”

19. April 2013

1 Comment

A few weeks ago Irfan Shamasdin and I were the coaches for Team Ontario at the U14 Indoor Junior Canadian Nationals in Vancouver. This winter, when I realized that the U14 Nationals would be played at the same time and in the same city as Canada's Davis Cup tie with Italy, bells started ringing! I suggested to Kartik Vyas at the Ontario Tennis Association (OTA) that we arrange for our players to experience Davis Cup. It turned out that Tennis Canada had the same idea. They decided to host the U14 Nationals at the UBC Tennis Centre which is next door to Thunderbird Stadium where the Davis Cup matches were to be played. Originally the U14 Nationals were to be hosted at Hollyburn Country Club; this was changed so that Hollyburn would host April 1-4, and UBC April 5-7.

Clement Golliet: “Spine Stability”

12. April 2013

2 Comments

Spine stability is a widely misunderstood topic and its concept is often misused. Most of the time exercises are done on the assumption that they will help athletes reinforce their back, but in fact it is the opposite that happens. I will try here to define what spine stability means, review the mechanisms that lead to injuries and the importance of maintaining a tight torso.

Craig Mercer: “Why Spain is so Good: the Seven Spanish Secrets to World Tennis Dominance”

15. March 2013

9 Comments

Last month I traveled to Barcelona for two main reasons. The first was to check up on a 12-year-old player that I coach, Alberto Vergara. Alberto is in Barcelona for two months to gain independence, learn to play on clay and to build his mental and physical strength and endurance. I wanted to ensure that the objectives that I shared with the coaches at the Bruguera Tennis Academy Top Team before Alberto left were being focused on. As well, I wanted to learn their coaching philosophies and methods and to see how I could translate the work that they are doing back to our training in Canada.