Junior and Adult Tennis ...

By George Morrissey

... Just some thoughts from a past junior and college player. To have the juniors improve, means they have to be willing to play each other "more". Not just tournaments but in practice too. Then each Jr. will push each other to be better in each practice match they play. Agassi, Courier, Sampras, and Chang, played each other through the juniors and of course years later. They helped each other. They might not all have been the best of friends (hey they are all competitors) but by trying to beat each other they excelled that much faster. It would be my hope that the juniors would play more with each other than in just tournament rounds. It may be tougher but it make some rivalries but also push each players games that much faster to improve. When I was a Jr. in So. Nevada, there were a group of guys who competed from different high schools, but we DID play a lot in practice. And guess what - they were the same group who had the highest rankings in Las Vegas and in
Intermountain. There was an individual player or two that did not play us much (unless it was a tournament) but they suffered in the long run where the rest of us outdistanced them eventually in the later years of high school and in college. And as time permits, the Juniors who really want to improve should think of the following:
1) play practice matches to learn how to win.
2) play players you can beat and players you CANNOT beat. Learn.
3) play adult tournaments too.
4) play all types of players for all types of experience.
5). realize the experienced older (adult) player will many times beat you -even with your superior power and strokes, but you WILL LEARN playing those players. And one day you won't lose to them again.
Hey, I know, I have been on both sides of this formula and look forward to the day when my son beats me (he'll have to earn it though, as I won't give him anything for free on the tennis court) ... and hopefully when he beats me he won't look back just forward. .... I have warned him this might take him a few years.. (I beat my dad when I was in 7th grade).

I would like to trade playing some juniors who would play my son also .. with time permitting (Devon Morrissey is my son). and I think I will give most juniors a thinking experience. So go out and play someone new, or someone you can't beat 6-0, 6-0. it will be worth it.
George Morrissey, past captain 1979 UNLV Varsity Tennis