Well Begun is Half Done

I was very lucky that I lived in my formative years 15 minutes from downtown Boston. Going to major league sporting events was a regular activity when I was a kid and young adult.

Red Sox - Celtics - Bruins -ATP and WTA Tennis, Boxing…you name it and I've probably watched it up close and live at the Pro Level.

As a young tennis player, I was able to see Laver, Rosewall, Gonzales, Newcombe, Roach, Richey, Grabner and a multitude of other elite tennis athletes competing just a few yards from my seat.

My favorite thing to do at a Pro Tournament was to park myself at the practice courts for hours on end and listen to the coaches working with the world's best players.

The commonality that stood out over the years was the emphasis on arriving behind the bounce of the incoming ball, fully prepared, TO EXECUTE A SMOOTH - IN BALANCE - STROKE.

Tennis is movement intensive, however, if you move like a gazelle but arrive with your body and racket ill-prepared to deliver a controlled swing, it's all for naught!

Another benefit of living near Boston was its proximity to Harvard, which provided me access to summer long coaching clinics taught by the legendary Harvard coach Jack Barnaby (Jack is the author of one of the best tennis books ever published: RACKET WORK, TACTICS, and LOGIC).

He told the gathering of aspiring young coaches that we would spend most of our time on the teaching court suggesting, cajoling, and maybe even begging our students to get ready sooner and sooner.

Once again a coach putting the focus on preparation…HMMM!

My Dad wasn't a sports coach. What he was, was a Life coach, as fathers should be.

One of his great concepts (he didn't tell me he was plagiarizing Aristotle) was the idea that "Well begun is Half Done."  (preparation…HMMM!)

In everything he introduced me to, he stressed the preparation process.

Do you want to reshingle the house? Do the measurements of the surface then purchase and stage the raw materials at the appropriate areas of the worksite. Be sure your tools are in working order and then start the project.

Bake a pie? Flour, eggs, butter, cinnamon, sugar, apples, rolling pin, pie pan. Get everything lined up in order of use and then go to it!

Success in any endeavor is hinged upon the process being understood and then being executed in the proper sequence.

To hit a solid groundstroke on the tennis court, be sure that when you arrive at your destination behind the bounce of the ball your shoulders are properly turned and your racket head is waiting quietly to sweep through the strike zone toward the target. PREPARE EARLY to execute smoothly.

Remember what my Father (and Aristotle) said, "Well Begun – is Half Done."

Howie Burnett is a USPTA Elite Level Professional with more than 50 years of coaching experience. Prior to accepting the Tennis Director position at the Island Country Club in 1998, he operated the Net Advantage Tennis Club management company and concurrently served for 10 years as Head Coach of the USTA Training Center for Elite level Juniors in Central Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Howie was inducted into the United States Professional Tennis Association New England Hall of Fame in 2016.

He is currently teaching part-time on the Tennis Staff at the Marco Island YMCA.

His Book --NET NOTES (common sense ideas to lift your game) is available on amazon.com.

You may contact him with tennis questions or lesson inquiries at marcoY10s@icloud.com or hb10s@me.com.