Executive Director's Letter

If you think you've got it tough, pity your poor fellow coaches in the Northeast.

While Texans have been practicing since December, as of late April, our members in Maine were getting ready to start their seasons without ever having been able to practice on a tennis court, due to the snow!

The picture below, sent in by Sanford High School coach, Dick Proulx, of Maine, should make many of you think twice about complaining about your facility next time!

(Click here for the full-sized version with readable text)

Many of you are well into your competitive seasons by now, and this means you're in the third phase of your season (if you periodized your training). Take time to review some past issues of "High School Tennis Coach" to make sure you're practicing appropriately for this time of year. That means live-ball competitive drilling, which emphasizes shots rather than strokes, but doesn't mean you can't keep improving your players strokes, with appropriate drills.

For those of you who are just beginning your seasons, or still have time to make some minor, mechanical changes, read our article on the forehand quick fix, to help your players develop a weapon.

No matter where you are in your season, you can improve your players' ability to play better doubles using the helpful tips in our articles on communication in doubles.

Last month, our hosting company was purchased by another business, which had problems with the increased e-mail traffic, and we may have lost some e-mails during that two-week period. Only two responses to our coaches survey (Should you coach boys differently than girls?) got through, so please take a moment to e-mail us with your thoughts.

Finally, don't forget to purchase and wear a USHSTCA coaches shirt, which is the best way to tell your fellow coaches about the association and increase our membership.

As always, good luck with your season.

Steve Milano

Executive Director

P.S. Welcome to our first, international member, Michael Robertson of Austrlia!