We Teach Athletic Principles – We don’t teach style. Every individual should have their own personal, unique style. We focus on doing “simple better” and mastering the fundamentals that are universal among the best players to ever play the game (Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Sampras, Agassi, etc.)
We Use a Universal Language – Here at IJTA, our coaches speak a universal language when instructing your child. It’s important for your child to have the same fundamentals reinforced from different coaches. We learned how important it is to use a universal coaching language from Jon Glover, USTA Director of Player Development. When coaches instruct using different languages within the same program, it can confuse and frustrate the player. This ultimately hinders their development. The last thing in the world we want for your child is to feel confused and frustrated.
We Use the Best Training Aids – We use as many training aids as possible. Training aids help the individual “feel” how things need to be done. This is a much more efficient way to learn as opposed to just seeing and/or hearing instruction. For example, someone could have explained or shown you how to ride a bike for the first time but the use of training wheels were much more effective in helping you actually learn how to ride a bike.
We Prioritize Junior Team Tennis – Tennis is an individual sport by nature. However, in our opinion, there is nothing more fun than playing on a tennis team. Ask anyone that’s played high school or college tennis! Here at IJTA, we prioritize Junior Team Tennis by having teams for all ages. As soon as your child feels they are ready to play Junior Team Tennis, we will get them signed up.
We Use Slow Motion Video Analysis – We use slow motion video analysis for a couple of reasons. First, it can make it easier to analyze a stroke. Second, and maybe even more important, it allows the individual to see what they look like themselves. Seeing yourself and what you’re doing can be one of the most effective ways in fixing bad habits and creating good ones.
We Outsource our Strength and Conditioning to Fitness Professionals – We know a lot about the strength and conditioning aspect of this sport, but at the end of the day we are tennis professionals. That’s why we outsource the strength and conditioning aspect of our program to professional trainers. After certain clinics, we have a certified fitness professional come on court to work with the kids.