Cork Tennis Blog

Welcome to the Cork Tennis Blog.

This blog will keep you up to date on the tennis scene in Cork, both socially and competitively. Whether you are new to the game or an experienced player I hope you find the information and posts here, useful and interesting.

You can contact me by email at rob@racketrestringing.ie

Rob's Racketrestringing

Thursday, February 27, 2014

Carrigaline Spring Doubles



The First Senior tournament of the year is on the way.
The Carrigaline Spring Doubles will take place this year from Saturday March 15th to Saturday March 22nd. This tournament caters for players that are in ITN 6/Munster Branch Grade 3 right up to ITN 9/Munster Branch Grade 6. It includes Ladies doubles, mens doubles and mixed doubles so there is surely something for all.
All of the relevant information is on the fact sheet below and there is also a copy of the entry form below.
Event Cover/Fact Sheet - Download
Event Entry Form - Download
You can also enter online - Click Here...

St. Anne's Vets Open

St. Anne's Vets Open is the first open on the Vets calendar and always attracts a good entry.

The annual St.Anne's Veterans Tournament will take place this year from March 7th to March 9th .

Closing date for entries is this Sunday March the 2nd so please do not delay in getting your entry in.

Please enter on line at the following address :

http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/tournament.aspx?id=0525693D-7C92-4A7E-8383-1507DCCCED6E

If you have any further questions please contact St.Anne's . Contact information in the link above.

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

The MTI Method - 2 very interesting courses planned for Dublin.

Below is a letter and information on the 2 courses being planned for Dublin from tennis coach Paul Casey.  

If this is something that interests you, you can contact Paul directly on his email below, but hurry as places are limited and I would imagine will fill up fast.
Read on for more info:

Dear Coach,

Would you like to be able to teach the Tactical Nuances of Doubles and / or Singles more effectively to your students?
Would you like to be in a position to improve your student’s Match Play performances and results dramatically, and in a very short space of time?
Do you play League Doubles / Singles yourself perhaps?
If so then the following will be of interest to you.
I am delighted to announce that John Littleford and Andy Magrath of M.T.I will be returning to Dublin on Thursday, April 24th, to conduct the two most Popular Course’s in the UK at present.
“The Art of Doubles” and “The Art of Singles.”

The Courses will take place In Westwood Leopards town
On Thursday 24th of April
9:30-1:30 The Art of Doubles
2:30-6:30 The Art of Singles
Costs: 90e for one course or 150 for both.
Places Limited to 16 so will be allocated on a first come basis.
For more details and how to register Contact paulcaseytennis@gmail.com
ALL BOOKINGS MUST BE MADE BY THE 20th MARCH 2014, SO PLEASE HURRY!
Looking forward to another great learning experience from MTI.
Paul 

Course 1:
The MTI Method  - Art of Doubles Course Descriptor for Tennis Ireland

The purpose of this course is to demonstrate how to teach doubles tactics in a 'step by step' fashion and to create/monitor future player progress goals.

This MTI Method course content is split into four key areas;
  1. The fundamentals of doubles movement and teamwork
  2. Drills to show players the roles and responsibilities of each doubles player
  3. Variations of formations and tactics
  4. Drills that show players how they can create/build a point winning situation using point based 'real' examples from ATP/WTA matches.
Attendees will experience the following during on court application;
  • Effective, competitive and more engaging warm ups for players
  • Drills to ensure player's 'checking' including the double check
  • Simple drills to demonstrate player positioning
  • Player communication and teamwork
  • Doubles formations and tactics
  • Attention to teaching point detail for advanced players
  • Drills to develop 'creation/building' skills
  • An understanding of player standards and when to teach each key area listed above
  • How to conduct feedback more effectively
  • Easy method to record lesson goals and match data efficiently for continued player future progress
  • Post course information to be emailed

Course 2:
The MTI Method  - Art of Singles Course Descriptor for Tennis Ireland


The purpose of this course is to demonstrate how to teach singles tactics in a 'step by step' fashion and to create/monitor future player progress goals.

This MTI Method course content is split into three key areas:
  1. The fundamentals of placement drills 'rallying' or 'trading' during a point thus building confidence, patience, discipline and consistency which in turn can create unforced errors from opponents.
  2. Drills that show players how they can create /build a point winning situation using point based 'real' examples from ATP/WTA matches.
  3. Examples of 'burn drills' designed to improve a player's mental discipline and physical fitness

Attendees will experience the following during on court application;
  • Effective, competitive and more engaging warm ups for players
  • Simple exercise to demonstrate player positioning
  • Drills to develop 'trading/rallying' skills
  • Drills to develop creation/building' skills
  • Attention to teaching point detail for advanced players
  • Chances to coach each other and to utilise the supplied lesson plan examples
  • An understanding of player standards and when to teach each key area listed above
  • How to conduct feedback more effectively
  • Easy method to record lesson goals and match data efficiently for continued player future progress
  • Post course information to be emailed.
MTI have hundreds of glowing testimonials from coaches and players including former ATP players and current ATP coaches worldwide.

