Tag Archives: tennis parent interview

Interview with Parent Coach Steve Johnson- Part 2

Posted on May 15, 2015 by in Maximizing Tennis Potential

 

The following post is an excerpt from Raising Athletic Royalty.  Thanks for visiting, Frank Giampaolo

Steve and Stevie

What is your opinion on pre-match preparation?

Let me answer this question as it relates to tournaments, especially tournament travel.  This is what I expect a player to do before traveling to a tournament:

  • Begin acclimating to the time zone prior to going to the tournament. For example- if you live in California and you are playing a tournament in Florida, wake up at 5:00 am and begin your day for several days before you leave for the event.
  • Arrive at the tournament a few days in advance to get use to the weather, courts and accommodations. This may include hitting on all courts you may likely play on during the tournament.
  • Do not bother going to the tournament if you plan on flying in the night prior to the beginning of the tournament for your morning match. I call this “Confirming the Loss”.
  • If you want to save money by flying in at the last minute- save all your money and don’t go…
  • Pre-match preparation before each match is mandatory- stretch, nutrition, stroke warm up, game warm up …the player should be ready to compete at match time.

Why did you decide to train Stevie at home versus the common avenue of shipping him off to an academy?

Stevie is a real family guy.  He loves being with his family.  He trusted that I would lead him in the right direction. At about 16, Stevie needed additional coaching to join our team and help take him to the level.  We all worked together with the common goal of helping Stevie to continue to improve.  In addition, Stevie had decided to attend USC and was committed to play for Peter Smith.

NOTE:  Academies are not needed and usually not beneficial if a player already has a team of coaches, hitters and trainers all working together.

Stevie’s High School Career:

Stevie played High School tennis for three years.  His school team was division 5 -which is a relatively low division. Many of the division 5 players did not even have a racquet bag.  Stevie would go to practice and games with one or two racquets so he did not stand out.

Even though most of the players could not even return Stevie’s serve, I believed playing High School ball was a valuable learning experience.  The coach was quite surprised that Stevie was at every practice.  I believed that if Stevie was on the team, he should play as team member and that meant attending practice.  Stevie develop a love for team tennis, as seen with Stevie’s huge USC success- winning 2 Individual Championships and 4 Team Championships.  Stevie looks forward to someday playing Davis Cup and Olympics!

To all the parent’s that think their children are too good for high school tennis, I tell them High School tennis will help develop life skills.  No one is too good for high school tennis.  Yes, your child’s tennis skill set will regress, but they will gain valuable life lessons.

Stevie has a distinguished NCAA career at USC with our friend Peter Smith. Tell us about that experience?

Stevie has an incredible college experience at USC. His coach, Peter Smith had a terrific coaching philosophy, similar to mine, in that his players were playing for something bigger than themselves.  Stevie really excelled under Coach Smith- winning 2 Individual titles and 4 Team Championships.

Stevie chose to attend USC because of the coaching style of Peter Smith and because of the coaxing of his good friend and mentor, Kaes Van’t Hof, who also played for USC.  Stevie was able to play on the tour during the fall of his senior year so he could take advantage of the wild cards offered by the USTA. Stevie’s decision to play college first before turning professional was not supported by many- but as it turns out- it was a GREAT decision.

NOTE:  When considering a college, think about the coaching style and how his/her style will get the most out of your child.

Can you share some insider secrets about Stevie’s experience as the United States Top Young ATP Professional?

The professional tour has been a real roller coaster for Stevie.  He jumped into the top 100 in his first year on the tour, but in his second year, the players began to know him and his game- so winning became more difficult.  Stevie was not used to losing.  He became very mentally and emotionally tired from losing.  (I was very concerned how he would handle losing in the PRO’s because he was not used to losing…)

I tried to put it into perspective for Stevie:

“You won 2 tournaments lost 24 last year and you won about $200,000.   Tomas Berdych, didn’t win any tournaments and lost 24 tournaments, but he lost in the semis or finals and he won over a million. ”

Stevie knows he must continue to work harder and harder get as fit as possible to make it into the top 10- which is a challenge he is taking on! His dedication to fitness was evident with his first round win in the 2014 Roland Garros Tournament- coming from behind and winning in 5!

What would you like to share with struggling tennis parents around the world?

Keep it fun.  If your children are enjoying tennis, keep it up.  I always say, “Fun on the court- win in life!” But if you are asking me, will tennis lessons get my kid a full college scholarship or a ticket into a professional tennis career, I would say find a different form of investment- tennis is a bad investment.  The greatest investment a parent could ask for with regards to tennis is developing life lessons.

