Sports science wins for women, a pickleball primer and more
by Ruth Jarvis
SELT Team
Facilities Two courts (no floodlights), café
SELT programme Adult and junior coaching, Cardio Tennis, Tennis Xpress courses, children’s holiday camps
What’s it like? Shady tree-lined courts with a secluded feel
Can I park nearby? Yes, there’s pay-parking on Old Road and Manor Lane, free parking on Taunton Road (except 10am – 12pm weekdays) and tons of free spaces at Sainsbury’s on Lee High Road if you combine a game with a shopping trip
How’s the public transport? Great. It’s no distance from Hither Green station or the Lee High Road buses
What else is there to do in the park? Tons, including a historic ice-house and birdwatching on the lake (we saw herons nesting this year)
What’s the café like? Big, with plenty of outdoor tables, great home-made food (hot and cold) and occasional events – the annual Johnny Cash night is on the 23rd of this very month
Handy tip Try not to sky the ball into the next-door dog park!
The long overdue turn in sports science towards addressing women’s specific physiological needs has come to tennis with the LTA implementing a serious set of women’s health initiatives. While it is primarily aimed at elite players, and factors in the physical demands of the sport, the relentless training and competition schedule and the small margins of performance that can divide a win from a loss, we think players of all levels will find its thinking and learnings fascinating and even empowering.
The headline initiative comprises medical health screenings for LTA-supported players and support for to their physical and reproductive health; nutritional education to help protect against disrupted menstrual cycles and stress fractures; information resources including podcasts; and research, including DEXA scans to monitor bone mineral density and establish baseline data in an elite cohort for injury prevention. There are also programmes to support pregnancy and breast health.
With one eye on the phase-based training increasingly employed in women’s football, the LTA asks women to track their menstrual cycles against their physical and mental experiences. It’s early days, but so far the results are varied, with some noticing no difference and others observing significant changes during the cycle, such as a change in balance or an increase in double faults.
We learned this from an excellent report on BBC Radio 4’s Women’s Hour. And you can download the LTA’s podcasts on such key topics as ‘Periods and Performance’ and ‘Contraceptive Choices for Elite Sportswomen’ here.
Leah Wakeman, LTA Level 3 coach and pickleball course leader, demos three key skills to improve your game.
As the Ladywell Cup swings into action, SELT’s joint head coach Chris Howard shares his secrets for sharpening your competitive edge.
🎾 Arrive for your match early – make sure you have plenty of time to loosen up and stretch.
🎾 In your pre-match hitting warm up ensure you hit plenty of serves. I often see players hitting ground strokes and volleys for 20 minutes and spending three minutes on the serve.
🎾 ‘Stay in the present’ by focusing on the next point and stop thinking about any previous points or those in the future. The only ball that’s important is the one coming at you now.
🎾 Try to relax your mind and release some tension between points or at the changeover. It will help stop lapses of concentration when playing points.
🎾 If you’re ahead in the match, remember your opponent will try and regroup. Expect this and if your opponent changes tactics keep your mind clear and don’t panic or start rushing. It will have taken a lot out of them if they catch up so regroup yourself and keep doing what was working.
Tennis is a dynamic, high-impact sport that involves jumping, running and changes of direction, all of which can put stress on a poorly supported bosom. The average British breast weighs half a kilo and can move 15cm independently during exercise, so physics dictate that the ligaments supporting it will take a lot of strain over time, smaller sizes included. In the short term, this means your breasts may hurt during and after play (the pain can be referred from the underlying structure); in the long term, the ligaments can become overstretched (as can the skin), resulting in a loss of elasticity and causing sagging. And if that isn’t enough incentive for investing in a sports bra, there are performance benefits, too: your stride length may increase, and your biomechanics can focus better on effective strokeplay.
Sports bras have come a long way in recent years, thanks to fabric and engineering tech plus a late-dawning awareness filtering in from sports science and military research. There is a wide choice of sizes and styles and while boutique brands will clobber you on price, the likes of M&S (Lewisham branch included) offer budget multipacks that will serve you perfectly well. In general, if you’re a C cup or smaller, the crop-top style of compression bra should work for you by pushing your breasts inwards to reduce the forces they experience during motion; larger sizes will benefit more from a full-cup version, with a rigid structure encasing each bosom separately and solid straps. But every body varies, and comfort and a good fit are key: always try before you buy, and don’t be shy to do a few split-steps in the changing room!
Now the line-dust has settled, here are the most popular official Wimbledon videos (at least, the ones that don’t involve royalty or Leonardo di Caprio).
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