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Win this Racket!!!


To be in with a chance to win this Wilson Juice 100 racket valued at €160, see the post below!

It's been a while....but we're back!!

It's been a while but the blog is back in business.

Unfortunately at times life takes over, and not always a bad thing, but as of now Cork Tennis Blog is back with a vengeance.

You will find plenty of activity on here from now on, with articles on equipment, player interviews, information on clubs and what's happening in each one and even chances to win prizes.

Let's start with one right now!

Thanks to our retail partner, Maher Sports, who offer Ireland's largest Tennis Selection, here's your chance to win a Wilson Juice 100 tennis racket valued at €160 but selling in Maher Sports for €120.
It can be yours if you do the following, go to https://www.facebook.com/MaherSports and "Like" the page and write a post saying "I want that Juice racket!"

The draw will take place on the 1st of March.

Referees Course for Munster.

MUNSTER BRANCH TOURNAMENT REFEREES COURSE
12TH & 19TH FEBRUARY 2014

Click Here for details of the next Tournament Referees Course. This is being held in the South East region and will be hosted by St. Anne’s Tennis Club, Waterford City.

We would be grateful if you could post this notice on your Club’s noticeboard and if you could forward this email to anyone in your club who may be interested in attending.

There are 20 places available so book early!

Ella McCarthy
Munster Tennis

The Benefits and Need for Regular Restringing!

Here's the thing, would you buy a car and never get it serviced?

That, in a sense, is what you're doing if you never get your racket restrung.

People pay good money for their racket and they like the way it plays when new but, over time, the performance of the racket will change and this is mainly due to strings losing tension and with that their ability to perform.

The strings are the engine of the racket and, if you play regularly, your strings should be changed AT LEAST every 6 months.

In most rackets there is only one string throughout the whole racket. Over time, this string can stretch, slip at the knots or, in our weather, absorb moisture and become lifeless.

In this piece, I will go through the various types of strings available, the type of player they suit, their benefits and downfalls and the tension range recommended for your frame.

Generally, unless you buy a frame-only racket and specify the string type and tension, most rackets will be strung with synthetic gut and midway in the recommended range.
The recommended range is the range at which the suppliers think the racket will perform at its best.
Each recommended range usually offers a 10lb margin eg. 50-60lb.

The higher the tension the greater the control, the lower the tension the greater the power.

Different string types offer different levels of power or control. Below are the different string materials available and also the types of player they suit.

String thickness has a strong bearing on how your racket will perform. String thickness or 'gauge' ranges from 15 (thickest) to 19 (thinnest).
Generally, thinner strings offer greater playability and the possibility of more spin as they embed into the ball more while thicker strings offer greater durability.

Material Types:

Synthetic Gut:
This covers both nylon and synthetic gut, since in reality they are the same thing. Synthetic gut is made up of high quality nylon. Most people still use this type of string as it offers a good level of durability, as well as playability, which is what most club players want.
Even in hybrids, which will be explained later, nylon is generally used as the cross strings.

Topspin:
This is still a synthetic gut but with a roughness to it. It offers everything normal synthetic gut offers but with the potential for more spin as the roughness grips the ball more.

Polyester:
This is the fashionable string of the moment and alot of people ask for this string without really knowing what it is supposed to do. It is a more durable string so for the person that is regularly breaking strings it is one worth considering but know what it does before changing over to it.
It doesn't move and deadens the string bed. This allows the hard hitters, fast swingers, to really go after the ball and still have good control.
Polyester strings offer little power or feel, so expect balls to land short of the baseline unless you increase your swing speed to compensate.
Polyester string is not recommended for beginners, or those suffering from tennis elbow.

Hybrids:
This is where players combine polyester mains with a softer cross string, either synthetic gut, or for the professional feel, natural gut.
This offers the durability benefits of polyester and reduces the stiff, dead feel from the string bed.
Again, not recommended for beginners or players with, or prone to tennis elbow.

How to choose your tension:

As I said earlier "the higher the tension the greater the control, the lower the tension the greater the power".

Control - tighter strings, means less deflection and because of this the ball deforms more, providing less return than looser strings.  This means the ball won't take off when you hit it.
Beginners who say they want control don't need tight strings, they need a soft, forgiving stringbed that lower tensions provide.

Power - When you lower the tension the stringbed will deflect more and therefore the ball less, returning greater energy to the ball thus giving more power.
One of the benefits of stringing the racket at lower tension is less chance of tennis elbow.  This is because lower tensions provide a softer feel and larger sweetspot, reducing the amount of shock and vibration to the arm.

I hope you find this a useful article and if you have any other questions you can email me at rob_leahy@yahoo.co.uk.

Tennis Ireland Development Coaching