2015 LONG ISLAND TENNIS MAGAZINE’S
Coaches Roundtable Discussion York Giants is my favorite coach. He is tough, exciting, loves to coach and loves the process, not just winning. His players love to play for him. He makes players better and they love it. Another coach that comes to mind is Mike Kryzyzewski. He has so much intensity, but never goes over the line. He coaches with all that he has every game. There really are a lot of great coaches in every sport. Carl Barnett: I admire Pete Carroll, head coach of the Seattle Seahawks. He, just like us at Early Hit, strive to have a learning based organization that is hungry to figure out the challenges of expressing human potential. We cannot measure success by a point, set or match. We are more interested in the process of a successful arc of growing. I also want to add Dr. Angela Lee Duckworth from the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Duckworth is a psychologist who coaches grit in students from a motivational perspective. Grit is passion and commitment for long-term goals. Ms. Duckworth is a leading proponent of Growth Mindset. Here, brains and talent are considered the starting point. This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment.
Football Club in the English Premier League. He is a master tactician and gets the most out of all of his players. His body language and demeanor oozes confidence, and his personnel management skills are top notch. What is the one thing you hope any student of yours learns from you? Steve Kaplan: The positive value of effort, dedication, education, health, confidence and humility. Ed Krass: The one thing I hope a student learns from me is that it is important to be a good person first, a good player second. Honesty, integrity and character far outweigh the match results as we prepare for the game of life! Ben Marks: I always try to make sure that all of my students enjoy playing the game. It is very easy to forget the real reason we all play tennis … for fun! This does not mean that my students do not work hard and strive to improve every time they step onto a tennis court, because they definitely do! But, in order for them to keep wanting to work as
hard as they do, they have to enjoy the sweat and occasional tears as well! Jay Wass: Sportsmanship, and respect for the game, their opponents, competition, etc. I tell my students that they get to be tennis players some of the time, but they can be great human beings all of the time. Do you think it is important for kids to play other sports in addition to tennis? Mike Kossoff: Absolutely. We strongly encourage all of our John McEnroe Tennis Academy players to participate in other sports, especially team sports. It’s beneficial for kids to experience competition in different settings, as well as just enjoy themselves with their peers! Whitney Kraft: Absolutely, research across numerous sports has shown that over-specialization at too young of an age doesn’t yield long-term results. Becoming a great athlete is more important. Diversity in sports prevents burnout and overuse injuries. Remember the sport of soccer that
Ricky Becker: The late Al Arbour of the National Hockey League is someone I have always admired. He was a strict disciplinarian with a well-organized system, but was well-liked by all of his players. What a combination! He was humble and classy, and his opponents even respected the heck out of him. He certainly got results, as he led the Islanders to four straight Stanley Cups under his watch! Mike Kossoff: I am a big fan of Jose Mourinho, current coach of the Chelsea LITennisMag.com • November/December 2015 • Long Island Tennis Magazine
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