In regards to parental involvement, I believe it is better for the parent to be a bit less involved than over-involved.

What would you like to share with coaches around the world?

The same message goes for coaches, fun on the court- fun in life. I suggest the coach meet with each player and their parents.  Explain to them that tennis development is like a well running wheel- coach, player and parent all doing their part.  But if one of the three is not supporting the wheel, a triangle develops and the wheel will not roll smoothly.  And as a coach, if the player or parent chooses not to do their job, then I don’t care- I don’t have to care.

“In one car ride home after a loss, Parents can undue everything positive that I have taught in the past year”

A parents job is to support, love, nurture and encourage their child and not to coach.

Contact Steve Johnson:

Steve Johnson Tennis Academy
Rancho San Clemente Tennis Club
Cell: (949) 492-1515
Web Site: sjtennis.com
Email: sjtennisacademy@aol.com

Interview With Tennis Parent Coach Steve Johnson Part 1

Posted on May 14, 2015 by in Maximizing Tennis Potential, Raising Athletic Royalty

Interview With Tennis Parent Coach Steve Johnson Part 1Steve and Stevie

Steve Johnson’s Insights

For those of you in the dark, Steve’s son Steve Johnson Jr. (Stevie), is a Southern California Junior National Champion, an NCAA Champion twice and at the age of 24 is currently ranked #67 on the ATP Pro Tour. This makes my friend Steve Sr. one of the most successful tennis parents on the planet. Steve shares his knowledge and opinions which will surly assist tennis parents worldwide.

Tell the readers about your background as a tennis parent & full time tennis coach?

I feel privileged to have a beautiful family and a career that I love. I have been teaching tennis for 33 years throughout Southern California- making my tennis home in San Clemente California at the Rancho San Clemente Tennis Club running the Steve Johnson Tennis Academy. I am living my dream- I am married to my high school sweetheart, we have two beautiful children and I have made a career out of my love for tennis.  My parental goal was simple-  love and enjoy my children!

Tell us about Stevie’s junior career

At what age did Stevie begin to play tennis?

As a parent, I was constantly playing with Stevie. He was interested in anything that involved a ball.  At age two, I put a Mickey Mouse tennis racquet in Stevie’s hand and showed him how to hit a beach ball with it.  He played beach ball tennis throughout the house all day long.

“Stevie was a natural competitor warrior. He competed at everything.”

By the age of 4, Stevie could rally on the tennis court.  I would take him with me to local tournaments to watch my players and he couldn’t wait to compete. One day he begged to play a tournament- so I told him if he wanted to compete, he would first have to learn how to keep score (He had to learn to play a real match versus just rallying.) and then I would let him play a tournament. So Stevie took on the challenge and learned how to keep score on the practice court with my wife.

By age of 5, Stevie could keep score and so we entered him into his first event- 10 and Under Satellite Tournament. He lost 6, 0- 6, 1.

By the age of 6, Stevie could win rounds in the Satellite Tournaments- loving to compete.

By the age of 7, Stevie won the local 10 & Under Satellite Tournament. A few weeks after that, we entered him into a local Boys 12’s Satellite Event and he won it- at age 7!

FUN FACT: Some juniors enter the game for fun and then later develop the competitive fire. Others enter into the sport with their competitive flames fully raging.  Some children have to spend many hours learning how to cope with their fear of competition, lack of competitive fire, fear of gamesmanship…

What other sports did Stevie play?

Stevie played every sport with a ball.  He was innately competitive from a very young age.  He even needed to compete during his tennis lessons- just rallying back and forth was too boring for him. He wanted to know how he could win.  His practice needed to be structured so that he could compete – even if it was against himself.

When did the family decide to have Stevie focus exclusively on tennis?

Stevie was such a natural at the game of tennis and because it was my business, it was easy to focus his efforts at playing tennis.  His mother and I never had to bother him to practice- he wanted to play tennis from the time he held his first (Mickey Mouse) racquet. Tennis was his sport.

What are your thoughts regarding the 10 & under campaign?

I teach strokes for a lifetime. I don’t teach 10 & Under Tennis.  Ideally, it would be great if every 10 year old had their strokes established so their tennis game could be developed.

10’s through 14’s: What is your primary focus?

My primary lesson goals for the age groups 10-14 stresses techniques and doubles strategy.

