Winning Tennis for Girls

by David Porter

Published 1 June 2003
According to the Tennis Industry Association, more than 1 million girls aged 12 to 17 play tennis. At the highest levels of women's tennis, stars such as Venus and Serena Williams, Monica Seles, and Martina Hingis serve as role models for young players. The sport of tennis can provide lifelong satisfaction for players at all levels, and learning the fundamentals is as important for enjoying the game as it is for winning. The only book of its kind written specifically for junior and senior high school age girls, Winning Tennis for Girls is a one-stop resource that provides all the information players need to learn and hone their skills, develop strategy, avoid injuries, and handle the mental aspects of tennis. Chapter-by-chapter coverage of all aspects of the game and featured tips from members of the U.S. national team and scholastic and collegiate coaches provide guidance on how to play the best game possible. Approximately 135 photographs and 10 diagrams allow coaches and athletes to see the structure of important plays, positions, and drills.

It acts as a primer to those young athletes who wish to get started at the ground level. It also covers the history of the sport, rules and equipment, fundamental skills such as tumbling, balance and flexibility, and much more. Teaching the techniques for mastering the floor exercise, balance beam, uneven parallel bars and vault, it gives girls new to gymnastics information, and coaches and parents guidelines for helping young athletes. The basic routines used in competitive gymnastics, as well as nutrition, fitness training and flexibility training are also covered. Each chapter provides suggested drills. More than 130 photographs illustrate many of the drills and concepts discussed, and an appendix offers additional resources.

Track and field events have been a mainstay of athletics since the time of the ancient Greeks. Today track and field draws nearly half a million high school girls to competition and ranks second only to basketball in popularity with young female athletes. "Winning Track and Field for Girls" provides a history of how track and field developed over time, as well as all the information young athletes of today need to begin training safely for specific events."Winning Track and Field for Girls" covers the basics of all the major events in which girls compete-sprinting, hurdling, middle distance running, relay races, high jump, shot put, discus, javelin, pentathlon, and many others. It also contains entertaining sidebars that spotlight legendary women athletes such as Marion Jones (world record holder for 200-meter dash) and Wilma Rudolph (1960 three-time gold medalist). Nutrition, fitness, and conditioning are discussed as important elements of success, and additional resources are presented in appendixes. Approximately 118 photographs illustrate many of the concepts and drills that are discussed.

A guide for high school girl athletes which describes the benefits of weight training, the muscles of the body and how they interact, biomechanics and proper use of equipment. Coverage explains the basics of weight training with individual focus on the most popular sports.