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American Juniors Dominate French Open

June 6, 2015November 13, 2016 horvath Leave a comment

In the online version of Tennis Briefs Bob Larson recently reported that Patrick McEnroe, former director of player development for USTA, said that he believes the current gang of teenagers is a good reason for optimism. In other words, McEnroe expects to see American juniors dominate the Grand Slams in the not-to-distant future.

McEnroe was correct, at least as it pertains to the French Open Junior Championships.

Eight of the 64 boys were Americans – of which Tommy Paul and Harry Taylor Fritz met in the finals. Paul was the upset winner.

William Blumberg was ousted in the first round and Alex Rybakov, Ulises Blanch and Nathan Ponwith won their initial matches before losing in the second round.

The remaining four players won their matches in the round of 16. Reilly Opelka was defeated in the quarterfinals and Michael Mmoh was ousted in the semifinals. Three of the four semifinalists were Americans.

Overall the American boys were 21-7.

There were also eight American girls. The following four girls lost in the first round: Raveena Kingsley, Sofia Kenin, Francesca Dilorenzo, and Michaela Gordon. After winning her first match Usue Maltane Arconada was defeated in the second round.

Carolyn Dolehide won two matches before losing in the third round and Katherine Steward was defeated in the fourth round.

The last American girl standing was C.C. Bellis. She won four matches before bowing out in the semifinals.

Overall the American girls were 10-8.

Hats off to the American Juniors. Hopefully Patrick McEnroe is correct and we will see American juniors dominate the Grand Slams for many years to come.

Will the Americans Show up at the 2015 French Open?

May 24, 2015November 13, 2016 horvath Leave a comment

The 2015 French Open is right around the corner and the American men and women hope to erase their abysmal performance in 2014.

Last year Taylor Townsend and Sloane Stephens were the only American women to advance past the second round. Townsend lost in the third round and Stephens lost in the round of 16.

On the men’s side John Isner had the top performance last year. He held his seed by winning three matches before being defeated in the round of 16.

The expectations are low for the seven American men in the 2015 draw. Going into the tournament the following six American men were ranked in the top 100 on the ATP tour:
• 16 John Isner
• 37 Jack Sock
• 38 Sam Querrey
• 52 Donald Young
• 56 Steve Johnson
• 73 Tim Smyczek
Frances Tiafoe was not ranked in the top 100.

Isner is seeded 16th. He is a steady performer who usually holds his seed. With good fortune, he will hold his seed this year.

The outlook for the women is slightly brighter, if for no other reason than 17 American women are in the draw. Unfortunately, 13 of them are in the upper half.

The four players in the lower half will be fortunate to get past the second round (Chirico, Gibbs, Davis, and Brengle).

There are three American women seeded. As expected Serena Williams is first. Her sister, Venus, is seeded 15th, and Madison Keys is seeded 16th. The outlook for these seeds follows:
• Venus will play Sloane Stephens in the first round. That is an intriguing match-up.
• Keys has had a solid year; however, she is in a tough bracket. It is unlikely she will hold her seed.
• Because Serena is so dominant it will be hard to cheer against her to win the tournament, especially since she lost in the first round last year. Unfortunately, the upper half of the draw is clearly more loaded with talent than the lower half.

Going into the French Open the following 13 American women were ranked in the top 100:
• 1 Serena Williams
• 15 Venus Williams
• 16 Madison Keys
• 33 Coco Vandeweghe
• 34 Varvara Lepchenko
• 36 Madison Brengle
• 41 Sloane Stephens
• 46 Alison Riske
• 55 Christina McHale
• 64 Lauren Davis
• 80 Shelby Rogers
• 84 Irina Falconi
• 97 Nicole Gibbs
Alexa Glatch, Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Taylor Townsend, and Louisa Chirico were not ranked in the top 100.

Best wishes to the Americans for a strong performance and some upsets at the 2015 French Open.

