It happens all the time; someone asks you 'What level do you play at?" it's a common question and important because as tennis players we all want to be as evenly matched with our opponents and partners as possible. No one benefits as much from a lop-sided match as one that has like-leveled players. So here are my tips on how to answer that question. Rating Systems. There are 3 known (or perhaps not so known) rating systems in the sport of tennis. First is the old fashioned; a) BEGINNER-INTERMEDIATE-ADVANCED. Most players are able to at least begin the discussion by placing themselves in one of the three categories. BEGINNER is someone who cannot sustain a rally, and has a struggle getting se
The art of spectating - A users Guide to watch your kids or family play sports. Ways you can actually help them improve and ways to get much more out of the experience for yourself. If you are new to tennis you will inevitably find yourself in the situation at a tournament or league match and be wondering 'what can I and what can I not say here?' you may also wonder why other parents are getting away with murder on the sidelines and no one is doing anything about it. This guide will answer those questions and more. Mostly it will give you a brief explanation of the world of junior tennis and a few tools to prepare you for the chaos and the thrill of competitive junior tennis. First things fi
SKYHAWKS TENNIS 101 History Skyhawks Tennis is a team format for Junior Tennis in Simcoe County. The team was created in 2012 after a player vote on team name. It was former Skyhawk player Hannah Alimajstorovic who came up with the name. It was created because Tennis has long been an individual sport, which is great but it lacks many of the positive qualities of team sports such as camaraderie, the feeling of a family and community to play for, and learning to work together for a common goal. The team format also allows more match play opportunities. As coaches we found it difficult to watch our players when they were all at different age category singles events (OTA has very few doubles e
My tip this month is about tennis elbow. It's got to be the #1 physical complaint of members. If you haven't had it yet, count yourself lucky! It's an overuse injury, so if you play a lot and for many years, there is a good chance you will get it. It can be so painful it forces you to stop playing for a time to let it heal. I even know players who have switched to their non-dominant hand while they let their arm heal. Even Novak has been sidelined for half of the 2017 season due to elbow issues. So the golden question is, how do we get rid of it? I am not a doctor and this is not medical advice, but I get this question so often I have some ideas. 1. REST. This is not always possible, but wha
