CJTennis and danquest, please keep up the dialog!

I am a baseball fan by heart (played some through high school and still coach my middle child in Little League.) I have been a tennis enthusiast since 1968. I enjoy watching and playing tennis with my three (3) children, son17, son 11 and daughter 8.

I joined to get advice on tennis tournaments for my children to participate in, but I was intrigued by the dialog between CJTennis and danquest. I tend to side with CJTennis about the Wegner method, but I cannot argue with danuest about the importance of fundamentals (no matter what the sport.) What I like about Wegner is the way he "invites" people into the sport of tennis. He has a common sense, non-threatening approach. I agree with danquest,, though, that players cannot rely on pure athleticism, but must be willing to learn the fundamentals. I think sports like baseball, tennis and bowling have lost some appeal to young athletes, because those sports are not as much "fun" to learn as sports like soccer, where participants in their first practice are running around an open field, chasing after a ball (and each other). I like the Wegner method, because he makes learning tennis fun (like bumpers instead of gutters does for bowling and T-ball instead of pitchers does for baseball.) The Wegner method teaches us (old and young alike) to get to the tennis ball and hit it, rather than concerning ourselves with "form". Don't get me wrong, I understand how important mechanics are in any sport, but if the participant does not enjoy the sport to begin with, than he or she will not continue to participate. Bowling has drawn in more participants with bumpers and rails (keeping the ball on the lane is fun), baseball has drawn in more participate with T-ball and coaches pitch (keeping the ball in play is fun.) Wegner's method has and will continue to draw in more tennis players, because it makes hitting the ball fun. But as with any sport, once the player enjoys it, he or she wants to become better. Then, a coach can improve the player's skills with mechanics. Forget "KISS" and remember "KIF" (Keep It Fun!) No sense adding the fourth "S", because none of us on this Thread are "Stupid".

I am happy to become a part of your community!