Tennis Book Review

David W. Smith

Reviewed by Rich Neher

TENNIS MASTERY Advance BEYOND the 3.5 level... And never look back! The Most Complete Guide to Learning, Developing and Mastering the Sport of Tennis For Beginners - For Intermediate Players For Advanced Players The Most Progressive Tennis Teaching Methodology Today 335 pages - Amazon

When David Smith sent me those two books I got a little worried. These are big 8.5x11 volumes with tons of information. Would I be able to process all that information and form an opinion? Well, going through David's books was a very interesting exercise in learning and admiring the man's ability to organize his teachings so well. What I have is the second edition (2010) of a book that was originally published in 2004. USPTA Master Professional Desmond Oon (Ph.D.) sums his foreword up like this: "I believe Tennis Mastery is destined to become a classic for a new generation of players and students of the game." Looking at Dave's basic premises I had to shake my head in disbelieve. Written in 2004, they are STILL valid today: 20 million tennis players quit playing tennis in the last 30 years! Ha, how many would that be today? 30 million in the last 44 years? 40 million? Those numbers are still staggering as many industry insiders can confirm. 75% of currently active players play at levels considered "at or below average." Not sure if it's still 75, but I want to say it's over 50% today. Millions of players who actively seek improvement can't progress past mediocre levels. That's also my experience. The majority of players want to improve, take clinics and privates, but never succeed. Just looking at the service motion that many coaches are not able to teach professionally, says it all. You look at 10 tennis pros and you get 10 different ways the serve is being taught.

Philosophy Dave's philosophy lays the groundwork for the entire book: "Teaching players the right foundation so they don't have to change their strokes later on." How many times do you hear adult and senior players complain that a new pro tells them they have to change strokes and techniques completely? Dave writes that if strokes are being taught right from day one, no changes are necessary later on and the basis for turning someone into a very advanced player is in place. A "Jeff" summed it up on the Tennis Warehouse blog like this: "...there is a core foundation to the strokes that needs to be taught from day one. And the acquisition of this foundation is what separates the very good players from the rest of the bunch. High level tennis (4.0 and beyond) demands that the body and racket line up in a certain way and move through the ball in a certain way, and if you don't get this foundation right, you will be stuck at a 3.5 level for the rest of your life. No matter how athletic or strong or fast you may be." Amen! There is nothing more disconcerting for me than to observe players learning methods that sentence them to perpetual mediocrity (Dave W. Smith) Section One: The Strategies of Learning Dave writes at length that his Advanced Foundation needs a new philosophy of learning. His methods allow for this "Progressive Player Foundation to be established. He calls this a concept of constant player improvement. Sometimes... the discomfort of making a change (in one's game) is greater than the discomfort of losing to opponents! (Dave W. Smith) The chapters in Section One carry on about discovering the Advanced Foundation, defining Tennis Mastery, preparations before you pick up a racquet, practice philosophies, and principles. Section Two: The Strategies of Hitting After defining and describing the mechanical side of tennis, Dave lays down his sound stroke foundation before explaining all strokes and the serve in mind-boggling detail. It is interesting to observe that most recreational players possess a wide range of serving motions, most of which don't bear any resemblance to serves that are associated with championship play. (David W. Smith) Section Three: The Strategies of Playing Ah, the "dreaded" mental game. Dave acknowledges the importance of mental toughness, dealing with fear, ego, arrogance, and cockiness, he dedicates nine pages to that subject. This section also deals with all kinds of strategies, singles, doubles, momentum shifts and game plans. The last chapter in Section 3 discusses the understanding of tennis equipment, grips, strings, stringing machines. Eventually, the odds will favor the player who is both persistent and consistent. (David W. Smith) Tennis Mastery ends with a Glossary within the "Advanced Foundation"; a Bibliography; and a description of the NTRP Ratings Program within the context of the "Advanced Foundation." In My Humble Opinion I have never come across a more complete, well-organized reference book for players for players from beginner to lower advanced levels. However, beginners and advanced beginners get the best value out of it, without a doubt. Read it with an open mind because some of the writings are not necessarily what your local pro who doesn't have Dave's qualifications, may teach you. The book lacks in two areas - easily fixed in a possible Third Edition (hint, hint). 1. Hand-Eye Coordination This is the one area that divides the average scrappy tennis player from the top professionals on the tour in my humble opinion. However, it is handled almost as an afterthought on page 87 within Section One, Chapter 4 (What Makes Up Tennis Mastery?). It should get more attention in a book of this importance. 2. Index There is so much content stuffed into this book, it would be so nice to have a comprehensive Index section at the end so you can find specific topics more easily. All in all: awesome read for someone really serious about understanding the sport and willing to learn it from scratch.

