Who is Coach Steven Chung?

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I started late as a junior player and despite my work ethic and passion for the game, I made the critical mistake of trying to figure it out on my own. Like anything in life, seeking knowledge and learning from those who already "invented the wheel" is critical to working smart. 20 years later I have gone to great lengths to separate truth from fiction, and while my opportunity to reach my playing potential has long passed, I hope you accomplish your tennis dreams, or at least understand what it takes and have a clear path to do so.

What Is​​ The 15 Points Of Tennis?

 We live in a world governed by math. The 15 Points Of Tennis is a systematic way to understand tennis as a basic algorithm. While reality has it that each individual variable has infinite complexity, there is overarching causation between certain inputs and outputs to yield a given result. Once the game can be indexed in such a way, the player has clarity where to focus their efforts and maximize their progress.

The 15 Points Equation

The aspects of tennis are 1) technical 2) physical and 3) mental which each contain a subset of 5 parts. The MULTIPLIER RULE shows how lacking any single aspect will subtract more than what excelling in any single aspect can add. While many players put much of their effort taking their strength from a 9 to 10 out of 10, half that effort could have taken their weakness from a 2 to a 5 out of 10. While players have unique combinations of attributes, the approximation of output produced by this rough algorithm is quite predictive of long term outcomes.

The Power of a System

Body Mechanics Proficiency: Every skill needs to be isolated and refined individually. Otherwise, a player's strength will always compensate for a weakness, and the weakness won't get stronger. 

Adjusting to Every Scenario: Any skill in itself needs adaptability to both calibrate for each shot being slightly different and gaining proficiency in various forms of a specific shot for offense, defense, and neutral.

Making It Automatic in Matchplay: Focus can be removed from the skill itself to build discipline, trust, and patience under pressure, along with placing attention on the opponent for strategic shot selection.

...The most important part of tennis is increasing your Base Skill Level! The 15 Points of Tennis is laser focused on helping you develop the fundamentals for permanent change. You control these variables compared to being distracted by the result that makes you completely miss what is takes to achieve that result! Let's break learning into 3 phases.

PHASE #1 is about understanding the theory of why and how something works.
Any traveler needs a map before embarking on their journey, and going in a straight line to their destination may not be possible as there may be obstacles. Each shot requires specific mechanics that include building strength, coordination, and balance for each movement. Players could shadow the correct form yet experience worse immediate results, but they won't change course of they know where the map leads.

PHASE #2 is figuring out how to isolate the skill with the correct drills to strengthen that area.
Despite players knowing right from wrong, a game scenario focused on winning naturally encourages compensation from your strengths to cover your weaknesses. A body builder needs to isolate a muscle to burn it out instead of general exercises which may never activate a specific area that's weak. Part of improving is "fixing" something or learning the skill in a reasonable amount of time, and thinking it will happen by itself is a coin toss.

​PHASE #3 is integrating that skill into the rest of your game and being both patient and aware.
Every skill can shine in certain moments and be ineffective in others. Despite proficiency in isolation, each skill requires working in tandem with other skills, which vary among different conditions. A great chef consistently tastes as they go, and not due to forgetting the recipe, but the ingredients are a change a little bit every day. The final steps of progression require finding the right blend of spices more quickly and knowing immediately the variable that likely changes that perfect balance.

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