Volleyball-a Good Investment for Your Daughter

May 23, 2015May 20, 2015 horvath Leave a comment

At a recent girl’s recreation volleyball tournament a mother was carrying her daughter’s backpack that included a handmade sign warning about the alleged evils of a local volleyball club.

During the entire tournament the mother sat by herself and did not talk to anyone. As she cheered for her daughter’s team she guarded her backpack and made sure the sign was visible to the entire crowd.

Clearly something went wrong with the relationship between the mother, her daughter, and the club. The purpose of this post is not to place blame on the club or the mother. Rather, the intent is to discuss ways to prevent the type of discord that exists in this situation.

The good news is that the daughter was still playing!

Mismanaged Expectations

The euphoria surrounding the club selection and tryout process may be problematic.

Many club directors are Type A personalities who are passionate about selling volleyball. They have good intentions and want to help young girls enjoy the sport and grow as athletes and individuals. Sometimes they are too passionate and may not accurately represent their club.

At the same time some parents are so excited about seeing their daughter on the court they do not hear or may not understand what the club director has told them. At younger levels many girls played volleyball for the first time in intramurals or their physical education class and want to continue playing when these seasons come to an end. In many parts of the country the next step for them is club volleyball even though the “appropriate next step” may be developmental club programs or strong recreation or short-term league programs.

Despite the good intentions of parents and club directors, in many instances, the problems associated with club volleyball are a case study of mismanaged expectations. In most cases misunderstandings could have been remedied by better communications from both the parents and club directors.

The management of expectations is critical to the future of the sport. It is tragic when girls quit playing volleyball because they are playing in a dysfunctional setting.

A Few Questions Parents Need to Ask

If parents ask the following questions and feel comfortable with the answers, they will increase the chances of having a positive club experience for their daughter.
• Does the club have open house sessions for the parents? Do they have open gyms so the kids can interact with the coaches and potential teammates? Are the instructors at the open gyms “showcase coaches” or will they be the actual coaches for your daughter?
• A key to a successful volleyball experience is playing on a team with a qualified coach who can relate to all of the players. If the coach cannot relate to your daughter then you may not have a good experience. For a variety of reasons, many clubs will not identify coaches prior to the start of the season. They defend this stance by saying, “All our coaches are great, besides you don’t get to pick your teachers when you go to public school, so it really doesn’t matter.” Depending on your perspective this may be a sufficient answer or it may raise a red flag. When people plan to spend $2,500+ for their daughter to play volleyball, they should know who the coach is. Would you buy an appliance, furniture, or used car for that amount without looking at it up close? Who is going to coach your daughter?
• Most club coaches are great people who lack sufficient training to adequately coach the sport for a season that lasts six months. Compensation for most coaches is minimal. Club coaches are required to have background checks. In addition they must pass a four-hour IMPACT training class from the USAV. What are the credentials of the coaching staff beyond these basics? Does the club provide additional training for their coaches? Can you get additional instruction if you do not feel your daughter needs additional instruction outside the club program?
• What is the club’s philosophy? Do they play to win? Is their focus on being a recreational team? Do they believe in on court and off court training? Do they recruit only tall players? What is the coach’s philosophy? As a parent, can you live with the club philosophy and the coach’s philosophy?
• What skills are measured in the tryout? Are the tryouts open or closed? Will the kids find out why they did not make the team? Will the tryouts take into the account the potential of a player or the possible chemistry of the team when making their selections?
• What is the cost for playing on the team? What is included in that fee (uniforms, equipment, travel)? What are the undocumented costs of playing such as family travel to practices and tournaments? Does the club have scholarship programs?
• When are practices? What happens if a player misses practice? Do the players stand in line during practice? Are players punished when they make a mistake? Can parents watch practices? Is conditioning part of practice time or is it separate? Are there club activities other than practice such as film reviews, good will projects in the community, outside training, special seminars, attendance at other matches?
• What is your reason for playing club volleyball? Recreation? Instruction? Camaraderie? College scholarship? Is this club a good fit for your daughter and your pocketbook? Do you have the patience to deal with the parents and your daughter’s teammates – some may become BFFs, while others may be at the opposite end of the spectrum. Is club volleyball appropriate for your daughter? Can parents buy playing time or positions on the team for their daughters?
• When are tournaments? Is playing time guaranteed? How is the starting lineup established?
• Is communications a critical part of the program? What is the role of the parent in communications with the coach? How should the players approach the coach when they have a problem?

