#36: Simon Wheatley – Common Issues & Solutions in the Tennis Serve

In this episode you are going to listen to Simon Wheathley, Simon has been a Performance Coach for more than 10 years working in Great Britain. He has written 3 resources on mini tennis, authored the ‘Developing the serve resource for 10 & under’. Further more “The biomechanics of the serve” with age and gender guidelines for the LTA In this conversation you’ll get to know: – How the development pathway at the LTA works including the Tennis Passport – Common mistakes in the serve & how to correct them – How & why Simon often uses the phrase “Just find 10 percent more” Enjoy the show! Timestamps 01:30 The development pathway in the LTA 05:30 The need for a tennis passport 08:02 The passport 09:54 Why LTA seperates boys & girls 11:00 Why having more female coaches in tennis is important 13:06 Female Coaching Community 15:20 National Camps at LTA 17:03 The tennis serve 21:40 Common problems in the tennis serve 24:13 Developing the tennis serve 25:23 What to do before using video 29:03 Coaching Feedback 31:42 Why supervision is essential for every tennis coach 32:52 What players remember you for 34:12 What is a successful Tennis Coach 35:14 The opportunity of a tennis coach 36:23 Commitment more important than motivation 38:40 Difference on younger & older players 40:25 Coaching the performer & then the player 41:48 Raise your level with 10 percent 42:52 Planning & reviewing 45:46 Louis Cayer 46:38 The power of coaching 48:01 Engaging the parents 51:27 Parent’s must not feel like being on the outside 53:09 The mental part is not 80 % of tennis 57:01 Coaching foot work 58:07 Rally, attack & defence 60:28 Don’t settle for mediocrity