TEACHING CHILDREN TENNIS THE VIC BRADEN WAY

by Vic & Bill Bruns Braden ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 17, 1980

The second recent children's tennis book by a psychologist (viz., Anthony, A Winning Combination, p. 1031), this is less intense and less competition-oriented, but even more involved in its discussion of teaching methods--making it more appropriate for tennis pros, perhaps, than for the run of parents. Braden--who taught Tracey Austin--feels that parents needn't be expert players or instructors to teach their kids: ""recognize your limitations as a player and just be yourself."" Start children only when they're interested, he cautions, be it at three or 15 years. Three basic ways of learning are cited--through kinesthetic (body sense), visual, or auditory receptors--and parents are advised to find out which their child responds to best, and to teach accordingly. Actual lessons are explained from the first day through to advanced junior play; the aspects covered--for both individual and group teaching--range from different strokes to (thank goodness) good playing manners. Without heavyhanded psychologizing, Braden is attentive to parents' problems: learn to distinguish between your children's needs and your own, he says, and know when to step aside (if what happens during the lesson is interfering with your relationship; if your child isn't learning). Tennis, he's aware, has become a serious subject and brings out the worst in some parents; yet he manages to pack in all the necessary information and still keep in touch with the primary goal: enjoyment.

Pub Date: Oct. 17, 1980

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1980

Categories: NONFICTION