Think “Volleyball-A good investment for your daughter.” If you answer these and other questions prior to committing with a club or other long-term program, then it is likely the sign you place on your daughter’s backpack would support the general virtues of having your daughter play organized volleyball in an appropriate program.

French Open Dominated by American Women During Open Era

May 17, 2015November 13, 2016 horvath Leave a comment

Right or wrong, the strength of tennis in a country is often measured by the performance of its singles players in Grand Slam events.

Based on this definition of success the U.S. women clearly dominated the French Open during the Open Era of tennis (since 1968). The American women won 14 French Open championships, led by Chris Evert with seven titles. Serena Williams and Martina Navratilova have both been champions on 2 occasions.

By country, the dominance during the Open Era is summarized as follows:
• 1968 -77 – American and Australian players dominated.
• 1978 – 87 – Chris Evert won seven of nine French Opens between 1974 and 1986. Martina Navratilova won the other two.
• 1988 – 97 – Steffi Graf, Monica Seles, and Arantxa Sanchez Vicario dominated.
• 1998 – 07 – Justine Henin captured four titles; however, players from six countries were champions.
• 2008 – 14 – Russian players dominated during this period.

The dominance by the U.S. at the French Open ended with the retirement of Chris Evert. Since then:
• Steffi Graf has won 5 titles.
• Justine Henin has won 4 championships.
• Monica Seles and Arantxa Sanchez Vicario have each won 3 titles.
• Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams have both won twice.

Stay tuned for the 2015 French Open starting on May 24th.

Will Sharapova defend her title? Will Serena regain her form of 2013? Will the younger players such as Halep or Bouchard bring home the trophy in 2015?

French Open Dominated by Spain and Sweden During Open Era

May 10, 2015November 13, 2016 horvath Leave a comment

The strength of tennis in a country is often measured by the performance of its singles players in the Grand Slam events. Based on this definition of success the Spanish and Swedish Men clearly dominated the French Open during the Open Era (since 1968).

Overall, the Swedes won 9 titles and the Spanish men won fifteen. Combined, this is slightly more than half the total titles for the Open Era. The Swedes dominated from 1974 to 1988 and the Spaniards have been in charge since 1993.

A summary of the French Open winners during the Open Era is summarized below:
• 1968 -77 – No country dominated the scene during this period. Players from Australia, Czechoslovakia, and Sweden won two titles each.
• 1978 – 87 -The Swedes (Bjorn Borg and Mats Wilander) controlled the scene.
• 1988 – 97 – Early in this period the American players won three titles. Players from Spain won two titles during the second half of this ten year period.
• 1998 – 07 – Players from Spain won six championships, including three by Rafael Nadal.
• 2008 – 14 – Nadal won six of seven titles during this period.

Stay tuned for the 2015 French Open starting on May 24th.

Does Nadal have enough left in the tank to win his tenth title? Will 2015 be the first year for Djokovic to win in Paris? Will the U.S. have anyone playing during the second week?

USA Professional Platform Tennis Merges with USPTA

May 4, 2015May 15, 2015 horvath Leave a comment

On May 4th the USA Professional Platform Tennis Association announced that it was merging with the United States Professional Tennis Association.

The merger has generally been met with open-arms by the APTA, PPTA members, and the USPTA membership. Questions have been raised because some of the day-to-day details have not been completely finalized. In addition, some USPTA members want to make sure the primary focus of the USPTA remains on tennis.

As it turns out some of the teaching professionals in parts of the country, such as the Midwest and East Coast, have taught multiple racquet sports for much of their careers. For these members, the consolidation has many clear benefits.

