This is some good advice, which I feel strongly about, in getting the right junior tennis racquet.

 When picking out a junior tennis racquet, make sure that the weight corresponds with the child's strength and ability to swing the racquet. Choose smaller rackets for younger tennis players with advice from a USPTA certified tennis pro in this free video on tennis racquets.

                                       http://www.ehow.com/video_4974483_choose-junior-wilson-tennis-racket.html

Hi, my name is Lincoln Ward. I am the director of the Austin Tennis Center here in Austin, Texas as well as a USPTA Certified Teaching Pro. Today we're going to talk about how to choose a Wilson junior tennis racquet. Generally junior rackets are shorter in length and lighter in weight than adult racquets. If you're less than six years old I would recommend using a nineteen or a twenty one inch tennis racket. If you're between the ages of six and eight, I would recommend using a twenty, twenty five, twenty three inch racquet, probably a twenty three inch racket. If you're between the ages of eight and ten, I would recommend using a twenty five inch racquet.  If you're between the ages of ten and twelve, I'd recommend using a twenty six inch racquet. Now, if you've been playing for a while, and you're anywhere between ten and over, you could get away with a twenty seven inch raquet or an adult racket. Again, the weight of the racquet is most important than the length. The younger your are the less power you have to get that racket really swinging. And it really helps to generate the racket head speed for instant success. So the younger you are the smaller the racquet pretty much. Thank you very much.

Q. Why are tennis rackets made of graphite and titanium composites instead of wood? Where have all the wooden tennis rackets gone?

A: Weight, strength and speed are the names of the game in tennis racket design. Graphite, carbon fiber and titanium are the most common materials used in tennis rackets today (aluminum is still used in very low-end rackets as well). These high-tech materials cost less, are stronger and more versatile than is wood, lending greater creativity to racket designers and a much broader selection of products for players.

http://www.doittennis.com/buyers-guides/racquetfaq.php#whygraphite

I also like this short video clip below a great deal, as it adds some details which the first one doesn't.
                                                                                                    

                                                                            

                                                                                                  

The belated crying edition, but breathing is important too. Breathing will be naturally regulated when crying and also upon exhaling at the moment you are striking a tennis ball. First there is the 2012 Wimbledon Men's Final speeches and trophy presentation...I cried watching it and a lot of British tennis fans who wanted Brit Andy Murray to win cried too. Then there is another British crying moment from the James Bond film, "The Spy Who Loved Me," well Carly Simon can make me cry, how bout you. I cried today when a new student arrived for our tennis group, and it was the great American gymnastics star, Kerri Strug. Her greatest olympic moment made everyone cry, so watch here and see why. AND a tennis tip on breathing from Coach Bo's regular doubles partner and close friend Chris Evert.

 

What a great Wimbledon men's final.  The Brits who've hosted this major tennis tournament for 100+ years so wanted their home-grown tennis star, Andy Murray to win.  However watching this speech, there is no doubt he won the hearts of any tennis fan, in simply how he fought to win during the match and how he showed you his heart in the speech after losing the match to the greatest tennis player of all time.  Get some tissues before you watch this video clip.   Well at least the one above this caption, as the one below is Roger Federer's winning speech.

                                                    

Why is breathing important to your tennis game?

It was truly an honor to have Kerri McCormick Strug join us for tennis.

I was wrong this Carly Simon hit song was from, 'The Spy Who Knew Too Much.'

Last but not least is Billy Baldwin's greatest movie scene ever, which also makes me cry as it shows my second home and favorite city on earth, Chicago, in such a majestic way.  Billy actually came to tennis today, but the only person who recognized him was Mikey McCorrmick

You wanna see Warren Zevon perform 'Werewolves,' in the summertime, but you don't want all his hair in the summer heat. Pat Bone's daughter Debbie, will light up your life best in the winter, which is the same time of year to visit the Lapid's Reindeer farm in the country they own, Lapland.

 

I think if you look at this picture, and listen to one of the two music videos below, you'll quickly become cooler than it appears outside to be the opposite of ..  hot! have a HAPPY 4th of July!

 

Warren Zevon doing a live show in our garden state. 

but bringing the 'Werewolves of London.' too.    

                                                                   Debbie Boone - You Light Up My Life...live

                                                        This is a serious piece of real estate which someone you may know own all of it.

Kids can add a solid assist in the process of teaching other kids tennis. I was privileged to watch this happen today with an assist form Carolyn and Molly.

Vic Braden is the most influential tennis coach to how I teach tennis today, and how I now know I was first introduced to the sport as a excited 7 year old at summer swim club.  His book "Teaching Children Tennis The Vic Braden Way," has long been my way of instructing the sport to kids.  He has a long established tennis college, the first of it's kind, where instructors go to learn how to improve their craft.  He also founded a sport science research facility, connected to his tennis college.  One field study he just completed and released the findings,  was on kids teaching each other, and in different sports, not just tennis.

The article below is now a program that was the outgrowth of that study.  I cut and pasted it here, and also another link to a brief FYI on the man himself.

Published: April 14, 2010 Updated: April 15, 2010 1:39 p.m. 

Orange County Register News

Legendary tennis coach trains kids to be coaches, too

Vic Braden seeks parent volunteers for junior ambassadors coaching program.

