Baby Boomer Tennis

The review of the tennis documentary “Gold Balls” last week prompted me to focus attention on books specifically targeted at older players. “Baby Boomer Tennis” was the first in the queue. I plucked my copy off the shelf at a used book store on the basis of the testimonials on the back cover from Rosie Casals and Pam Shriver. Baby Boomer Tennis has a few redeeming qualities, but for the most part is an unpolished effort.

I have faced off against secondary author, Craig Bell, in Tennis Competitors of Dallas (TCD) mixed league play and he is a well regarded coach in my local area. The primary author is Dr. Joy Macci who is a motivational speaker and coach who used to be involved with the Macci tennis academy alongside her ex-husband, Rick. Many prominent players emerged from the Macci academy including Jennifer Capriati, Venus Williams, Serena Williams, and Mary Pearce.

The premise of targeting a book at a specific generation is a flawed concept. Baby Boomer Tennis claims to address players who are 50 and over. That was the age of the youngest Boomers when the book was published. I am in Generation X and am currently 50 and over. Targeting the book at a labeled generation and then including age specific advice did not age well.

Macci takes pains to detail how older tennis players are a significant segment of the tennis ecosystem that cannot be ignored by the tennis industry. That is an example how the target audience of the Baby Boomer Tennis was inconsistent throughout. At times, the material seemed to speak to coaches and providers of tennis services rather than tennis players.

For the content targeted at Baby Boomer players, the narrative weaves all over the map in terms of competitive level. The basic stroke mechanics are not generation specific, nor are the specific drills that are recommended. The advice to “Smile, Breathe, and Move” is applicable for any age demographic or competitive level but, that is also not tennis specific. At times the book most closely resembles a poorly organized motivational speech.

Baby Boomer Tennis was published in 2015 when Internet search engines were already in widespread use. For some reason significant space was spend providing links to resources such as the USTA and places to buy tennis gear. Those lists were obsolete almost from the point of initial publication.

If you are looking for a tennis motivational speech and a general outline for goal setting, then this book might be useful. However, there are much better sources for those things. Tennis players at any level would be better served with more targeted books based on their baseline experience with the sport, level of competitive play, and specific developmental concerns.

Baby Boomer Tennis

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