The merger also has the potential to strengthen the USPTA’s sponsorships and partnerships, particularly with companies such as Prince who sell equipment, balls, and accessories to both markets.
Over the summer additional details of the merger will be announced. Look for great things on the horizon from the USPTA platform tennis professionals.

A copy of the press release follows or click here.

Lady Buffs Tennis Playing Stronger in PAC-12 Competition

April 28, 2015November 13, 2016 horvath Leave a comment

It is an understatement to say that the move to the PAC-12 has been a challenge for the CU Lady Buffs Tennis team. The PAC-12 is arguably the toughest tennis conference in the U.S.

This past season the Lady Buffs defeated only Washington State, but lost 4-3 heart breakers to Oregon and Utah. With a little luck and a healthy team, CU would have won both matches.

In the Championship Draw of the PAC-12 tournament the Lady Buffs played competitive matches:
• (First Round) Julyette Steur lost a tough match to Krista Hardebeck of Stanford 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.
• (First Round) Tina Bokhua fell to Zoe Scandalis of USC in the first round, 6-3, 7-5. Scandalis made it to the semifinals.
• (First Round Doubles) Julyette Steur and Ashley Tiefel bowed out to Giuliana Olmos and Zoe Scandalis of USC 8-3.

In the Invitational Singles Bracket the Lady Buffs got on the scoreboard:
• (First round)Ashley Tiefel was soundly defeated Elena Najera-Salas, Utah, 6-3, 6-1.
• (First round) Kyra Wojcik Colorado was edged by Zoe Katz, USC, 6-3, 7-5.
• (First round) Alex Aiello upset 8th seed Kristin Wiley, UCLA, 3-6, 6-2, 7-5.
• (Second round) Aiello defeated Alexia Petrovic, Utah, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5.
• (Quarterfinals) Aiello lost decisively to #2 seed, Meredith Xepoleas, USC, 6-0, 6-2. Xepoleas went on to win the tournament.
In this bracket the Lady Buffs won a total of two matches, while losing three.

Lady Buffs Tennis - Tina Bokhua — Lady Buffs Tennis – Tina Bokhua

The Lady Buffs also fared well in the Invitational Doubles Bracket:

• (First Round) Alex Aiello and Nuria Ormeno-Ruiz edged Krista Hardebeck and Paulette Wolak, Stanford, 8-6.
• (First Round) Tina Bokhua and Kyra Wojcik beat Gussie O’Sullivan and Ebony Panoho, ASU, 8-4.
• (Quarterfinals) Aiello and Ormeno-Ruiz beat Alexandra Osborne and Leighann Sahagun, ASU, 8-5.
• (Quarterfinals) Bokhua and Wojcik lost to Jena Cheng and Sarah Richter, Utah, 8-5.
• (Semifinals) Aiello and Ormeno-Ruiz lost to Capucine Gregoire and Riko Shimizu, Washington, 8-6.
In this bracket the Lady Buffs won a total of three matches, while losing two.

Hopefully this is a sign of more wins for Lady Buffs Tennis in the upcoming seasons.

Improve Your Game This Summer – Try Grilling!

April 22, 2015May 19, 2015 horvath Leave a comment

With the summer season on the horizon it is time to focus on sports such as tennis, golf, beach volleyball, or summer platform tennis. Before we get into those sports we’ll digress briefly to talk a little “volleyball”.

Volleyball, Bicycle Riding, and Grilling

Last fall the USA women’s national volleyball team did what no other women’s team has done before. They won the World Championships with the coaching and practice philosophy, “the game teaches the game.”

John Kessel, Director of USA Volleyball Grassroots program, describes how the women’s team implemented this philosophy by talking about the process of learning to ride a bicycle.

Think about when you learned to ride a bike. You were put on the bike, given a push (and a prayer), and off you went.

