Archive for the ‘Junior Tour’ Category

Posted on October 21, 2008 - by The Insider

Bernard Tomic Signs Sponsorship Deal with Garnier

Health and beauty brand Garnier, associate sponsor of the Australian Open, this week broadened its support of tennis to a rising star of the game, signing Bernard Tomic as a brand ambassador.

The two-year deal will see Tomic appear in both print and TV advertising for Garnier and make personal appearances at the hugely popular Garnier World during the Australian Open.

I have seen Tomic grow up as a player when he was training back at school on the Gold Coast. He used to get coached by the same academy as myself. Bernard has grown up as a player and a person a huge amount in the last 3 or so years, and this new sponsorship is a great stepping stone for him to reach his goals on the ATP Tour. Plus it helps to have IMG on your side!

In 2008, Tomic became the youngest player in the Open era to win the Australian Open Junior Championships, and reached the finals of the Wimbledon boys’ doubles.

In 2007, Tomic led the Optus Australian Junior Davis Cup team to victory at the world final and hoisted his third Orange Bowl trophy. In 2006, at just fourteen, he announced his presence on the international scene by winning four International Junior Tennis Federation (ITF) 18/u titles in just two months, and was recognised with the Garnier Rising Star Award, a $10,000 tennis scholarship in January 2007.

Announcing the signing, General Manager of Garnier, Mark O’Keefe said, “Garnier is excited to announce a partnership with Bernard Tomic. We believe Bernard reflects perfectly the youthful energy and passion that lies at the heart of the Garnier brand.

Posted on September 26, 2008 - by Michael

Even Kids Need a Strategy

Even kids need a strategy. This is something I see all the time. People learning to play tennis are so focused on the technical aspect they have very little direction in a match. Children, in particular are focused on technique AND VERY vulnerable to distractions.

So, parents, here is a great tip to tell your children, just before they go out on the tennis court to play match.

* win the first two points of every game.

* hit two balls to the backhand, then one to the forehand.

By telling children to focus on just these two simple things, they now have a plan. When times get tough in the match they have a friend. Their plan.

People learning to play tennis do not have distinct strengths and weaknesses, therefore your opponent of equal ability really has no massive strength or no massive weakness. Therefore a basic plan really focussing on yourself will be the most effective.

Let’s talk about the two tips in more detail.

Win the first two points of every game. This actually applies to players at every level however it is very important to beginners who need to understand the importance of getting in front in an individual game. Beginners in particular are more likely to have a negative reaction to losing the first two points. They are more likely to throw the towel in, have a tantrum, drop their bundle. Especially kids. Therefore if you can focus on winning the first two points they may be handed the rest of the game with easy points.

Hit two balls to their backhand, then one to their forehand. the goal of this tip is to basically have some direction with every shot that they hit. So many kids just hit the ball aimlessly. Everybody needs direction with every shot. In actual fact, it doesn’t matter where the ball ended up, just as long as you have a plan. I have chosen to to the backhand won to the forehand because usually players backhands are weaker than their forehands. If there is an obvious weakness, play two shots to that side and one to the strong side.

Recently I saw a great example of this work. The standard of the two young players was very similar. Before the match I told his father, to tell his son, to concentrate on those two tips. During the match, the opponent became very annoying on court. He was screaming “come on” on a double fault. For an innocent ten-year old this is very distracting. By having the basic plan - this gave him direction during hard times. He was able to focus during a very distracting match and beat this opponent.

Let me know what you think !! Enjoy, Michael

Posted on July 22, 2008 - by The Insider

Dan Evans Gets Punished by LTA for Partying. But Im Sure He Isnt Too Worried!

This is a story has been blown totally out of proportion. I was reading on the Mail website today about one of Britains top junior tennis players and how he has been hit by a ban from the LTA. Dan Evans was the player in question has has been stripped of all funding and support from the LTA for four months because he went out on the piss during Wimbledon. Evans was seen with his doubles partner Smethurst leaving a Wimbledon town nightclub at 3am. I think this is just a little over the top!

Most tennis players on tour especially juniors really enjoy to go out and party. I know he picked the wrong time to do it, while playing at Wimbledon and of course he should be punished for this. However, you have to expect these to players to unwind somehow and with him still being in juniors most of the top players will see their funding stop when they move into Adults anyways. I do think that British tennis is getting it wrong with funding anyways, but that’s another article. Evans only has another year or two of funding left before they will just remove him from the system, so he might was well enjoy his time at the top of juniors while he has it, because the next few years will be the hardest of his life, if he wants to make a career out of tennis.