Strategies for Shorter Players

In the mid1990s, diminutive Amanda Coetzer was ranked #63 in the world and felt that she had peaked. She told her coach, Dennis Van der Meer, that she was thinking of retiring and going back to college. She felt that she was not able to compete from the baseline on a tour with more and more hard hitters and that if she tried to come to the net, her height made it easy for them to lob her.

Van der Meer suggested two strategies that would take advantage of Coetzer's strength (speed), allow her to play more aggressively from the baseline, and help her successfully attack the net.

Van der Meer's plan relied on a simple recognition of physics.

Coetzer has since worked with other coaches, and worked on her conditioning, strokes and tactical abilities, all of which have helped keep her at or near the Top 10 for the past five years. However, this little dynamo's success in a land of giants can be directly traced to her meteoric rise using the two strategies we've described here, and which you can use with your smaller players.

The article continues with information on the two strategies that shorter players are now using to increase their ability to compete againts taller, harder hitters.