Luke Sebastiani | Coach

Luke Sebastiani

Phone: +61 414 244 407

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25.01.2022 I read a really powerful book (see 2nd photo) to understand more about the inner psychology of Tennis recommended to me by a german friend @mxlte.nbl Its bringing together things I have been teaching in a more clear and simple way which makes sense. This will be the focus of this terms trainings after last term had a focus more on the physical side of the game. When a player is in the zone he doesnt think about how badly or how well he made contact. The ball seems to get... hit through a process which doesnt require thought. When we unlearn how to be judgemental, it is possible to achieve spontaneous, focused play. Judgemental labels usually lead to emotional reactions, tightness, trying to hard and self condemnation. Letting go of judgements doesnt mean ignoring errors, it simply means seeings events as they are and not adding anything to them. I love that this is applicable to every situation in life, I am looking forward to empowering myself and my students to use tennis as a medium to practice such lessons. Throwback to my time in Germany in 2017. @ Bogensparte des TuS Wettbergen

21.01.2022 9SPEEDTOOL Application to serve. A baseball pitcher is able to throw powerfully with a interconnected motion, it is similar for the serve. The #9speedtool helps to smooth out your throwing motion and will give you feedback to whether your body is working as one or certain parts are taking more of the load, injuries may show up in the long term if this is the case.

21.01.2022 This is some work with the #9speedtool from my learning with @fightingmonkey_rootlessroot The 9SpeedTool continues to help me and my students to use our body efficiently to create power. Tennis is a striking sport like boxing, you see how boxers use their hips to generate force, it is the same in tennis. This video is highlighting how I feel the hips should be used on shots to create power, it is an efficient way to move your body that you can maintain form in over the course... of a long match. Awesome footage shot by @bottleneckstudios for video and photo needs they are your guys.

21.01.2022 What is Luke Sebastiani Tennis? A holistic approach to connect to the internal psychology while building sound biomechanics in the body for handling pressure situations with more adaptability, focus and calmness. I am learning to simplify things, have less noise so I can just play and hopefully guide other players to do so.... Photo by @bottleneckstudios

20.01.2022 Striking in the Rally. Practical footage of how I want to use my body when striking the ball, I cant always strike like this, but when there is time to get set I can load my weight well and strike efficiently and powerfully. It feels like one elastic coil that starts through the ground, moves through the hips, arms then out of the racquet onto the ball. Footage from @bottleneckstudios.

19.01.2022 One thing Im learning as a coach is to talk less. Its so easy to bombard players with cues that you feel is the best way, but that actually might not be the best way for the player themselves. Im providing some general principles to work with then allowing players to hit 20-30 shots, getting them to figure out what is happening with a discussion of results after. This helps players take responsibility for their own learning to find their best way, rather than me putting all my biases onto students. It also helps me as a coach so can become a better observer and listener and actually provide appropriate feedback to each individual.

19.01.2022 In our squad training we are working on using the breath to help us maintain focus and control our emotions, using it on shots and between points, creating individual routines (you see professional players doing this all time). We created point play situations where I made all players go for a walk and breath to re-focus themselves before playing the next point. I wanted to exaggerate the amount of times we took a walk between points to prove a point, then we had a discussion... on what we found. One of the boys said it really helped me stay concentrated and not tip over the edge when I felt myself getting frustrated another boy mentioned that it might not be best to do this when we are playing well and in a good rhythm. This made lots of sense, I wanted to highlight that this should be used as a tool to catch yourself out when making poor decisions, so that we play one or 2 bad points before gaining our focus again rather than completely dropping away for 3 games. Just like catching ourselves out from having a bad day and not letting it turn into a bad week by taking a step back getting our breath then going back to our routines that help us be at our best.

18.01.2022 Striking in the Rally. Practical footage of how I want to use my body when striking the ball, I can’t always strike like this, but when there is time to get set I can load my weight well and strike efficiently and powerfully. It feels like one elastic coil that starts through the ground, moves through the hips, arms then out of the racquet onto the ball. Footage from @bottleneckstudios.

17.01.2022 The benefits of getting in the cold have been well documented in the last years pioneered forward by @iceman_hof. I face the cold to control my mind, surrender and accept an uncomfortable situations while connecting to the breath. I want to see if I can control my mind in difficult situations, so the uncomfortable becomes the comfortable. Then translating this to the tennis court in competition within high pressure moments or everyday life. Photo and chest freezer provided by the great man @jackkeen1989

12.01.2022 Playing around in the backyard, the grape vines are a nice touch. I love movement situations like this. Its creative, its relevant for athletic performance and its super fun. You feel sharp! I find it helps with how you turn and your understanding of angles. My intention is to bring more movement in a wider base to the tennis court... feels right.

12.01.2022 I feel very present to the moment when I am playing tennis and teaching. For me it is seen as tool to bring me into the now and then help me in all other experiences to be here and not dwelling on the past or fantasising about the future. I still struggle all the time to be present on what I am doing but I catch myself out a lot more and I am grateful that tennis helps me with this. I do my best to help teach students tools to bring them into the now to gain more focus. This is something I would of loved to be taught at an earlier age so I could navigate my way through challenging situations with more calmness and clarity. This is one of my favourite photos by a friend of mine @akilmadan.

09.01.2022 Couple guys that have helped me a lot this year, absolute legends. Loving the pathway at @adelaidetennisacademy and things are only just getting started...

05.01.2022 Working with @jackkeen1989 & @oliver_zafiridis this morning on my backhand. First starting with the 3kg ball, transferring to the racquet then stroke. Couple things that we recognised to be important. Getting the timing right on when the back-foot loads and drives the hip through the shot. While also keeping extension of arms up through the swinging path, letting them finish naturally up. This is where it feels there is potential for a powerful clean shot.... Also love the verbal validation from @oliver_zafiridis it tells me Im on the right track haha.

01.01.2022 Want to improve your serve? Start throwing, throw all the time. Do it on both sides of your body. Understand how the coordination works... find out how to use your whole body in a throw, you might not get a sore shoulder after serving a box of balls. You also might find that power comes effortless and easily.

01.01.2022 In our training we are working on connecting to the senses of sight, feeling and sound on shots. Using them as tools to brings us into the present moment of the game with focus. First we will connect to sight and use activities that sharpen our eyes. People report (and Ive felt this) that when you completely follow the ball with your eyes, time slows down and the ball becomes bigger. This helps you with timing and instinctual qualities to play at a higher level. Something so simple that makes sense but often overlooked as we get obsessed with the technical aspects of the game which is important also but not the whole story.