I think people are generally good. One argument says that people have always been selfish and interested in increasing their own power at the expense of everyone else, so they need a government, parent, or dictator to make them behave in a civilized manner. Another argument says that people were good from the start, and […]

I’m not sure where I am. I hear machines growling and grinding, and it’s light enough to see that I’m inside a building. Whoever is outside this room sounds angry and aggressive. Someone’s coming. I hope they don’t see me.  It’s big and slow moving and seems to be sneaking up on me. It might

Put an ice cube in a hot oven, it will melt. Put your hot cup of coffee in the freezer, it will become solid. Let’s not get sidetracked by someone who says, “What if the power goes out, or you take the coffee out before it freezes?” because in those situations, the results will still

How many of you know a person who steps onto the court to play tennis, and is swearing at himself in less than five minutes? He misses a shot and says things to himself that he wouldn’t say to his spouse, children, friends, or his dog. This verbal self-abuse is painful to watch, or to

Sometimes when I’m feeding balls to two or three lines of students who are warming up their groundstrokes at the beginning of a skills and drills class, I’ll notice that some, or all, of the players aren’t putting much effort into hitting the ball as well as they can. People who want to play games,

Beginners can get the hang of it, and everyone else can improve. After we establish that, we’re just discussing details. Technique can be improved, tactics can be adjusted, and mental toughness and attitude can be optimized. If someone says they can’t learn something, or they can’t change, their challenge probably isn’t technical or tactical. Without

I must be doing something wrong. Or maybe I can only do so much. I think I’m a pretty good motivator, inspiring, persuasive, adept at generating excitement. I see it all the time. On the tennis court with students, talking to people in Starbucks or the grocery store, my energetic enthusiasm creates real positive energy.

If your backhand is one of your strengths, congratulations, and kindly choose an activity you consider a weakness for the purposes of this discussion. If, like many of us, you don’t smile and look forward to striking backhands with complete confidence, let’s talk about why, and whether it makes sense to change. I met a

It might be hard to predict what any one person will do, but it’s easy to predict what a group of people will do. Students often look at me like they think I’m reading their minds. Sometimes, when teaching a skill, I’ll feed the ball and shout, “Yes!” before they’ve even hit the ball, because

I’ve been coaching tennis long enough to learn some pretty obvious truths. And I generally have to run into something repeatedly before I make inescapable discoveries. As the quality of high speed video continues to improve, coaching and instruction techniques evolve as well. When Vic Braden showed what happens when a racquet strikes a ball,