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COACHING MASTERY The ULTIMATE Blueprint for Tennis Coaches, Tennis Parents, Tennis Teaching Professionals LEARN HOW TO... Attract Tennis Players to Your Programs Develop Sustainable Tennis Programs Build Perennial Championship Teams 380 pages - Amazon

While Dave wrote Tennis Mastery for players, he wrote Coaching Mastery in 2008 for coaches, parents and teaching professionals. Google Books states, "Coaching Mastery addresses the development of championship players and perennial championship teams, attracting tennis players to your team or program, and sustaining successful programs year after year. Learn how to train large numbers of players in a variety of teaching environments and within limited tennis resources." Dave gives us the REAL Reason for this book: There are very few books on tennis that are dedicated to the actual teaching and coaching of the sport. There are a number of books that focus on teaching little kids, and there are a few books dedicated to the 'coaching' of tennis as a TEAM sport. While most of these books each have information that is helpful to the instructor, I have found that these books fall terribly short in two areas: 1. Teaching a philosophy that is actually designed to produce top-level juiniors or adults; 2. Providing relevant and applicable COACHING concepts that are designed for top-playing TEAMS.

Similar to his philosophy in TENNIS MASTERS, Dave describes in detail his "Advanced Foundation." In Section One Dave outlines the methodology for Team and Individual Coaches. He covers the "... tenets of building a tennis team from an off-court perspective" by outlining how to attract players to a program, describing how to make that program successful, and "... defining the philosophy in reaching a player's potential." In Section Two, "The Player Development Model: Programming the Progression" he describes his overall philosophy of the Advanced Foundation, including "...many of the best drills I use in helping students acquire the grips, strokes, and footwork patterns associated with the Advanced Foundation." Section Three is dedicated to working with large groups. A significant part of that section handles the developing of a program and the designing of team practice. Players who don't learn proper techniques will not only NOT resemble top player's strokes; they generally will never reach their personal potential. A good athlete will not be able to use such athleticism with poor mechanics. (David W. Smith) In My Humble Opinion I think this book, although written in 2008, is still a great manual for high school coaches who are serious about developing a great functioning program and taking their players to the highest level possible. I enjoyed reading Chapter 15 So you want to turn pro... an extensive collection of Dave's collected wisdom when it comes to a player's chances for turning pro; the motivation needed; the goal setting; what progression looks like when you want to compete at professional levels. He sums it up by emphasizing his concept of motivation called "The Five D's and one S" like this: Desire Dedication Drive Determination Discipline The on "S" is: Sacrifice. I liked the book a lot, although here, too, an Index at the end would be very helpful for any reader.

Dave W. Smith David W. Smith is the author of the books, TENNIS MASTERY and COACHING MASTERY, both available worldwide on Amazon and at all Barnes and Noble booksellers stores. He has produced several DVD's and on-line learning programs including "Building a World-Class Volley", "Coaching Unlimited", and "Building Champions" all available at www.coachtube.com and www.tenniswarehouse.com. He has published over 300 tennis articles in world-wide publications and websites. Dave has been awarded USPTA's "Speaker of the Year" twice and has been a keynote speaker at USPTA conferences, for the National Honor Society, the National Dentists Tennis Player's Association, and numerous tennis clubs and schools. He has written eight books, notably, Dave is the creator and co-author of the popular novels, HIDDEN MICKEY, mysteries about Walt Disney and Disneyland.

Dave is also a professional bass player who has played in bands in California and in Utah. He is a professional magician and teaches others how to use magic to increase interest in programs of all types. In addition, Dave has taught high school Advanced Biology, Chemistry, and Science classes in California, Arizona and Utah. Dave has been married for 31 years to his wife, Dr. Kerri Smith, (a pediatrician in southern Utah) and has two kids, Keaton who is 15 and Kyla who is 19. His daughter Kyla was featured in his 12-month series of articles found at TennisPlayer.net called "Training an 8-year old." She not only became an accomplished tennis player but is a top-ranked golfer who is playing golf at Southern Utah University in Cedar City on a full golf and academic scholarship. Dave and his family live in the scenic beauty of St. George, Utah.