Techniques:  In my lessons, I focus first on defensive skills because I believe the best ball to hit is based on where the player is on the court. So I teach players both fundamental and secondary shots based on court position.  I teach how to hit rollers, slices and transitional shots- such as and how to get out of the corners.  I also teach girls or boys the same.

Doubles: Many tennis parents don’t support playing doubles- whether they believe doubles practice takes valuable lesson time away from singles or because doubles requires more time be spent at tournament sites, it is the players that are missing out.  Doubles teaches many essential tennis skills, especially for college. I suggest doubles be played before all single events to encourage more players to get involve- especially because the parents can’t back out if they have to play doubles before singles …

16’s through 18’s: What is your primary focus?

I believe fitness is the most important game component as players reach their late teens. Especially because most college coaches begin making their recruit pick at ages 16 and 17. So it is essential physical training begin by at least age sixteen.  The game has changed and fitness is huge!  To quote a Division I Level Coach,

“Most junior players cannot even make through the first day of College Tennis practice because they are unfit!”

Stevie’s junior tennis success may have even been greater if he had been fitter sooner. His slightly skewed winning Gold Ball ratio of 1 singles title to 10 doubles titles was likely due to his lack of adequate fitness. Stevie lost many matches just before the finals because he was out of energy.

When Stevie was 16, I was told Stevie was very talented but not fit enough.  So we (Stevie and his team of coaches and trainers) began including fitness into his tennis training regime.  Stevie trained 1 hour off court to 3 hours of on court from the age of 16 ½ on. Even though Stevie had started off court training from the age of 16 ½ – Division I College fitness was a whole different level-  Stevie lost 20 pounds the first semester in college.

By age 18, extreme physical fitness is mandatory. Stevie’s commitment to fitness in college afforded him huge success at USC.  He is still working even harder to get even fitter as a professional- loving it along the way.

Now as a Pro, Stevie trains 1 hour off court, 2 hours on court hitting, lunch, 2 hours hitting and 2 hours training and stretching off court.  Of course during tournaments, Stevie’s off court training is adjusted (periodization).

What would you tell other parents about their child’s gamesmanship tolerance/ competitive nature?

As a coach, I have always been very honest with parents with respect to their child’s tennis aptitude.  Some players are just not competitive by nature and I tell their parents that the sport is going to be a little more difficult for them. Tennis is as mental and emotional as it is physical.

I coach the players to play the game of tennis and that may require their tennis lessons to include a variety of teaching techniques – such as ball machine drills, playing points with other player etc. Some parents only want see  X number of ball baskets emptied during a lesson but that is not what tennis development is … So to those parents, it is their choice to choose a coach that just wants to feed balls- but that is not how to develop a full game- in my opinion.

What would you share with parents about playing their children up, as opposed to keeping them in their own age division?

The method I used with Stevie is not a blueprint for all players, but I believe tennis teaches responsibility and leadership.  It is very important for players to compete against their own age group and to learn to be “The Big Dog” – which is a very different kind of pressure that builds character.

“Playing up before they have won consistently in their own division sends the message that losing is acceptable.”

Stevie played in his own division until he reached #1 and then he stayed in that division for 6 months- building character along the way.

Do you have a win/loss percentage you recommend players follow before moving up to higher division?

Ideally a player should have a win /loss record of 3: 1 or 4: 1 before moving up to the next level.  (I would recommend at least a 50/50 win/loss record.)  A natural progression would be to attain a winning percentage in satellites tournaments, then open tournaments, then designated tournaments and then on to Nationals…As I said previously, encouraging your child to only play up teaches them that losing is ok. Note:  Different USTA divisions may have different names for their tournament levels.

Can you share with the reader’s insight and/or advice regarding the tennis parent’s role?

Tennis is a full time parental job if you want your child to be good.  This means a player that wants to be good should be playing sets, clinics, privates, hitting serve after practice, lessons etc.  It is the parent’s role to support the child with these activities.  In other words:

“Tennis must go on the calendar first and then life goes in later.”

What is your emotional communication strategy?

With regard to the emotional components of tennis, I was always very calm. I tried to make tennis fun so that Stevie would continue to love the game as I did.  Before a tournament, I would tell Stevie, “Whether you win or lose your match today, we are not done working on your game. Come Monday, I will take you to school and after school Mom will bring you to the club and we will continue training your game”… I wanted to take the pressure of winning off of Stevie and keep his focus on improving.

“Parents and coaches make tennis events such a big deal that they often sabotage any real chances of success.”

Thank you for visiting, Frank

 

Contact: Frank Giampaolo
FGSA@earthlink.net
MaximizingTennisPotential.com
Affiliate