Did you have private or group bicycle riding lessons?
Did your parents buy you special shoes, shorts, or other paraphernalia for riding your bicycle?
Did you go to bicycle riding camp for two weeks in the summer?
Did you do drills where you pedaled down the street with your left foot, then your right foot, then you alternated between feet on the way back?
Did you do play in a bicycle league?
Did you do team bonding exercises so you and your teammates could bicycle in a cooperative and friendly manner?
Did you have a bicycling nutritionist?
Did you have someone teach you about mental toughness when riding your bicycle to school?

NO! You got on the bike and you rode it. And when you fell, you got up, got back on the bike, you kept riding, and you got better.

The game teaches the game! The same holds true whether you are Women’s National Volleyball Team or local enthusiasts playing volleyball, riding your bike, playing golf, tennis beach volleyball, or summer platform tennis.

The Essentials of Grilling

This brings us to the topic of summer grilling.

If John Kessel was your (fill in the sport) coach, he wouldn’t have you drill and he wouldn’t have you play games that often – you would GRILL.

Games + Drills = Grills.

Grilling is the process of incorporating technique, tactics, mental toughness, and even nutrition into match-like practice activities. Components of successful grilling are listed below:
• When there is relevant or game-like training, there will be a greater transfer of skills from practice to competitive situations.
• Numerous research studies have shown that athletes have greater retention when grilling is purposeful, and favors “random practice” as opposed to “blocked practice”.
• Effective grills allow all players to be involved in meaningful ways, i.e. there is no standing around. By setting different expectations for each player it is possible to include different abilities in many grills.
• Players can develop short positive cues that will serve as technical or tactical reminders. For example, backcourt players may use the cue “lobs go in” as a reminder to hit every lob in the court.
• Keeping score provides players with an incentive to play their hardest on every point.
• Good grills are easy to understand and explain. They should be given a name so they don’t have to be explained every time.
• Grills may be constructed so that players will be pushed out of their comfort zone. Failing in a grill should be viewed as an opportunity to improve.
• Develop grills that end with a natural conclusion, such as when a player hits a shot out of bounds.

There are hundreds of drills. With a little creativity you can convert them to 12 to 15 grills to cover all aspects of your favorite sport. With a little ingenuity players can vary the scoring and rules for their grills to include everything from technique to mental toughness – all in a game-like situation.

Want to improve this summer – try grilling!

USA Women’s National Team Captures FIVB World Cup of Volleyball

April 16, 2015May 21, 2015 horvath Leave a comment

On October 12, 2014 the USA Women’s National Team (WNT) did what no other American team has done before – they won the World Championships.

This post evaluates the percentage of points, sets, and matches won by the WNT and extrapolates lessons learned from the data.

The data shows:
• Overall – the USA WNT won 53.1% of the points, 75.0% of sets and 84.6% of matches in the 2014 World Championships.
• Early Rounds – In the first 8 matches the WNT won 55.2% of the points, 88.9 of the sets, and 100.0% of the matches.
• Late Rounds – In its last 5 matches the WNT won 49.7% of the points, 52.9% of the sets, and 60.0% of the matches. This was enough to win the World Championships.

The lessons learned are:
• Champions win slightly more than half the points.
• Every point matters when you are only winning 53.1% of the points. Really dominant teams will win a higher percentage – 55% to 56%.
• Champions play every point as if it is the most important point of the match.
• Champions don’t get blown out. They are in every match – because every point is important.
• Champions manage team and player mistakes when they happen.
• Pre-tournament coaching makes a difference. At the USAV High Performance Coaches Clinic, Coach Kiraly talked about how he asked several players to replace their heavy topspin serves with jump floaters to increase the percentage of points won on the serve. These players began working on this change a month prior to the World Championships.
• Tournament preparation and establishing strategies make a difference. Because the WNT dominated in early matches they were able to allocate playing time across all their hitters. This meant their top hitters were rested for the final matches and opponents had difficulty scouting them.
• Understanding match data is part of the planning process for championship teams.
• Clearly, the WNT won this championships because the players worked together as a team and understood their role on the team.