By RASHI KESARWANI / THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

COTO DE CAZA Nothing seems to slow down 80-year-old tennis coach Vic Braden, not even the loss of eyesight in his left eye from an infection he suffered a year ago.
Braden, the legendary coach known for using video to improve players’ strokes, has spent his life applying the laws of physics and biology to tennis instruction. His pioneering methods are now used at Vic Braden Tennis Colleges in Utah and Arizona.

Vic Braden is re-starting his Tennis College in Coto De Caza for three days, April 23-25, to rejuvenate the Coto Valley Country Club. He also hopes the three-day tennis college will raise awareness for his philanthropic effort: The Junior Tennis Ambassadors program.

Braden is now hard at work launching a junior ambassadors program for Orange County students. The program, primarily sponsored by the Ronald Simon Family Foundation and run by Braden, aims to train young tennis players to be coaches for kids who go to school where tennis courts are non-existent or rundown.  Braden recently connected the varsity girls’ tennis team at Troy High School in Fullerton with elementary school students at Rolling Hills Elementary, also in Fullerton.

“I think it boosted up my confidence,” said Sara Gordon, a sophomore at Troy. “He would tell us even if you’re having a  bad day, you can still try to win and you can still win.”The varsity girls’ tennis coach at Troy, Donna Judd, credited Braden for his ability to draw out the best in people. “He really makes you feel like you can do it,” Judd said.

Braden’s work as a school psychologist in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s laid the groundwork for the philanthropic efforts he is pursuing today.

 “I ran an experiment where I taught kids how to be coaches,” Braden said. “When they took responsibility for other kids, concentration went up.”As a coach and spectator, Braden has seen that the players who win are the ones who focus on the execution of each stroke, not on the outcome of the point, game, set or match. He said this focus has the potential to help kids perform better in school.

Braden never intended to become a tennis icon. As a kid in Michigan in the ‘40s, Braden figured he would work on the railroad when he got older. His father worked as a coal miner and later in a paper mill, and his mother stayed home raising Braden and his six siblings.“I started playing tennis when I was caught in a theft,” Braden said.

At 10, Braden was caught stealing tennis balls that were hit over the fence of the tennis courts on his way to the football field.  The recreation director told the young Braden, “You’re going to jail or learning to play.” So began Braden’s tennis career. He went on to play tennis at Kalamazoo College in Michigan, where he won the league singles championships before graduating in 1951.

Braden said he’s in need of parent volunteers to assist in the training of young players to serve as coaches to other kids for the junior ambassadors program. To get involved, contact Vic Braden at 949-257-9863 or e-mail vicbraden@vicbraden.com.

Here is a link to another fantastic article about Vic Braden.  Some of these quotes, about his opinions on the state of the game today are so dead on, and ring in my head right now. 

 http://www.racquetsportsindustry.com/articles/2010/06/21_pioneers_in_tennis_vic_brad.html

 Here's a 15 second video clip where you'll get a little flavor of Vic. 

Snoopy loves Wimbledon so you should too. He went there to play tennis, but all you have to do is tune it in on your Telly via ESPN. .

Snoopy is going to Wimbledon to play some tennis.  We need to turn on our telly to connect with the tennis there.  So follow his journey in the cartoon below. Wimbledon is a famous tennis club located just outside the city of London, the capital of England.  We play tennis on a hard court.  What type of tennis court you think Snoopy is playing on, this is the same type that Wimbledon is played on. think your backyard, for a hint.  Snoopy also mentions a few names, which are famous tennis players from a long time ago. 

 

tel·ly 

 [tel-ee] Show IPA

noun, plural tel·lies. British Informal .

1.

television.

2.

a television  receiving set.

Origin:
1935–40; tel(evision)  + -y²

http://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/index.html

Click the link aright above here to find out anything and everything you wanna know about the 3rd major tennis tournament of the tennis year.  The US Open played at the end of the summer is the 4th and last major tennis tournament of the year.  ESPN will carry all the tennis action from Wimbledon, each and everyday this week, and the coverage starts at 8am and ends at 6pm.  You can also catch the live action at this site, just click the link above and the header will tell you where.

I have a favorite and he's got some great initials and a great story, Brian Baker, tell me if you happen to catch his next match, tomorrow, it starts too early but I am certain it'll be on in the evening on ESPN and 7pm on Tennis Channel.  If Baker wins tomorrow to get to the Quarterfinals, and after 6 years of inactivity and now 27 years old, moreover this is only his 2nd grass court tournament ever.  I feel he'll win this 4th round match against Philip Kohlschreiber, the veteran German player ranked #34 in the world.  Baker has beaten far better players than Philip, during his tourney play this spring.  He started this comeback in January at the Australia open, the first major of the tennis season.

I know this win will instantly turn him into the biggest story of this year's tournament and even the tennis world.  American tennis and especially the men have needed this boost in interest and new blood so to speak for quite some time.  Needless to say I hope you all catch at least a little of the tennis action.  The women's final will be televised on ABC channel 6 this coming Saturday at 9am.  The men's final will be televised on ABC channel 6 this coming Sunday at 9am.

http://www.tennischannel.com/ - The Tennis Channel also carries some of the action, but ESPN is the primary telly broadcaster of the tournament.

 http://www.tennischannel.com/news/NewsDetails.aspx?newsid=10642 - this is a story on the Tennis Channel site about the amazing comeback story of American Brian Baker.   A comeback story, America and BB ... this all sounds like apple pie music to my ears. 

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