News

August 17, 2010

Former Touring Pro joins Sea Colony’s Staff!

Craig Wittus, formerly ranked top 100 in the world in singles (won 2 ATP titles) and top 30 in the world in doubles (won 4 ATP titles) is joining the Sea Colony tennis staff August 23rd.  Besides being an excellent player, Craig is also one of the nation’s premier coaches.  As a touring coach, the players he coached reached the top 75 in the world rankings and were all nominated for most improved player on the tour.

 In addition, Dexter MacBride is joining the staff for the remainder of the summer.  Dexter was a top 10 nationally ranked junior and a collegiate star at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas.  One of the top 400 singles players and top 200 doubles players in the world, he competed in major tournaments such as the Australian Open, French Open and US Open. 

 Please join Sea Colony in welcoming both Dexter and Craig to our community. 

August 12, 2010

How can you stay focused even when under pressure?

By Dr. Melissa Hunfalvay     
melissa@isportscience.com
The Institute of Sport Science for Tennis
www.isportscience.com

Develop a routine. Most people are familiar with having a routine to serve or return serve. An example is to move your feet, split step and move to intercept the ball on a return of serve. For better visual focus, add visual cues to your physical routine. For instance, when you split step, make sure you are looking at the contact point. Coupling physical and visual cues, you will be better suited to remain focused and ready.

It is impossible for humans to think of more than one thing at a time, so if you give yourself something to focus on, you will reduce your distractions and stress.

Good luck and see you on the court.

August 10, 2010

Where Do the Pros Look When They Are About to Contact the Ball?

By Dr. Melissa Hunfalvay     
melissa@isportscience.com
The Institute of Sport Science for Tennis
www.isportscience.com

There are differences between experts and less experienced players during the contact zone. The ball travels too fast to be visually tracked by focal vision.  Experts watch the ball as it comes towards them; then when the ball comes within a few feet of contact, they fixate on the contact point. In other words, they keep their eyes still and focused on the contact point, they use their periphery to “see” the ball when it is too fast to focus on clearly. After making contact, their head and eyes remain focused on the contact point for the remainder of the forward swing. Then they turn their gaze to the opponent’s end of the court, looking for cues what shot the opponent will hit in return.

See the images of Roger Federer at contact (pictures 1 and 2) compared to the less experienced junior (picture 3). To practice this on court as the ball comes within your contact zone, keep your head and eyes still and say “one-two” before moving them to the opposite end of the court.

 Tennis great Roger Federer focused on the contact point with a still
 head and eyes. (Picture 1 and 2)  Notice the ball is hit in the center of the racquet.          

  
 Picture 3: Contact point eyes are focused away from contact. 
 Notice the ball is contacted close to the frame of the racquet.
Want to learn more about what the best tennis players are looking for when they are about to make contact with the ball?  Part 3 of Dr. Hunfalvay’s article will be posted later in the week.