Good luck to the USA Women’s National Team as they defend their title this August in Japan.

Two Points a Set – CU’s Long and Winding Road to Improvement

April 10, 2015May 21, 2015 horvath Leave a comment

Since 2007, the University of Colorado Women’s Volleyball program has been challenged to put a team on the court that wins in conference play. This post presents data that documents the improvement made by the Lady Buffs from 2009 to 2014.

Background

In 2006 the Lady Buffs won 49.5% of the points in conference competition, they qualified for the NCAA Championships, and were ousted in the second round. Data for 2006 and 2007 are not included in this discussion because sets were played to 30 points at that time.

In 2007 CU only won a single conference match with virtually the same team that had won the first round in the 2006 NCAA Championships.

In 2008, the rules were changed and sets were played to 25 points. The fortunes of the Lady Buffs improved slightly – they won seven matches.

In 2009 changes were made in the CU program and Liz Kritza took over as coach. Her teams won six out of 62 matches in her first three seasons.

The Buffs switched to the PAC-12 Conference in 2011.

In the inaugural PAC-12 season there were 22 conference matches. For purposes of discussion in this post, the data for 2011 has been adjusted to make it comparable to other years. Twenty matches were played in 2012 and subsequent years.

In 2012 the Lady Buffs won four of twenty matches. They were victors half the time when their 2013 and 2014 totals are combined.

Results

The 2009 conference season was abysmal. The Lady Buffs were not competitive – they won their fewest number of points (1,205) and lost their least number of points (1,609).

To become a competitive team it was necessary for the Lady Buffs to win more points. At the same time they needed to lose fewer points.

As can be seen by fast forwarding to 2014, the Lady Buffs have made progress. IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE HOW SLOW THAT PROGRESS HAS BEEN.

They won half the points played in 2014, were 11-9 in conference play, qualified for the NCAA Championships, and won their first round match. For the sake of comparison, the 2014 points won/lost for CU, Stanford, and Nebraska follow:
• CU 1,651 points won and 1,648 points lost.
• Stanford 1,774 points won and 1,493 points lost. Stanford lost in the NCAA semis to champion Penn State.
• Nebraska 1,633 points won and 1,500 points lost. Nebraska lost in the NCAA quarters to finalist BYU.

As can be seen, the Lady Buffs are half-way to becoming an elite team. They are now winning about 1,600 points per season. Unfortunately, they have consistently lost at least 1,600 points per season since 2008. That total will have to be reduced to about 1,500 for CU to move to the next level.

Year	Points Won	Points Lost	% Points Won	Record
2008	1,512	1,707	47.0%	7-13
2009	1,205	1,609	42.8%	2-18
2010	1,302	1,639	44.3%	3-17
2011 adjusted	1,304	1,629	44.5%	1-21
2012	1,354	1,655	45.0%	4-16
2013	1,516	1,635	48.1%	9-11
2014	1,651	1,648	50.0%	11-9

Points Won by Year

In 2008 the Lady Buffs won 1,512 points. Point production dropped to 1,205 when the team cratered in 2009. It didn’t return to the 2008 level until 2013 when the team reached 1,516 points.

Year	Points Won	Difference Prior Year	Avg. Diff. Points/Match	Avg. Diff. Points/Set
2008	1,512
2009	1,205	-307	-15.4	-4.7
2010	1,302	97	4.9	1.3
2012	1,354	50	2.5	0.7
2013	1,516	162	8.1	2.2
2014	1,651	135	6.8	1.7

There was little change in the points won between 2010 and 2012. On average the Lady Buffs found a way to win 7-8 additional points each match or about 2 additional points per set throughout both the 2013 and 2014 seasons.

TWO POINTS A SET! That sounds so easy.

The data shows there is a fine line between the number of points won for a 4-16 team, a 9-11 team, and a team with an 11-9 record. For additional information, see the report Team Tendencies and the Importance of Winning a Point.