Interview with Oscar Wegner, creator of Modern Tennis Methodology
Here is an interview with Oscar Wegner. Oscar is a tennis coach and pre-open-era tour player, author and creator of Modern Tennis Methodology, a tennis-teaching system which he began developing in 1968.
First of all, I would like to thank you for your time and your desire to answer some questions for me.
Q.: You have been in the tennis world for a very long time and have seen everything I can only imagine. What is the most memorable tennis match or event you have ever seen?
A.: There are actually two, Bjorn Borg-John McEnroe Wimbledon final and the Nadal-Federer Wimbledon final that finished into the night.
Q.: On your website I found “You too can learn to play like the pros with Oscar Wegner ‘s Modern Tennis Methodology”. Tell me briefly about the core of MTM? Does it mean that using your technology allows players to train without a tennis coach?
A.: Yes, once the players understand how the top pros play, they can copy them with great success. Even parents can transmit this to their kids, whether they are good players themselves or not.
Q.: Do you have any junior tennis players who you train right now? If yes, please tell me about their results and potential?
A.: I coach sporadically juniors that are with other coaches, and I also help the coaches themselves to understand MTM and apply it.
Q.: Many academies offer 25+ hours a week for juniors from 12 years old. In your opinion, how much should a junior tennis player train?
A.: It depends on their physique and desire, but for a dedicated junior 25 hours is not too much.
Q. American tennis has lost its dominance in the world. Why? What do you think must be done to improve the situation?
A.: Proper technical information is missing. There is too much false data out there, impeding real progress.
Q.: Your three advices to junior tennis players?
A.: Focus, be serene, apply yourself to the task.
Q.: Your three advices to junior tennis parents?
A.: Let the kid evolve into an independent thinker. Trust your kid to make decisions as to their own game.
Q.: Your three advices to junior tennis coaches?
A.: Guide without being authoritarian. Study Modern Tennis Methodology and apply it in its purest form.
Thank you for the interview Oscar. Good luck to you!
I am in complete agreement with Oscar up to a point. I have seen what great coaching can do to accelerate breakthroughs in a player’s game and believe that a close and vital mentorship is crucial to a player’s access of the greatness to be found within. If Mozart or Beethoven, as supremely talented as they were, were left to teach themselves music simply from watching and listening to other musicians the world would’ve been left without ever even having known who they were.